First look at Próximo before it opens this week on Chapel Hill's Franklin Street
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Proximo's kitchen will be open to the dining room, much like Ye Old Waffle Shoppe's was. Photo: Anna Routh Barzin
Próximo, a Spanish-style tapas restaurant from the chef behind Hawthorne & Wood, opens this Saturday, Sept. 21, on Chapel Hill's Franklin Street, breathing life into the iconic Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe space that welcomed customers for nearly 50 years before closing during the pandemic.
Why it matters: Próximo is acclaimed chef Brandon Sharp and his wife, town council member Elizabeth Sharp's, big bet on rejuvenating Franklin Street, which witnessed a wave of business closures after the pandemic.
What they're saying: "Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe didn't really survive the pandemic, but it survived, you know, for almost five decades before that and certainly weathered some storms," Brandon Sharp told Axios. "And so it always feels really good to come into a prior restaurant space people have fond memories of."
- He hopes the space will cater both to groups looking to take their time with a meal or simply to somebody wanting to have a glass of wine and a snack at the counter.
Zoom in: The 1,450-square-foot restaurant retains its intimate charm, with room for just 40 seats and the same open kitchen and griddles that Ye Olde Waffle used.
- Sharp described the menu as inspired by classic Spanish tapas ingredients and techniques — but inventive enough not to feel overdone.
- The menu ranges from small staple items like warm olives, patatas bravas and jamón ibérico to garlic shrimp, yellowfin tuna, pork ribs and an aged New York strip.
- The Sharps said they tasted over 100 wines before selecting Próximo's bottles from around Spain and Portugal, including four different sherries, and crafting several wine-based cocktails.
- Próximo will also offer valet parking for customers.
Catch up quick: Sharp grew up in Greensboro and graduated from UNC in 1997. After college, he worked in renowned kitchens nationwide, including Restaurant Gary Danko and The French Laundry.
- Under Sharp's leadership at Solage Calistoga, the California resort's restaurant received seven consecutive Michelin stars. In 2016, he and his family moved back to Chapel Hill to revamp and oversee the culinary program at Crossroads, the restaurant at the Carolina Inn.
- He opened Hawthorne & Wood in 2019, and Bluebird in 2022.
The big picture: Sharp said he had some reservations about opening on Franklin Street, but added he's been blown away by the response from Chapel Hill diners.
- "The biggest and best surprise about opening Hawthorne & Wood five-and-a-half years ago was the interest from the locals and the fact that it is supported seven nights a week with locals," he said.
- "There is a high IQ for food around here ... and we believe that there's a high enough critical mass of that type of guest who will come down to Franklin Street for good food and good service," he added.
Location: 173 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill
