The reopening of Four Corners bar this week has the potential to revive surrounding bars.
Owners of bars on East Franklin Street say if one is crowded, they will reap profits from bar hoppers and improved perception of the area.
“Any activity on our end of Franklin Street will add to our business,” said Howard McDonald, owner of East End Oyster and Martini Bar.
UNC alumni Steve Woodham and Chris Brewer bought Four Corners at 175 E. Franklin St. in July after it closed due to slow business and a struggling economy.
“It was too good of an opportunity to pass up,” Woodham said.
Woodham, who co-owned Players for the past five years, sold his share with plans to go on an extended vacation.
Before stepping away from Chapel Hill, Woodham and his best friend, Brewer, said they saw Four Corners for sale and were drawn in by the place that had been their hangout when they were students.
The two have put between $200,000 and $250,000 toward the renovation of Four Corners.
They decided to cancel plans to leave Chapel Hill, and Woodham picked up right where he left off — the bar business.
“We’ve been kickin’ ass to get Four Corners up and ready,” said Woodham, who also owns Goodfellows.
Other bar owners are looking forward to the reopening, which is slated for later this week.
“Any building without a closed front does our business good,” said Marshall Payne, owner of the smaller Blue Horn Lounge. “Four Corners will help us out when it’s really jammed and people just want a more quiet, less packed place to be.”
Woodham and Brewer said when they reopen Four Corners’ doors, they hope to create an atmosphere that lives up to Franklin Street expectations and to their undergraduate memories of the bar.
“Four Corners hasn’t reached its full potential in 10 or 12 years,” said manager J.P. Gandy, who moved from Atlanta to help Woodham manage the bar.
Woodham plans to transfer many of his Goodfellows employees to Four Corners.
“All the bars have been a tradition on Franklin Street. We thrive together and add flavor to Chapel Hill,” said Derrick DePriest, employee of Bub O’Malley’s.
Woodham wants Four Corners to be different from Players when he ran it.
“We don’t need a wet T-shirt contest for everyone to have a good time here,” Woodham said.
Woodham and Brewer have called Chapel Hill home since their graduations in the early ’90s. Previous owners were from out of state, Woodham said.
He said he wants Four Corners to cater to a majority student customer base.
“No Michael Jordan Slam Dunk Cheeseburger or corny crap like that,” Woodham said.
Still, the bar will display signed Carolina jerseys on the wall and a Carolina basketball hardwood replica near the entrance.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu
Four Corners bar will get another chance
Four Corners Bar reopens this week after it closed in July due to slow business. DTH/Gladys Manzur
