Smith, Ken. 2018. “Patrons Say Goodbye to Spanky’s Bar and Restaurant in Chapel Hill.” WRAL. Hannah Webster. March 30, 2018. https://www.wral.com/news/local/video/17455297/?ref_id=17468465.
Spanky’s Restaurant & Bar was founded in 1977 by Mickey Ewell. It was a popular spot for Chapel Hill locals and students attending the University of North Carolina. Spanky’s was versatile in both food and style: it served as a family restaurant and a popular bar scene. Some of their more classic items were the hamburgers, brown sugar baby back ribs, and barbecue; however, the menu expands to many different categories. Recently, March 31, 2018, after being open for forty years, Spanky’s closed down due to heavy competition surrounding it on Franklin, lack of parking and the need to revise their restaurant concept [1]. Even though this Carolina classic closed down, the owners adopted a new restaurant concept meant to be affordable and more enticing to students, families and business people on Franklin [1].
Present day, fast food chains and quick meals mean inexpensive, poor nutritional foods that scatter Franklin street. While cheap for the students, they are not healthier. The retirement of Spanky’s was the closing of less substantial foods and the opening of Lula’s, now residing in the same building, where food is less expensive but provides a more wholesome meal. This is significant for the time period because the need for better access to affordable, quality food has become a pressing matter as well as the demand to adjust the “Standard American Diet”, consisting of high in fat and sugar and contains few fruits and vegetables [2]. In addition to being located in a college town, the lower pricers appeal to students who may not be able to afford luxury meals found at other places on Franklin street or the more well balanced meals that cheaper food is often associated with.
Works Cited
[1] Ocampo , Daniela. 2018. “Franklin Street’s Iconic Spanky’s Restaurant Retiring to Make Way for New ‘Affordable’ Restaurant.” Chapelboro. Hannah Webster. April 2, 2018.https://chapelboro.com/news/business/ franklin-streets-iconic-spankys-restaurant-retiring-make-way-new-affordable-restaurant.
[2] Wallach, Jennifer, and Lindsey Swindall. 2014. American Appetites. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press.
Weezie Targgart