Orange County farmer won’t fight decision denying controversial amphitheater
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Union Grove farm withdrew its appeal; county canceled the Oct. 8 hearing.
- Planning director had denied amphitheater and multiple non-agritourism projects.
- Triangle Land Conservancy and neighbors maintain lawsuit and oppose expanded development.
An Orange County farmer dropped his appeal Tuesday, just a week before a hearing to decide whether the county was correct to block a planned 2,500-seat amphitheater.
The Board of Adjustment’s Oct. 8 hearing has been canceled, Orange County Planning Director Cy Stober said Wednesday.
An attorney for Union Grove farmer Greg Bohlen said he could submit a new plan, possibly for a venue with fewer seats and other, related “activities,” in the future. The plan would have to go through the same county staff approval process.
Attorney Samuel Slater did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The Union Grove Farm area on Dairyland Road west of Chapel Hill, has been a popular destination for cyclists and ice cream customers of Maple View Farm’s store for years. Maple View Farm was sold in 2021, but Maple View Farm Ice Cream is still run by the same people, who continue to make the ice cream on site.
Bohlen’s partner Meredith Sabye has a coffee truck across the street.
But Bohlen’s plans, including the amphitheater, to bring more people to the area have churned community opposition and prompted a challenge from the Triangle Land Conservancy, which owns an easement on 187 acres at the farm.
Orange County Planning Director Cy Stober rejected the amphitheater, along with plans for 10 cottages, a 40-room farm stay center, event space, and 70-seat restaurant with a pool and bar in June. Stober argued those were not a form of agritourism and could pose substantial risks from alcohol consumption and traffic to the rural community.
Union Grove’s plans were approved for a distillery, a 3-acre culinary garden, and the Center for Regenerative Agriculture, which Sabye runs with Svetlana Fisher, owner of the nearby Honeysuckle Farm and teahouse.
Neighborhood, TLC fight continues
Susan Walser, a Union Grove neighbor who organized Defend Maple View Community, the grassroots group opposed to Bohlen’s lodging and entertainment plans, said Wednesday she is wary of what his dropping the appeal really means.
“This is frustrating news, as so much time and money has been spent by community members, the attorneys for the community and TLC, as well as the attorneys for the county and county employees,” Walser said.
She thanked supporters for showing up to meetings and donating money toward legal fees. Any money left after the amphitheater fight will be donated to Triangle Land Conservancy, she said.
“We will continue to need your support into the next stage, we will continue to fight up against agritourism abuse and will update the community on new meetings and our hearings,” she added.
Bohlen, a former venture capitalist, is also still facing a lawsuit that Triangle Land Conservancy filed in August.
The nonprofit conservation group joined neighbors this year in opposing the amphitheater. Its lawsuit claims three new roads added to the farm in recent years and the amphitheater site violate agreements that limit development on the farm.
The lawsuit also names Sabye and her company, Harper Grace LLC, along with EastWest Organics LLC, which also owns land under the Union Grove conservation easements.
A March 2024 email from a TLC official to Bohlen says the nonprofit’s board approved expanding the “farm envelope” where building is allowed, but the email also requested a survey, appraisal and updated agreement to complete the changes. None of that was done, TLC officials said.
This is the first time the organization, which holds easements for over 8,000 acres, has had to sue a landowner, executive director Sandy Sweitzer said.
Regenerative grapes using sheep, worms
Bohlen, who grew up on a farm before becoming an investor in companies like Beyond Meat and Poshmark, started Union Grove Farm on Union Grove Church Road near Carrboro in 2014. In 2021, he bought the former Maple View dairy farm.
The farm’s previous owner, Maple View Dairy farmer Bob Nutter, and his wife signed the permanent easement agreement with Triangle Land Conservancy in 1995. Nutter died in 2019, and his family sold the land to Bohlen.
Nutter’s son Roger Nutter and Steve Raets, owner of Sonark Media, a nearby music studio, were initially involved in Union Grove’s distillery plans, but have since moved on, they told The N&O.
Union Grove has replaced the dairy cows with Katahdin sheep, and planted rows of grape vines on former pastures. Bohlen follows a regenerative model, using cover crops to replenish the soil and feed the sheep, whose droppings add more nutrients to the soil. Over 100,000 worms make additional compost from Orange High School and Weaver Street Market food scraps.
The result is a seedless muscadine grape that’s smaller but more flavorful, and with thinner skins than a traditional muscadine. The grapes were developed by Hillsborough resident and former N.C. State University grape breeder Jeff Bloodworth, and also are more nutritious, Sabye told The N&O during a recent tour of the farm.
Bohlen has amassed roughly 1,200 acres in central Orange County and planted grape vines on about 100 acres — over 49,000 plants, he said. It’s an investment so far of $10.5 million to $11 million, not including land costs, he said.
“I believe if we fail at doing farming this way, our country is doomed, because it’s impossible to maintain what’s happening on commercial farms today. It’s not sustainable,” Bohlen said. “We’re killing the soil, and on top of it, we’re pouring thousands of dollars into stuff that is designed to kill — pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide.”
But farming is rarely a profitable operation, Bohlen said.
Agritourism gives him and other “bona fide” farmers a way to support their agriculture by letting people experience and enjoy a rural way of life.
While typical farm operations include tours and produce stands, wedding and event venues, recreation, and farmstay experiences, a growing number have begun offering party barns and entertainment with only a tangential connection to agriculture.
State law only requires farms to follow state building codes, public health and environmental rules. County zoning and development rules do not apply to buildings and other structures used for farming.
This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 1:24 PM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story should have said Maple View Farm Ice Cream Store is still run by the same people using the same recipes to make ice cream. The store now gets its ice cream base from Simply Natural Creamery, instead of Maple View Farm.
