Overview

Linda's Bar & Grill first opened in 1976, but it has been operating since 1988 at 203 E. Franklin St. Current owner, Christopher Carini, became the owner in August 2011. The restaurant and bar has two floors — the Franklin Street-level floor, where the kitchen is located, and Downbar, which is often used for events and private parties. Known for its cheese fries and loaded tater tots, Linda's offers a full menu until midnight and a full bar and "drunchies" until 2 a.m. and serves up daily specials until they run out.

Location

Linda's is located at 203 E. Franklin St., between 24-hour restaurant Time Out and McAlister's Deli. The bar offers a few outdoor tables and a view of UNC-Chapel Hill's upper quad. 

Chris Carini

The current owner of Linda's, Chris Carini, is a graduate of Penn State University, where he studied hospitality and hotel, restaurant and institutional management. He has owned Linda's and Downbar since August 2011. He managed Southern Rail and the Station, two Carrboro institutions, as well as worked as a regional manager for Ruth's Chris Steak House for two years. 

Downbar

Downbar is the bottom floor of Linda's Bar & Grill, and one can still order food and drinks. It can be rented out for private parties and meetings, and Linda's often hosts events in Downbar. It hosts trivia nights on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and an open mic night on Thursdays from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. According to its website and Facebook, Downbar will always open early for UNC men's basketball and football games.

Among other events, Downbar has hosted Paupers Players and LAB! Theatre, two UNC student productions.

Menu

Linda's describes its food as American bar and grill food, and menu highlights include pot roast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, homemade barbecue pork and Carini's baked mac and cheese (which is topped with Frosted Flakes cereal.) Every day, Linda's offers at least two or three food and drink specials. The restaurant also uses locally-sourced ingredients when possible — including wings from Cliff's Meat Market in Carrboro.

At the bar, one can find many kinds of draft and bottled beers, beer blends, wine and handcrafted cocktails. Linda's often serves brews from Winston-Salem-based Foothills Brewing and Carrboro-based Steel String Brewery.

See full menu here. The full drink menu can be found here.

Hours

• Monday through Friday: 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.
• Saturday and Sunday: 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Contact

Phone: 919-933-6663

Email: [email protected]