Chatham’s largest town offers historical charm and a new energy
By Matt White | Photography By Beth Mann
Siler City is seeing a bit of a renaissance these days, especially within its downtown, which has a strong history as an artistic hub. A recent wave of entrepreneurs are opening restaurants and shops amid the long-standing studio spaces and a growing Latino influence in the economy. Even with the growth, Siler City retains its small-town character.
There is no shortage of street fairs and events downtown, including the Spring Chicken Festival, hosted by Siler City Parks and Recreation Department each May to celebrate the town’s once-thriving poultry industry, and its revival is being underwritten by Mountaire Farms, which opened a major processing center in April of 2019. Over the summer is the Koo Day Tah Street Festival, put on by Terry McInturff, who has built custom electric guitars in his workshop for over two decades.
It all takes place along Chatham Avenue, which has seen lots of progress in the past several years. At one end is the Farmers Alliance Store building, a general store owned by shareholders for more than a century. When it closed in 2018, it was Chatham’s oldest continually operated business. But Lisa Fedele, an incubator board member and director of global creative operations at Cisco who works out of her Siler City home, recently purchased the building. She reopened the location in 2019 as a modern shared-space work-and-art hub called The Alliance, a nod to the building’s long history. Lisa, a sculpture artist who works in what she terms “assemblages,” moved to Siler City from New Orleans, where an historic downtown thrives around a healthy art scene. She sees the future of downtown Siler City in the same way as nearby Saxapahaw, once a neglected mill town reborn as a destination for events and the arts.
“There’s [about] six core people in Saxapahaw who decided to take that town and change the world,” says Lisa, who wants to do the same in Siler City. “Technology is in our favor, too, because you can have very high earners who also have a creative side and want to have a place for that. You can’t touch [the rents for] studio space in Durham for what you can get here.”
A quick stroll in any direction downtown highlights Siler City’s connection to the arts: Nearly a dozen large murals cover the walls of downtown buildings, from landscapes that depict the town 100 years ago to two-story-tall bursts of floral displays on the rear of the NC Arts Incubator building by local artist JR Butler. Several others depict fanciful rabbits, once a major commodity for Siler City during its rail hub days, when the town shipped tens of thousands of rabbits to restaurants across the nation. Several of the rabbit murals are the work of Roger Person, one of Siler City’s longest-tenured artists. He operated Wingnut Artists Gallery and Studio until his death in 2019. The space is now home to Fragments, a home store offering “previously-appreciated” artwork, home decor, furniture and more. Also on Chatham Avenue is Twin Birch & Teasel, where Sue Szary weaves fabric creations on looms in her studio. Many of her creations utilize wool from her own sheep or from other local farms.
“It’s been a small-town place,” says April Weaver, former director of the NC Arts Incubator. “Whoever walked through the door could have a show. But now I’m recruiting artists from around Chatham and outside [of it]. I want to have a strong reputation as a regional showcase.”
At the hub of the downtown arts district, spanning half a block, is the NC Arts Incubator, which rents studio and gallery space to artists from around the county and beyond, from potters to painters to sculptors. Its longest-running tenant is Terry’s guitar workshop, where he’s made guitars used by generations of international rock stars. (He offers regular tours.) April Weaver reworked the space in 2018, opening The Chatham Rabbit coffee shop and bringing in artists from other artist hubs like Pittsboro, Carrboro and even Raleigh. A trip downtown wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Tienda Lloma Bonita, a Mexican grocery famed for its butcher shop and authentic cuisine.
Outside of downtown, Siler City’s longest-standing eateries are all found closer to Highway 64. They’ve been serving famous burgers at Johnson’s Drive-In since 1946. It stays packed with locals until it closes at 2 p.m., so get there early. Just down the road is Bestfood Cafeteria, with home-cooked favorites in the main dining hall, including its fried chicken (see pg. 89 for more), in addition to Hayley-Bale Steak House and a gift shop full of authentic local gifts and fun souvenirs. Don’t pass up Chris’ Drive In, a favorite of Jordan-Matthews High School students and local families, off Highway 64 on 2nd Avenue.
And a quick, interesting bit of history for you: One of Siler City’s enduring claims to fame is its cameo on “The Andy Griffith Show,” where it was said to be a place to go fishing without a license. But the town has an even stronger tie to North Carolina’s most enduring TV franchise: Frances Bavier, better known as Aunt Bee on the show, lived the latter part of her life in town and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery. When she passed away, she left a $100,000 trust fund to the town’s police department.
If you haven’t visited Siler City’s downtown in awhile, it’s worth a trip – consider this your unofficial visitors’ guide and take an afternoon to explore! CM
Read the original article from the February/March 2019 Issue:
