The Carolina Inn Blog

As a guest of the Carolina Crossroads Restaurant and Bar, you have experienced our graceful dining atmosphere, enjoyed our impeccable service and savored our unparalleled menu. As a way of saying thanks for being our valued customer, we have created a new loyalty program that rewards you just for dining with us.

Livi and Jeremy celebrated their wedding with us Carolina style.  KA Studios Cinematography captured their special day on film.  Click here to view their beautiful wedding video.  It truly was a Tar Heel dream wedding.  Congratulations Livi and Jeremy!

Carolina homecoming weekend is an exciting time to be in Chapel Hill.  The town is taken over with Carolina blue and Tar Heel spirit, alumni come from all over the nation, and downtown is hopping with Tailgate parties at every street corner, including The Carolina Inn’s very own Tailgate Party on the Front Porch (party starts at 12:30 PM this Saturday, November 7th) with special appearances by Rameses and Carolina Cheerleaders. 

I grew up in Durham and spent four of the best years of my life in Chapel Hill, but unfortunately both of those took place a long time ago. I moved out of the state after I graduated from UNC in 1990, and have only made it back on occasion, which is why my inaugural stay at the Carolina Inn in August 2009 was so special. I was there for a high school reunion taking place on Franklin Street, but it seemed to me more like a trip back in time to my college days. That Sunday morning, waking up in my immaculate third-floor Inn room that majestically overlooked the corner of Columbia Street and Cameron Avenue, I decided to do something I seriously doubt I ever did during college; I took a walk around Franklin Street before 10 AM. It was a quiet, beautiful morning as the campus slowly awakened, and the sights, sounds ... even smells ... I experienced during my hour-long stroll around campus brought back so many fond memories. So thank you, Carolina Inn, not only for providing some of the most comfortable accommodations I've ever enjoyed, but for allowing me to truly step back in time. In fact, I believe my fellow Tar Heel alum Thomas Wolfe may have been mistaken... You really can go home again!

My husband and I met on UNC's south campus, had our first date at a restaurant on Franklin Street, and graduated at Kenan Stadium. There was no more perfect a place to marry than at The Carolina Inn on a warm July evening. The ceremony and reception were more beautiful than I could have imagined and I will never forget walking to the Old Well with my new husband. We had a great experience with all of the staff at The Carolina Inn which added to the perfect weekend in Chapel Hill!

I recall vividly that coming to Chapel Hill for a football game was not complete for this young boy without having breakfast or lunch at the Carolina Inn cafeteria. It amazed me how much food there was, and how grown-up it made me feel to walk down the line with my tray full of food and drink.

Imagine Chapel Hill in October 1968 -- falls colors and warm days. It was a Saturday and I had an early class. I lived in whitehead dorm next door and often ate breakfast in the Carolina Inn cafeteria. That Saturday, I proceeded through the line and was stopped by an old guy -- must have been at least 30 - who asked if I was "anti-social." I responded "Well, no." And he asked to sit with me. Remember at that time, the campus was full of long-haired hippies and war protesters. This old guy was clean shaven, had a short haircut, and our conversation was about travel and the usual get-acquainted topics. I learned that he was at Fort Bragg and in the Special Forces -- whatever that was. At first, I did not figure out that that meant "Army - Green Beret." He was taking a course on Saturdays and had driven up to attend class. We made an agreement to meet the next Saturday, same time, same place. The rest is -- as they say -- history. We married in January 1970 and one year later, he spent another tour in Vietnam. Retiring in 1977, we returned to Chapel Hill and busied ourselves working and building a second career for him -- eventually as a programmer analyst at the UNC Dental School. I worked at RTP for various EPA contractors as a technical writer/editor and put that English degree to good use. Both of us are retired now and travel often in our motorhome. When we pass the Carolina Inn, we often comment about that fateful meeting.