Brandon Sharp, the acclaimed chef behind Chapel Hill favorites Bluebird and Hawthorne & Wood, will open a tapas-style restaurant called Próximo this fall on East Franklin Street, near the post office.

Why it matters: Sharp helped cement Chapel Hill as a food destination. Now, he and his wife, Elizabeth, want to bring fresh energy into a stretch of the college town that isn't currently considered a destination — especially among non-students.

What they're saying: "We want to see a renaissance of that stretch of Franklin because it's still the nerve center of Chapel Hill. It's important to us and it's important that it be a thriving, bustling, fun destination for both locals and prospective students," Sharp told Axios.

Dig in: Próximo will be at 173 E. Franklin, the 1,450-square-foot space formerly occupied by breakfast classic Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe.

• Próximo will feature Spanish-style tapas inspired by the Sharp's travels to places throughout Spain like Hondarribia, Laguardia and San Sebastián.

The big picture: Franklin Street has grappled with its post-pandemic recovery. High rents, more on-campus dining options plus food delivery, as well as limited parking, have compounded the area's ongoing challenges of operating as a nine-month economy, the Triangle Business Journal reported.

Catch up quick: Sharp grew up in Greensboro and graduated from UNC in 1997. After college, he worked in renowned kitchens across the country, including at 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.

Read more about Sharp's Franklin Street plans

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited Raleigh on Tuesday to pitch their health care agenda to voters at the John Chavis Memorial Park and Community Center, the Associated Press reports.

• The two said that Democrats would fight to preserve access to care, while Republicans would work to chip away at it, per AP.

Why it matters: North Carolina is again a key swing state in this November's election.

The big picture: Biden made significant gains against Trump during the past month in six of seven 2024 swing states, according to a Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll out this week, Axios' Alex Thompson writes.

• The poll shows a central question for voters is whether Trump is better at mobilizing Republicans for him, or Democrats against him.
• Since October, Trump has reached 50% of the vote just once in one of the seven swing states — North Carolina.
• Biden's campaign has been ramping up its re-election team here as it prepares an enormous ad push.

💵 Despite some opposition from local communities, including Orange County, Dollar General opened on average a new store in North Carolina every nine days in the last year. (News & Observer 🔒)

🎸 Chapel Hill musician River "Sarah" Shook of the country-punk band Sarah Shook & the Disarmers was profiled in the New York Times.

🍎 Durham Public Schools plans to apply for federal eligibility to provide universal free meals to all its students. (WUNC)

Ryan Reynolds' soccer club is coming back to Cary this summer for The Soccer Tournament, Axios' Ashley Mahoney writes.

Why it matters: The minor league Welsh club gained American attention following the docuseries "Welcome to Wrexham," which follows the journey of Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney as they try to return the club to its former glory.

State of play: TST is a 7 vs. 7-event with a $1 million prize from June 5-10 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Wrexham will have two teams, one playing in the men's bracket and another in the women's.

Flashback: Wrexham made its U.S. debut in Cary last summer, with a team composed of players, legends and others affiliated with the club, which is what can be expected of this year's TST roster.

• They also played Chelsea in Chapel Hill in a summer friendly.

Read more

More tenants are coming to downtown Raleigh's Smoky Hollow development.

The big picture: One of Raleigh's largest real estate projects in recent years, the development is adding hundreds of new apartments and office and retail space in the Glenwood South neighborhood.

Driving the news: Kane Realty announced two new tenants yesterday.

• Tucker Street Diner: A new restaurant from the owners of The Shiny Diner in Raleigh and Peak City Diner in Apex will open this fall. It will serve all-day breakfast and coffee.
• Jetset Pilates: The Florida-based Pilates chain is expanding across the East Coast. No word yet on an opening date for its Smoky Hollow studio.

What's next: The owners of tapas restaurant Madre, which opened inside Smoky Hollow last year, will open a bar inside the former New Anthem Beer Project this spring.

• New Anthem closed its taproom earlier this month, less than a year after opening.

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