I hope they will still have roaches that come out and dance on the tables. That was an important part of the ambience years ago.

Thank you, Diane Fountain and others who are bringing back an icon of Chapel Hill!!! I was devastated to hear about the closing of the Rat. Spent many days there back in the ’60’s, and ate in every “area” there. My initials are on one of the booths in the cave! Or…used to be!

I can’t wait! I ate at the Rat when I could afford it back in the 1960s. My son learned it, too. He would drive to Chapel Hill just eat at the Rat.

AWESOME. Two years of Gambler cravings have nearly destroyed my will to live. I was starting to despair that it would ever return!

Ahhhh….a bowl o’ cheese! Man were they good.

Wonderful news! I ate there for the first time on April 3, 1970 and returned many times over the years!

I used to eat there on occasion when I was a student back in the 70’s.Later, on every trip to CH I would take my wife and kids.They loved the place Gamblers and the lasagna were always favorites. 2 years without a piece of roadkill (the gambler), a bowl of half dead lettuce and a piece of stale toast has just about done me in!

I used to eat there on occasion when I was a student back in the 70’s.Later, on every trip to CH I would take my wife and kids.They loved the place Gamblers and the lasagna were always favorites. 2 years without a piece of roadkill (the gambler), a bowl of half dead lettuce and a piece of stale toast has just about done me in!

I used to eat there on occasion when I was a student back in the 70’s.Later, on every trip to CH I would take my wife and kids.They loved the place Gamblers and the lasagna were always favorites. 2 years without a piece of roadkill (the gambler), a bowl of half dead lettuce and a piece of stale toast has just about done me in!

PLEASE bring back the “manicotti”! I don’t know what it was made of, but it was awesome!!!!!

Ahhh!!!! I now live in NYC, but I was born in Chapel Hill and my parents are grads of UNC. They had a very good friend that worked at the Rat for many, many years and we ate there all the time when I was a little girl. Amazing memories! Excited to hear it will reopen.

And a local architecture firm is doing the work! Jim Spencer Architects in Carrboro.

This article is so incomplete. How is it that Diane Fountain is to become a “Future Owner”? What happened to the previous & perhaps still current owner, Frances Henry? You remember him, right? The IDIOT who ran this biz as well as the historic Colonial Inn in Hillsborough into the ground with his lack of capital & lack of common sense? I hate to be a wet blanket, but UNLESS Henry has been COMPLETELY BOUGHT OUT & UNLESS the new “Future Owners” have tons of capital coming out of their ears, I’ll believe the Rat is back when I see it.

They called it the Gambler because you were gambling with your health when you ate it but I didn’t care because I was 19 and invincible.

This is great news! I have so mnay memeories eating there with my mom, whom has since passed away. It will be good feeling to go back with my children. Thanks Diane.

Hector’s

Yeah, a little more information would be appreciated. Do they plan to preserve the original menu or change it and update it for the times? How will they make a go of it when a lot of other people have failed? Have they talked to any of the old staff who are still around?

Back in my day, it was The Zoom and The Rat, both with the best wait staffs around. Zoom had the same “strip” steak with peas and onions on cast iron skillet, salad, garlic toast, and bottomless mug of honey sweetened tea. Rat was more upscale, with lasagna and beer. Best bowl of cheese I ever had. Even my kids remember the lasagna, and the cave with the glass blocks overhead. It may not have been steak or real lasagna, but it is still a favorite. Note: Best stay away from the beer with lunch if you had a 1:00 appointment with your advisor. Memories…

How Sweet it is…Return of the Rat! My father took us there in the early ’70’s…the Rat & the Zoom Zoom. Double Gamblers, Double Salad w/that zesty dressing, bowls of cheese, beef parm & pizza that tasted like cheese on cardboard! Topped all off w/tea so sweat it would rot your teeth out. Hope some of the old wait staff return w/the Rat!

Man, I hope this is true. I was only able to eat there a few times as an undergrad before they shut it down. I’m looking forward to visiting again.

I’d like to offer a word of advice to the new owner. Reach out to Kenny, the former cook, to get the original recipes for the menu items and condiments. A big part of the charm was the consistency in the flaked ice in the tea, the homemade salad dressing, the “bowl o cheese” and the steak fries. After Kenny retired, the owners changed things that shouldn’t have been changed. Nuff said.

I am also excited to hear the Rat is coming back. Can I have my old seat next to Doug Clark’s table? Will Davis be back to serve mre my apple pie with Ice cream? I was one too that use to drive from Richmond to CH just to eat lunch or dinner at the Rat. I will do so lovingly again. I have a 40 year love affair with the Rat and I dion’t mind the roaches. they are smarter than Wolfies!!!

I ate at the Rat with my parents during the ’50’s and ’60’s, while a student at UNC during the early ’70’s, and on visits back to CH. I am delighted that the Rat will, again, open its doors, and hope that the new owners will make few changes in this Chapel Hill landmark. Best of luck.

Fantastic news! Ate there often between ’76 and ’78. Will love to renew the old experiences!

Can’t wait. My daugher (senior UNC) and I have a date to eat there again when it opens. Gambler with peas and ice tea.