'Chapel Hill tradition’ Breadmen's to relocate but stay local

Forty-one-year-old Chapel Hill restaurant Breadmen’s may relocate to make room for up-and-coming mixed-use development, Amity Station.

Owner Roy Piscitello said he wants to dispel the myth that Breadmen’s is permanently closing because of Amity Station.

“Everybody thinks we’re closing. We’re not closing,” he said. “At some time in the future, in 2 to 3 years, we will move the restaurant.”

Still in the concept plan stage, Amity Station is a proposed complex that could house 155 to 165 residences.

Breadmen’s opened in 1974 and has been a staple for regular visitors ever since.

Durham resident Sam Long has been a loyal Breadmen’s customer since Piscitello first opened up the restaurant.

Long believes Breadmen’s holds a special place in many people’s hearts when it comes to tradition.

“We’d be sad to see it go,” he said. “It’s lasted in Chapel Hill through the years. I hope that it’s only temporary. I hope that it comes back. It’s become a Chapel Hill tradition.”

Bill Pitts, a Durham resident, is also a regular at Breadmen’s — he has been visiting since it first opened. Both Pitts and Long agree the best part about Breadmen’s is the great food for an affordable price.

When asked about their favorite dishes, Long had no trouble naming the vegetarian dish as his favorite meal. Pitts, on the other hand, had several favorites he couldn’t choose between.

“I always get the breakfast stuff,” Pitts said. “I like the Swiss cheeseburger.”

Given Breadmen’s long-standing roots in Chapel Hill, residents have questioned the possible new apartment complex replacing the restaurant.

Piscitello is a partner in the Amity Station project. He works alongside his brother, Bill Piscitello, and business partner Larry Short.

When asked why he would want to tear down his restaurant, Piscitello said sacrificing Breadmen’s for the Amity Station apartments is not his objective.

While Breadmen’s current space would be taken by Amity Station, Breadmen’s isn’t disappearing forever, he said. Piscitello said Breadmen’s will find a new location.

“It behooves us to improve the value of the asset (that is the land),” Piscitello said. “The restaurant will relocate. Breadmen’s will survive; we will reutilize the asset where Breadmen’s is now.”

When developing Amity Station, Piscitello said new urbanism influenced his goals for the apartments.

New urbanism is an urban-design movement emphasizing a city’s walkability and diverse housing options. Along with new urbanism in general, walkability is a critical part of Chapel Hill’s 2020 comprehensive plan.

Piscitello said he wants to ensure more people are living in downtown Chapel Hill so businesses there can prosper, not just survive.

“There’s a need for more people living downtown,” he said. “That’s what we’re planning to do, is make another area where people can live downtown.”

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