The Chapel Hill Restaurant Group will open southern-style eatery Lula’s this summer in place of Spanky’s, which closed March 31 after serving hungry Tar Heel customers on the corner of Franklin and Columbia streets since 1977.
Greg Overbeck, an owner of the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group said over the past few years, Spanky’s success had dwindled and ownership was not willing to keep funnelling money in to keep the business afloat.
Overbeck attributes Spanky’s struggles to an increase in competition in the area.
“We really felt like changing the menu and the idea of Spanky’s wasn’t enough, and, over the years, more restaurants offered what Spanky’s offered,” he said. “I don’t think Spanky’s was enough of a draw.”
Still, Spanky’s, a staple of downtown for many years, maintained a group of loyal customers, who, Overbeck said, “can’t believe [it] closed.”
The menu at Lula’s will feature fried chicken, fresh vegetables, homemade biscuits, pork chops, chicken salad and lemonade. Overbeck described the new eatery as “down home, like going to grandma’s house and having a good ol’ Southern meal.”
Lula’s hopes to attract students and families to its space with a family-friendly atmosphere. “Most of the places who are doing farm-to-table vegetables are the fancier restaurants that charge a lot of money,” Overbeck said. “This place will not be like that. It will be very reasonably priced.”
Overbeck said customers will be able to purchase two pieces of fried chicken, fresh vegetables and a homemade biscuit for only nine dollars.
The new restaurant will also hold family-style eating upstairs, eliminate uniforms, and have team-servers to try to promote a welcoming environment.
