Here's where to eat if your family is coming to town this weekend

Whether this is your first time or your 50th time coming to Chapel Hill, the sheer quantity of cuisine choices can be overwhelming, especially on Franklin Street. To make your Family Weekend a little easier, here's a guide to some of Chapel Hill’s most iconic local restaurants.

For Breakfast

Carolina Coffee Shop

Carolina Coffee Shop offers coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner and pastries. Open this weekend from 8 a.m. to midnight, the restaurant is especially well-known for its delicious brunch, said staff member Sean McGrath. 

The oldest continually running restaurant in North Carolina, the restaurant has a “great place in history,” he said. He recommended the signature cornflake french toast and the eye opener breakfast platter as must-try items.

Carolina Coffee Shop is located at 138 E. Franklin St.

The Purple Bowl

According to its website, The Purple Bowl offers “artisan toast, coffee and healthy eats.” Natalie Salib, the company’s director of operations and a junior at UNC, praised the company’s all-organic menu and local ownership, saying the establishment has a homey vibe. Salib recommends that açai newcomers try the company’s “Simple Bowl.”

Purple Bowl is located at 306B W. Franklin St. and is open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day.

For Lunch and Dinner

Mediterranean Deli

Commonly called “Med Deli," this Chapel Hill-based business is located on West Franklin Street. According to its website, Med Deli offers Mediterranean cuisine in addition to a bakery and a Mediterranean market attached to the building. 

Catering Director Liz Coughlin highlighted that the restaurant has a variety of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. 

Coughlin recommends customers try the Deli’s Mediterranean-style grilled salmon platter and its three item sampler. Mediterranean Deli is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Mediterranean Deli is located at 410 W. Franklin St.

Carolina Brewery

This weekend, The Carolina Brewery will offer $1 mimosas, $3 bloody marys and what its front-of-house manager Kaylee Spangler calls a “multi-generational experience.”

The locally owned company also serves a variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts. Its signature Sky Blue Brew is available in stores and also at home UNC football games.

Spangler recommended its house-made potato chip nachos as a must-try item.

The restaurant's Chapel Hill location is on 460 W. Franklin St.

Top of the Hill

Located on the corner of Columbia Street and Franklin Street, Top of the Hill is offering “first-come, first serve” dining in lieu of its usual reservation policy, Restaurant Manager Jeff Wardwell said. 

Commonly referred to as TOPO, the restaurant serves a dinner menu from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. alongside a variety of house-brewed beers and spirits. 

Wardwell recommended that new customers try the company’s wild mushroom grit cakes with added shrimp or its TOPO whiskey and coke braised beef.

Top of the Hill is located at 100 E. Franklin St.

For Dessert

The Yogurt Pump

The Yogurt Pump offers frozen yogurt, toppings and freshly made waffle-cones. 

Tucked away on an alley off West Franklin Street since 1982, the locally-owned frozen yogurt stop has been affectionately dubbed “YoPo” by students.  It is currently featuring seasonal flavors like pumpkin pie. 

The Yogurt Pump is located at 106 W. Franklin St.

@sclaire_perry

city@dailytarheel.com