Town Offers Meals For Late at Night

Add to that a penchant for late-night activity, and it is easy to see why college-based eateries serve students into the early morning.

Chapel Hill is no exception to this collegiate norm, with numerous restaurants catering to rumbling stomachs -- and lean wallets.

For relatively modest prices, students can get their fill from a wide variety of menus, ranging from sandwiches to bean-packed vegetarian burritos to the college delicacy of freshly delivered pizza.

Local restaurants serve these foods to those burning the midnight oil while poring over textbooks.

I Love NY Pizza, located at 106 W. Franklin St., serves up fresh pizza pies until midnight Mondays and Tuesdays and until 3 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Manager Ahmed Ammar said students see the eatery's food as a bargain.

"They love it," Ammar said.

He said the meat lover pizza and pizza and drink combo meals are particularly popular among the restaurants' clientele.

The establishment gets much of its business during the late night and early morning hours, he said, with lines often stretching outside the door.

Jimmy Johns, at 306 W. Franklin St., specializes in a wide variety of submarine sandwiches and delivers until 3 a.m. daily.

A store manager who declined to be named said the restaurant's crowds vary depending on the day and time but that it can get busy late at night.

She said the Turkey Tom and the Big John are among the customer favorites but that most sandwiches sell fairly well.

"All of our subs are popular," she said.

Hector's, housed in the second floor at 201 E. Franklin St., serves up a blend of Greek and American food to hungry night-owls until 3 a.m. Mondays through Thursday and until 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant is closed Sundays.

Manager Juan Bautista said the cheeseburger pita and the gyro are two of the restaurant's most popular selections. He said the fast-food offerings draw large crowds, with most business conducted late at night.

Bautista said football games continuously prove to be big days for the second-floor hot spot, with anywhere from 100 to 150 people packing the eatery.

"It's is really full, especially on game weekends," he said. "It's really crazy."

A variety of late-night offerings also abound at Miami Subs, 107 E. Franklin St., open until 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 3:30 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Night manager Josh Stanley said steak and cheese sandwiches and the chicken pita are two of the popular selections at the restaurant.

He added that the eatery gets a boon from late night clubbers. "After clubs get out, we get pretty slammed," he said.

Cosmic Cantina, at 128 E. Franklin St., offers enchiladas, burritos, nachos, and other Mexican-style meals until 4 a.m.

For those who do not feel like venturing out on the town, a variety of pizza delivers cater to students late at night.

These include Gumby's, Domino's, Firehouse and Papa John's.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.