Jun 29, 2022 - Food and Drink

Original Char-Grill location could become a 20-story tower

A sign for the restaurant Char-Grill in downtown Raleigh that advertises cheeseburgers with fries.

The original Char-Grill location at 618 Hillsborough St. in downtown Raleigh. Photo: Lucille Sherman/Axios.

The original location of the burger-and-fries institution Char-Grill could make way for a tower up to 20 stories high, as developers zero in on downtown's Hillsborough Street corridor.

Driving the news: Raleigh developer Wilson | Blount said in a press release Wednesday it is acquiring several parcels around the Char-Grill at 618 Hillsborough St. for a new mixed-use development project.

  • Plans for the property are still being evaluated, the firm said, but it intends to apply for a rezoning of the properties.
  • A neighborhood meeting is set for July 12, a standard practice in rezoning cases.

Yes, but: Wilson | Blount said it will incorporate Char-Grill, which has served burgers in Raleigh since 1959, into whatever the future development becomes.

  • Char-Grill will remain open until construction starts, the restaurant said in the news release. It has eight other locations throughout the Triangle.

What they're saying: "This project gives us the opportunity to upgrade our facility to better serve our customers in the future," Char-Grill owners Ryon Wilder and Mahlon Aycock said in a statement.

  • "This isn't 'goodbye' at all. It's 'see-you-soon.'"

Of note: The assemblage of properties also includes the historic Elmwood house.

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