Purple Bowl reopens in a fresh Chapel Hill spot, and a hardware store adds ice cream

Tammy Grubb
·5 min read

A small, locally owned restaurant specializing in acai bowls moved to the west end of Franklin Street last month, but the owners hope the new space will become the heart of downtown Chapel Hill.

Paula Gilland, who co-owns Purple Bowl with her son Taylor, said she’s especially proud of the restaurant’s long, wooden community table and sees it as “an important part of our dining experience.”

“You see a person from the community, and you see students [at the table] … and that’s really what we wanted,” Gilland said. “We wanted that cross-pollination. We wanted that experience of the community coming together.”

The restaurant moved Sept. 12 from 306 W. Franklin St. to a renovated office and industrial building at 505 W. Franklin St.

A separate coffee bar and a long, wooden community table are key pieces of an extensive renovation at 505 W. Franklin St., Purple Bowl co-owner Paula Gilland said. The hope is that the table will help diverse groups get to know each other better.
A separate coffee bar and a long, wooden community table are key pieces of an extensive renovation at 505 W. Franklin St., Purple Bowl co-owner Paula Gilland said. The hope is that the table will help diverse groups get to know each other better.

The new space expanded their workforce to 62 people and allowed them to install counters and workspaces accessible to people with disabilities. A washer and dryer room in the back creates more jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Paula Gilland said.

Purple Bowl’s Latinx workers are also benefiting, with English-language classes while they’re on the job, giving them opportunities for advancement and better communication skills when dealing with co-workers and customers, said kitchen manager Kevin Gomez.

It’s also helping them outside of work, staff member Rocio Patino added.

Purple Bowl Kitchen Manager Kevin Gomez shows off a green salad with pistachios, cucumbers, feta cheese and pesto dressing. The Chapel Hill restaurant’s bigger kitchen is an opportunity to add new menu items, owners Paula and Taylor Gilland said.
Purple Bowl Kitchen Manager Kevin Gomez shows off a green salad with pistachios, cucumbers, feta cheese and pesto dressing. The Chapel Hill restaurant’s bigger kitchen is an opportunity to add new menu items, owners Paula and Taylor Gilland said.

Expanded menu, new outdoor space

Purple Bowl’s extensive renovation gutted the former Chapel Hill News and TOPO distillery building “to the dirt,” Taylor Gilland said, allowing them to design a light, airy space with lots of natural wood tones. They also built a 2,000-square-foot patio at the corner of West Franklin and South Graham streets.

It was more work than they expected, but the result is exciting, Taylor Gilland said., from the bigger kitchen to the expanded menu, which now includes fresh salads, yogurt bowls, waffles, and pastries from Guglhupf Bake Shop.

The restaurant also includes a separate order window at the coffee bar for The Patio customers, and the windows can be opened, bringing the outside in on more pleasant days.

Purple Bowl staff, including Lucia Romano (center), Rocio Patino (rear) and kitchen manager Kevin Gomez (right), prepare salads, energy balls and other menu items after the Wednesday afternoon lunch rush on Oct. 3, 2024, in Chapel Hill, NC.
Purple Bowl staff, including Lucia Romano (center), Rocio Patino (rear) and kitchen manager Kevin Gomez (right), prepare salads, energy balls and other menu items after the Wednesday afternoon lunch rush on Oct. 3, 2024, in Chapel Hill, NC.

The Patio is an important corner for the western entrance to downtown Chapel Hill, Paula Gilland said, and they put a music stage near the street to attract people. They also have room to televise UNC games and for a shuffleboard court — a nod to her late father, who loved to invite his neighbors over for tournaments, she said.

Behind the building, there are 22 parking spaces.

Despite being farther from UNC’s campus, reducing their weekday student business, Purple Bowl is becoming a weekend destination for families and residents, Taylor Gilland said.

“We’ve created a real community space, and ... we’re really proud of how it came out,” Taylor Gilland said.

An understated sign marks the front door of Purple Bowl’s newly renovated restaurant at 505 W. Franklin St. in Chapel Hill, NC. The renovation preserved much of the former Chapel Hill News office, with a few modern additions.
An understated sign marks the front door of Purple Bowl’s newly renovated restaurant at 505 W. Franklin St. in Chapel Hill, NC. The renovation preserved much of the former Chapel Hill News office, with a few modern additions.

Fighting to keep local business amid growth

They’re also “really psyched” to be part of Chapel Hill’s growing, vibrant West End business district, Taylor Gilland said. Next door is Well Dot Inc., which recently expanded into 501 and 503 W. Franklin St., and across the street is the funky North Graham Street area, home to other local restaurants, bars and shops.

“I really think that area of Chapel Hill — Graham Street and Franklin — is a really cool little corridor,” Taylor Gilland said. “It really feels like as all the development in downtown has gone up, it’s pushed some of the funk down, to some of the local spots.”

A changing downtown Chapel Hill forced Purple Bowl to move, and the Gillands are among those who fear it is losing the charm and small, local businesses that made it special. Two chain restaurants offering smoothies and acai bowls opened near UNC’s campus while Purple Bowl was looking for a new space.

Purple Bowl co-owner Paula Gilland, at left, and General Manager McClaren Hopper pose for a photo at the restaurant’s front counter on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. The newly renovated space features a separate coffee bar and a 2,000-square-foot patio.
Purple Bowl co-owner Paula Gilland, at left, and General Manager McClaren Hopper pose for a photo at the restaurant’s front counter on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. The newly renovated space features a separate coffee bar and a 2,000-square-foot patio.

The town has faced challenges bringing its vision of a live, work and play downtown to fruition. Spaces remain vacant in the Innovation Hub at the center of East Franklin Street, and the building’s owner, Grubb Properties, got a two-year delay approved last month for its future wet lab and office building at 150 E. Rosemary St.

Longfellow Real Estate Partners, which bought 306 W. Franklin St., is still planning its 165-foot-tall wet lab and office building.

Lucia Romano, who was born with Down Syndrome, told the Chapel Hill Town Council at a 2023 public hearing for the Longfellow project that she feared losing a supportive community when Purple Bowl had to move. But the new space is a lot bigger, she said Wednesday, and after five years on the job, she hopes it will be “our forever home.”

“To have this place here, it’s like, really amazing. Thanks to Paula, it’s been really awesome,” Romano said.

Other business news

▪ The Heel and Horn has opened a craft kitchen and bar in the former Piero’s Pasta and Wine space (what used to be Applebee’s for longtime residents) at 1502 E. Franklin St. Heel and Horn features burgers, pizza, pasta and steaks, and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday; and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

▪ Hillsborough has a cool new spot for ice cream and homemade shakes inside Dual Supply Co. at 113 W. King St. Operated by TJ and Maggie Gaster. The Town Scoop offers Hershey’s Ice Cream and specializes in a line of town-themed milkshakes — The Shakes of Hillsborough — with room to market local meats, produce and products.

▪ Clouds Brewing has replaced the former Gizmo Brew Works at 157 E. Franklin St. with the Clouds Storm Cellar. The craft beer company, established in 2014, also operates a full-service restaurant in Durham and a taphouse in North Raleigh.

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