College Street Taphouse and Town Table closed their doors this summer, leaving Elon University officials scrambling to find new uses for the downtown area buildings.
Elon may use Taphouse to host Student Union Board events, and the university is currently looking to sell Town Table to a new owner. Gerald Whittington, vice president for business, finance and technology, said several people have expressed interest in taking over the restaurant.
“It could be anything they wanted,” he said. “They could change the theme or keep it as is. Another possibility is expanding the Acorn into that space, since it’s so packed.”
The closings leave Elon with just two full-fledged bars: West End Station and Fat Frogg. Senior Steph Pack, who went to Taphouse about once a week last year, said she is unhappy about the change.
“There are only a couple bars to go to at night to begin with, and with Taphouse being closed, it gives us even less options,” she said. “Now that I’m a senior I’ll probably go to Fat Frogg more, and West End.”
Taphouse and Town Table were owned by Chris Russell, an Elon alum who allegedly closed them for financial reasons. The darkened buildings speak to the difficulty of maintaining a business in downtown Elon during the summer, while many students are gone.
“I think the key for being able to survive long-term is being able to gain a community following,” Whittington said. “Your community members are a goodly portion of your business. You don’t want people to think they can’t go eat somewhere because it’s going to be packed with students.”