“We can go get some pizza at Old Chicago, then grab a cup of yogurt from YoPo, and then we can catch the movie.”
“Well, how far away is the movie theater?”
“About a 4 minute walk.”
My mom and my baby sister recently stopped by for a visit. As we made our way from place to place on Franklin Street, I was just as impressed as they were at the brilliance of Chapel Hill’s capacity for entertainment.
Can we take a moment to appreciate the beautiful street that exists right next to our equally beautiful campus?
As "The Little Mermaid" would phrase it:
"We’ve got burger joints and coffee shops a plenty.
We’ve got Mexican food and Carolina apparel galore.
You want drug stores? We’ve got three!
But who cares? No big deal, we want more."
(We’re not complaining. We don’t want a lot. Just a Cookout, to be honest.)
And yet, having an endless row of unique shops and restaurants isn’t even the most magical element of our Franklin Street.
These shops and restaurants are gosh darn old. As we all know, our entire campus exists as an undeniable “oldie but goodie.”
The magic of Franklin comes from walking into a place like Sutton’s or Time Out and finding yourself surrounded by photographs of all of the individuals who have come before you.
Though it may make you feel like your college experience isn’t any different than the college experience of the millions of UNC students who have already earned their diplomas, there is also a certain feeling of unity in this same idea.
Young people have come to this place to earn degrees and start their adult lives since 1795. And since 1795, students of this University have ventured to Franklin Street, in its many different forms, to enjoy Chapel Hill for all that it has to offer.
We are a part of that history. We are a part of the centuries-old Chapel Hill community. How cool is that?
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