CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—The Franklin St. favorite, Linda’s Bar and Grill, has started a six-figure GoFundMe campaign to stay in business.
Chris Carini has owned Linda’s for over a decade. When he bought it, he said he knew exactly what kind of establishment he wanted it to be.
Families, people, students, graduate students, you know, people just coming in and doing their thing,” he said. “It’s a family old school Cheers bar and grill.”
Since 1976, Linda’s has been a nostalgic, family-oriented restaurant. However, in 2020, the restaurant closed for five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I made sure I kept everybody’s salaries where they were because they had families and rents to pay, people to put through college, and kids to raise,” Carini said. “That cost money.”
While it’s often packed inside and out with customers daily, Linda’s still has debt. From continuing to pay staff to maintaining the building’s infrastructure to rising food costs, Carini said he saw no choice but to ask the community for help. He’s doing so through a GoFundMe campaign. He said he is not doing it for himself but for the people who call Linda’s home.
“I want to keep a place where everyone can feel cozy in, that people feel safe in, that people feel comfortable in, where nobody worries–the vibe here is chill,” Carini said. “It’s not like this group goes here or that group goes here, everyone goes here. ”
One of those patrons is Ernie Brown, a local real estate developer and Chapel Hill resident. He donated $1000 to the GoFundMe and believes it’s important to support small businesses.
“I enjoy the fact that people have scraped their names into these tables; it’s kind of like they left their fingerprints, if you will, on this place,” Brown said. “To me, it’s a fun little spot that you’re not going to get by going somewhere that’s a chain restaurant. It’s more of an authentic feel.”
Linda’s is not the only small business facing financial troubles. The family-owned acai bowl restaurant Purple Bowl is moving locations because developers are tearing down its space and replacing it with corporate offices. Purple Bowl’s CEO, Paula Gilland, said the cost of relocating is tremendous.
“The expense is not just dollars; it’s also time, energy, and retraining,” she said. “So I sympathize with small businesses in Chapel Hill.”
While small businesses struggle to keep their doors open, several downtown storefronts remain closed. According to Sarah Potter, an Economic Development Specialist with the Town of Chapel Hill, the situation is not as dire as it seems.
“If you look at the statistics of our unoccupied or vacant storefronts compared to other communities, we’re actually ahead of most downtowns,” Potter said. “I think we have a 90%, more than 90% of our storefronts are occupied.”
So far, Linda’s has raised around $34,000 out of its $135,000 goal, which will help the restaurant pay off the last of its pandemic-era loans. Carini says it’s about more than just the money.
“The reason I asked for help is I don’t want to lose this place,” he said. “And I don’t want to see it gone for the community.”