Time-Out, a 24-hour southern cuisine restaurant, opened Friday on Hillsborough street at the former location of the Big Kahuna Bar & Grill.
The restaurant has been a late-night focal point for Chapel Hill students for over 32 years and will now cater to the N.C. State community as well.
According to owner of the Time-Out restaurants Eddie Williams, location is key.
“The Chapel Hill location is in front of Granville Towers while this one is located right beside University Towers, off of Hillsborough Street,” Williams said. “We feel right at home with this location.”
Williams said about his inspiration for the popular restaurant that he had college sports and food in mind.
“It’s a great university concept. N.C. State was the next step after Chapel Hill and we hope to expand to other large universities in the future,” Williams said.
Although the new location is centered in the heart of one of its rival universities, Chapel Hill students do not seem to mind. Kat McKenney, a sophomore in computer science at UNC, said she was happy about the Raleigh addition.
“I don’t think anyone will be bothered by it; most people probably don’t even know there’s one opening,” McKenney said. “They’ll probably just be happy they can go there whenever they visit State.”
Williams said he was excited for the opening on Friday, although there is still a lot of workto be done.
“There is still a lot of fine tuning in the process. I consider the opening on Friday a ‘soft opening.’ Although we are unlocking the doors now, there will probably be a grand opening closer to August when everything is completely in place,” Williams said.
N.C. State students have been anticipating the opening of Time-Out off Hillsborough Street, and should be happy to know there will probably be some great students deals in the future. Jimmy Cronin, a sophomore in business administration, said his experience with Time-Out has been good.
“I have been to the Time-Out in Chapel Hill and it’s a great place to eat at because you can truly go whenever you want,” Cronin said. “Most people want to get something good to eat after a long night out and now State students can. In fact, I ate there at 4:30 in the morning once.”
The central location is sure to draw in a lot of late night business from hungry State students, Cronin said.
“The fact that it’s across from University Towers is great. A lot of freshman and sophomores can run right across the street right to it. It’s also a nice location near the college bars,” Cronin said.
“I think this restaurant will definitely stand out from other eateries located near N.C. State,” said Williams. “We offer delicious southern food a cut above the rest. I actually think we are going to do the city of Raleigh a favor by offering biscuits to soak up all the alcohol consumed at local bars.”
Williams said that he is cautious about opening the restaurant so close to the end of the school year, but has a great feeling about it.
“This is going to be a good fit. It’s the right spot, in a good place, and I’m excited about State,” Williams said.
One of the best perks about Time-Out is that it is always open, even during acclimate weather. Williams described a time when there was a hurricane in Chapel Hill and they were still open when everything else in town was closed.
“We started running out of supplies eventually and ended up serving bacon biscuits when it got down to it,” he said.
Time-Out has long been popular for their warm, southern-style Chicken Cheddar biscuits – a big, warm fluffy treat with a full fried chicken breast fresh off the bone, Williams said.
“The chicken cheddar biscuit has always been a favorite, but I always gravitate toward the carved baked turkey. I joke that everyday is Thanksgiving here,” said Williams.
The new restaurant has been in development since Jan. 1 and is now open at 3001 Hillsborough St. It serves the same menu as the Chapel Hill location.
“I think there is a high demand for something like this on Hillsborough Street and I will definitely be going there in the future,” Cronin said.
