“It’s wild to think back to that day in March now, knowing what Carrboro United became,” says Zoë Dehmer, director of operations and planning at Acme Food & Beverage Company in Carrboro, reflecting on the beginning of the scrappy local restaurant hub that went on to make national headlines. 

This week, organizers announced that, with restaurants opening back up, it would close the operation on June 26 (customers unable to use gift cards for the hub by June 26 will have outstanding credit transferred to an Acme gift card for future redemption).

Carrboro United was founded last March by former Fleet Feet CEO Tom Raynor and Acme chef/owner Kevin Callaghan, among others, as an emergency response to the shutdown. The hub—which had pickup days several weeks—would go on to become a rock for dozens of local restaurants and farms whose pipeline to consumers had been curtailed, as well as a rock for consumers eager to support local businesses. 

Last year, the effort spawned similar local one-stop restaurant hubs, including the Chatham Food Hub and ko.mmunity hub in Cary, both of which have also recently discontinued operations. 

 Zoë Dehmer says that the employees at Carrboro United—at one point, there were as many as 20, all paid a living wage—have been offered jobs at affiliate businesses. 

“This community showed up again and again and again,” Dehmer continued. “They didn’t have to, but they did. We will never forget what they did for our food businesses.”

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Sarah Edwards is culture editor of the INDY, covering cultural institutions and the arts in the Triangle. She joined the staff in 2019 and assumed her current role in 2020.