Downtown coffee shop puts the 'bar' in barista

The sounds of classical music waft through the fragrant daytime air inside 138 E. Franklin St. as students, professors and locals enjoy their meals.

But after night falls, the peaceful restaurant transforms into a lively bar, packed with students seeking live tunes and cheap drinks.

The dark wooden booths and the friendly atmosphere of the Carolina Coffee Shop have remained the same since its opening in 1922.

The widespread popularity of the restaurant has helped it become a historic landmark in downtown Chapel Hill.

“It hasn’t changed much over the years,” said Matt Hodler, one of two managers of Carolina Coffee Shop. “We’ve done a good job of staying with the original idea.”

The light-blue-and-white awning over the Coffee Shop has signaled a fun place to relax with friends for many decades and to several generations.

“A lot of people are interested to know that it’s the oldest restaurant in the Triangle,” Hodler said.

Although the restaurant has been open for 83 years, most of its employees have been there less than one. Many employees are students, so there tends to be a quick turnover among the staff.

“That’s what this place was originally for: having students work.” Hodler said.

The restaurant’s unchanging face is what has endeared it to many UNC students, both new and old. Sophomore Kathy Pierson, who has lived in Chapel Hill all her life, enjoys the tradition.

“I like it because it brings back memories from when I was little and used to eat lunch there with my family and then walk around town and campus,” she said.

As she got older, Pierson gained a new perspective on Carolina Coffee Shop.

“I never really knew it was a fun bar spot until I was a student at UNC,” she said.

The history of the restaurant is also important to junior Caitlin Cottingham.

“My mom worked at the Coffee Shop when she was a student here,” she said. “Now when I go there, I think about my mom when she was in college.”

The daytime crowd consists mostly of professors and graduate students. The staff recognizes the faces of many of the customers who are pleased with the food and continually come back for more, Hodler said.

“You can come in here and get a cheap meal — a nice light snack — or you can spend a little more and get a great meal,” Hodler said.

Hodler and the other manager, Richie Hodel, consider the restaurant’s menu unique. The most popular items are the eggs benedict, the brie and bacon sandwich and the various monthly dinner specials.

The Carolina Coffee Shop is open until 2 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, allowing the site to be a versatile attraction for daytime diners and late-night partyers.

The venue features live bands on Friday and Saturday nights, DJs on Tuesdays and Thursdays and jazz bands on Wednesday evenings.

Tuesday is the most popular night, Hodel said.

“The late-night crowd is basically all students,” Hodler said. “They like it because we have cheap drinks and great bartenders.”

Its many attractions have helped Carolina Coffee Shop maintain widespread appeal for more than eight decades.

“When they think about the history, people get all nostalgic,” Hodel said.

“You can get breakfast here, lunch here, dinner here, drunk here.”

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.