Southern Rail leaves behind legacy for local nightlife

It was a place to drink, eat and listen to music. It was a crossroads for the community. It was known to many as Carrboro’s living room.

After nine years in business, Southern Rail closed its doors at the end of 2015.

Mike and Christy Benson, who both grew up in Chapel Hill, opened Southern Rail as a restaurant in 2007. Soon the business grew to include the music venue, The Station, and coffee shop, The Tiger Room.

Music buffs will remember Southern Rail as a rare place they could listen to their favorite bands at no charge.

“We tried to push as much local, diverse music as we could,” Mike said. “That way people weren’t obligated to listen to a band they didn’t like, but could also easily connect with a band they had never heard of.”

Mike said hanging out with the band members was his favorite part of the venue’s near decade in business.

“There is no better group of pirates to hang out with than a bunch of musicians,” he said. “They’re creative, fun and living paycheck to paycheck.”

Nick Stroud, a previous general manager of Southern Rail, said the venue’s open mic night became so well-known that musicians coming through town would often stop by unannounced.

“It had such a reputation that artists like The Roots would just show up and start playing,” he said. “That kind of magic always happened there.”

Despite The Station’s musical following, Christy, who received her law degree from UNC in 1997, said it became difficult to manage multiple businesses under one roof.

“It had so many moving parts,” Christy said. “It got to the point where there was so much administrative work and not much creative thinking behind it.”

She said the 2008 financial crisis was a roadblock.

“It was, and still is, a hard time for any small business. Even in a niche market, it’s hard to make a real profit.”

Eventually, loans piled up. Last spring, Mike and Christy announced they were putting Southern Rail up for sale.

“We were willing to sell for less than what we owed in order to ensure the right people took over,” Christy said. “But none of the offers ended up panning out, and the bank took over.”

Mike said despite ups and downs, he got to know the town better.

“It was a great nine years. It was a rough nine years,” he said. “It was a little of both.”

Although Mike has no hospitality plans for the Triangle in the future, he still owns two restaurants in Washington, D.C. He said he plans to stay in Carrboro and return to photography and graphic design, which he did professionally before opening Southern Rail.

Christy, who plans to remain a business law professor at Elon University, said she has faith the Southern Rail legacy will continue.

“We built such a beautiful thing there, and I think it almost has to remain some sort of iteration of a restaurant or music venue,” she said.

“I hope it will once again open as a place where people can go and enjoy a beer.”

arts@dailytarheel.com