Casino Night Shows Off University Mall's New Makeover

Driving by Chapel Hill's University Mall on Estes Drive, the large-scale construction and completely renovated facade indicate that the shopping center is in the midst of a major transition.

The complex hosted Casino Night on Friday night to give Chapel Hill residents a chance to get a feel for the mall's new direction and to kick off its monthlong "January Jackpot of Savings."

Visitors were invited to take $500 in fake money in hand, make bets, roll dice and check out the ongoing renovations and new additions to the mall.

Lynda McNutt-Foster, University Mall marketing director, said that in addition to structural renovations such as new skylights and new flooring, the mall's owners now are working to attract primarily locally owned and operated Chapel Hill businesses.

"Residents at Chapel Hill are highly intellectual and artistic. They want an environment that reflects their interests and is community-oriented," she said.

Mall officials said they realize that national chain stores are not what their target market of long-term residents is looking for. Instead, McNutt-Foster said, such people "respond to the uniqueness and personal touch that locally owned and operated merchants provide."

Yet some larger retailers still remain. Chains such as Dillards department store, Radio Shack and Roses drugstore are juxtaposed with several small art galleries, women's boutiques, a speciality wine shop and locally owned Minata Jewelers.

The polished floors, as well the jazz music that plays throughout the mall, give it an upscale quality -- despite the flickering neon lights of fast-food chains and drugstore aisles visible from the food court that tend to perpetuate the typical mall atmosphere.

But new merchants coming this spring and summer will help achieve the mall's goals. Gourmet market A Southern Season, which has achieved national recognition but works to maintain its local Chapel Hill character, will fill Hudson Belk's previous location by August.

Deborah Miller, marketing and communication manager for A Southern Season, said, "The main appeal of the space was that it allowed us to stay in Chapel Hill. The people of Chapel Hill made us who we are, and we want to continue to support that."

Management at the gourmet market believes University Mall developers are committed to turning the mall into a first-class facility. "We didn't want to go into a cookie-cutter mall," Miller said.

Julian Jahoo, manager of Spice Street, the new pan-Asian restaurant that opens Thursday at the mall, said the restaurant considered the shopping center's transition an opportunity to move into new markets. "We went against the grain when many people said the space was going down (in popularity)," he said.

Regarding the mall's transition, Regina Blanco, a gemologist at Minata Jewelers, said, "We've been waiting for this change. It will be a brand-new mall."

Carrboro resident Olivia McConnell said that the mall definitely feels brighter but that it still lacks the number of patrons it had in the past. "It's becoming more upscale but also more expensive," she said.

But overall, shoppers say they are beginning to feel the effects of University Mall's enhancements. Cassandra Sloop, a Chapel Hill resident, said, "You can't go to SouthPoint and find stores like this."

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