Word on the Street: What kind of food is Carrboro missing?

Once a bustling rail town, Carrboro has redefined itself as a vibrant hub of culture and arts: a train station once full of commuters now seats diners, and former boxcars welcome people into what are now bars. Colloquially dubbed the Paris of the Piedmont, it's only natural that Carrboro locals have lots to say about the cuisine that surrounds them. 

For The Daily Tar Heel's 2025 Food Edition, City & State Staff Writer Isaac Carter asked Carrboro residents: “What types of food or cuisine do you think the area is missing?” 

Lara Struckman

“There's an Ethiopian restaurant in Durham that's really good, and there's not really any other food like that around here that I know of [that's] closer than Durham. I would say maybe, in general, more African foods, like Moroccan food is delicious.”

William Kennedy and Jett Reffer

“Honestly, like anything that's less [fusion] I feel like we have like 50 million [fusion] places here and they're all the same," Kennedy said."So yeah, that and more Mediterranean places." 

“I'd like to see a lot more Turkish influence, like some good kebab stands around, things like that," Reffer said. "I’m German; I visit Germany a lot, they have a lot of that around."

Tyler Doan and Feliz Zhu

“I feel like I want to see some more, like late night, maybe like trucks or pop up stands," Doan said. "I think that'd be dope, especially with the student community out here, it's pretty lively at night. So having those late night food options would be great."

“I've kind of been looking for more Korean food," Zhu said."I really like going with my friends out to a lot of Korean places, but there's not too many anywhere. So, I think more of that would be nice."

Ted Teague

“I feel like there's been a hollowing out of the sort of casual comfort food — like Mama Dips, Breadmens, Elmo’s Diner — [those] were all places that were sort of a diner and [served] mashed potatoes, sandwich, macaroni and cheese, that kind of thing.”

Mike Johnson

“Some good soul food, either a halal store, they sell like lamb over rice, chicken over rice. Awesome, good soul food, honestly. That's my opinion, because I'm from Philly and there’s not a lot of options down here.”

Madi Blewett

“I have food allergies, and so that's why the question was always hard. But places that know what's in their food [and] are able to deal with allergies. Especially, like, I love Indian food, and there's a couple places around here that I can go.”

Jonathan Broun

“A Vietnamese restaurant, and why, because it's been many years since I've had the food but I remember liking it.”

Angie Rauch

“Oh, we love Ethiopian food. And why is that? We used to have a lot when we lived in Philadelphia and just love it. I love variety.” 

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