The End of the Road for Schoolkids Records… Who’s Next?

After more than 30 years as a mainstay on Franklin Street, Schoolkids Records will close its doors on March 18, 2008. In a town where music seems to thrive and audiences of all different kinds of music abound, one would wonder why such a unique music store would be forced to shut its doors.

Part-time employee, Freddy (choosing not to give me his last name), said, “I don’t think it has anything to do with Franklin Street. It’s the record business. It’s different than it used to be.”

Freddy said that Schoolkids serves the general college student and now to survive you need to fill niches.

On March 11, 2007, Schoolkids was forced to close its annex and downsize to its original size and location which currently stands. Now it will be forced to close completely because it has become unprofitable to remain open.

The next couple of weeks, patrons of Schoolkids will see reduced prices of all the CDs and records in an attempt to clear the shelves. What merchandise does not go will be sent to the Schoolkids location in Raleigh.

As reported by Daily Tar Heel reporter Jordan Lawrence in his article “A fond farewell to Schoolkids,” local artists will have to use CD Alley to get their music out in the future. It’s a sad loss.

So, as I walk Franklin Street these days I am seeing more and more businesses close. Brueggers Bagels and Yeats Pub shut their doors just last week. A couple businesses seem to close down each month. Each week, it seems that my classmates are asking me if I’m covering the closing of a different business.

This week I discovered one piece of information that may help to answer some of our questions. The typical rent on Franklin Street is $23.00- $30.00 per square foot according to Riddle Commercial Properties. That means some businesses are paying way over $3,000.00 per month, making it difficult for any business to stick around. This is something I plan to look into in the coming weeks.

Next week look for an interview with the director of the Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership and her thoughts on the recent closings on Franklin Street.

Can you see this on Franklin Street?

After no response from Economic Development Officer Dwight Bassett to my invitation for response to comments made by the Ryans, owners of Sugarland; I decided to delve into what Mr. Bassett may be spending his time doing instead of defending his post. Interestingly enough, Mr. Bassett is busy, along with the Town Council planning a $75 million development project for Parking Lot 5 in downtown Chapel Hill.

The development project involves the construction of a three-section complex with condos, retail space, office space and parking. The complex will be eight stories high at its highest points. The development boasts that it will have 345 parking spaces and 137 condo units.

For those of us not familiar with the public lot numbers, public parking lot 5 is that lot that sits at the corner of Franklin St. and Church Street, across from the Aveda Institute and Los Patrillos. (Off-campus pedestrians, say farewell to your handy short-cut to campus across lot 5!)

The Town Council believes that sales tax and property tax revenues will estimate at $1.6 million in the project’s fifth year. This complex is part of an economic development initiative for downtown Chapel Hill that has been underway since 2003.

The overall goals of the initiative are to stimulate the town center, decrease reliance on the automobile, and increase the tax base.

The project has entered into the review phase required by the Town including reviews by various departments of commission. The Town Council hopes that a building permit will be issued in early 2008.

Many residents have expressed concern about the development project and its impact on the aesthetics of Franklin Street and the parking situation. Currently, Lot 5 is utilized frequently by visitors, tourists, and shoppers; where will these people park when construction begins? Will an eight story building detract from the historical appeal of Franklin Street? What are your thoughts?

Sugarland bakery opens on Franklin Street, but not without hassel

If you have not heard about it, you’ve probably smelled the sugary sweet aroma wofting down Franklin Street from Sugarland Bakery.  However, this delicacy has been a long time coming for owners Randolph and Katrina Ryan, no thanks to the Chapel Hill town officials. 

The Ryans’ goal is to restore Franklin Street back to like it was in the 1960s, but it has not been an easy endeavor.  The town of Chapel Hill created many obstacles for the Ryans to overcome before opening day. 

Randolph Ryan explained that opening a business in Chapel Hill is “hell.”  “The city bureaucracy is a nightmare,” Ryan said, “they don’t care about real downtown development.” 

Ryan explained after he submitted his building plans for a building permit, it took over five weeks to get the permit.  Ryan submitted three plans to the fire department, building codes department, and health department. 

Ryan said, “They follow their procedures for their convenience.”

Ryan explained that there was a lot of unnecessary delay and they were at everyone’s scheduling mercy.

Because Sugarland is in a building that is over 100 years old, the building falls under restoration building codes instead of new construction codes.  Ryan said the city initially inspected the bakery under the wrong codes and to get the city to understand and correct their mistake was miserable. 

When Ryan called the Chapel Hill town economic development officer, Dwight Bassett, with  his concerns about the inspection, Ryan said Bassett responded, “It’s not our job to solve your problem; It’s your architects problem.” 

Ryan said their suggestions for following code would have forced them to knock a hole in the wall shared with Carolina Coffee Shop to create a fire escape. 

After overcoming all of the turmoil, the Ryans were able to open their doors on to a packed house. 

Inside, the bakery is adorned with cedar wood shelves, old coffee machines, and black boards as menus that change according to the time of day.  One cannot miss the classic bakery cases in the windows showcasing the sweets of the day and the smiling faces beckoning you to come in and indulge yourself. 

The Ryans have kept the old Julian’s building true to the Julian’s theme of madras and plaid.  The employees all wear madras aprons and the curtains and decor are a pastel plaid. 

Katrina Ryan wakes up every morning at 4:00 am every morning to cook pastries, cookies, cupcakes, and many other sweet treats.   The doors open at 7:00 am and don’t close until midnight. 

The menu ranges from breakfast scones and coffees to specialty cocktails and gelato. 

Katrina Ryan is a professional chef trained in France.  She was the pastry chef at La Residence in Chapel Hill before opening Sugarland. 

Why Franklin Street?

On any given night you can find somewhere to hang out. At any given time, you can find every kind of person window shopping, eating, or strolling. With a background of Carolina blue skies and a 200 year old University, can you think of a better place to own a business? With the University of North Carolina’s 25,000+ students and 50,000 local residents, Franklin Street sits in the middle of a money making Mecca, or so one would think.

Being within walking distance from anywhere on campus and at the heart of every bus line in Orange County makes Franklin Street seem like prime real estate for entrapanuers. It boasts over 30 bars, great restaurants, and enough Carolina gear to clothe the entire town. So one would wonder why Chapel Hill residents have seen so many businesses come and go so quickly. Why is there so much emphasis placed by the Chapel Hill town council on the “development” of downtown Chapel Hill? Is it true, as writer for the Daily Tarheel Charles Dahan puts it, that

“the only businesses that survive are merely those that respond to the demands of the residents of downtown Chapel Hill: horny, binge-drinking college students?”

Many Chapel Hill locals lament the fact that many conventional businesses cannot make it on Franklin Street. For instance, Gap and the Sunglasses Hut, two nationally popular stores among a range of ages, had to close down because business was poor. The business retention rate on Franklin Street has been the concern of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership for years. The Chapel Hill Downtown partnership is “charged with bringing the resources of the town, University, and the downtown community together to maintain, enhance and promote downtown as social, cultural, and spiritual center of Chapel Hill through economic development.”

With all the distress over retention, one must remember, just last week, Ye Old Waffle Shop celebrated its 35th anniversary and Julian’s has been a stronghold of Franklin Street for many years as well. What makes these businesses thrive and others fail miserably?

Over the course of the next few months, I will explore the interesting dynamic of Franklin Street business. I will seek out the answers to the questions that so many Chapel Hill students and locals have been asking. I encourage all to comment and e-mail me with things you have been wondering, loving, or hating about Franklin Street.