It’s Friday, July 12.
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Welcome to the weekend, readers.
In June, Beyu Caffe closed the doors to its flagship restaurant after nearly 15 years in downtown Durham. Dorian Bolden, Beyu’s owner, says a number of factors—parking, nearby construction, and a dearth of foot traffic—led to the decision to close. Bolden also announced the closure of a second Beyu location at Boxyard RTP last week.
Bolden was an early stakeholder in the promise of Durham’s downtown revitalization. He opened the first Beyu location in late 2009. When Beyu moved to a more permanent location in 2015, the new space featured a small stage which Beyu used to curate live jazz performances.
Since then, Beyu has expanded into locations on Duke’s campus and RDU airport, as well as established its own coffee bean retail operation in grocery stores such as Food Lion and the Durham co-op.
But ultimately, the lingering effects of the pandemic, shifts in consumer behavior, and what some downtown business owners have said is a lack of support from the City of Durham, Bolden decided to cut bait with the two locations that were underperforming to focus on the places where he and his team have found success.
“It’s hard to do a small business,” says Cicely Mitchell, arts curator who worked as a booking agent at Beyu and now owns her own jazz club, Missy Lane’s Assembly Room. “Putting your own money in, your own savings—that takes bravery. Fourteen years is a great run to be able to do that.”
With places like Glori, another Black-owned establishment, closing in recent months, and businesses like Fullsteam and Bar Virgile also sharing their concerns about the future of downtown through public social media posts, the closing of Beyu’s flagship restaurant could be a harbinger of things to come if the city government and business owners can’t work together on a solution to reinvigorate Durham’s downtown.
Read about the legacy of Beyu and what’s next for the veteran downtown business here.
Happy Friday, readers. Stay cool out there.
—Justin
Durham
Researchers are placing sensors across Durham to monitor temperature trends.
Wake
Former Raleigh city council member and NC treasurer Janet Cowell officially filed to run for mayor of Raleigh yesterday. See who else has filed for Raleigh/Wake County offices.
Orange
Several Tar Heels are participating in the Paris Olympics.
A new local music festival is coming to Orange County in August.
North Carolina
Gov. Cooper commuted the sentences of four incarcerated North Carolinians and pardoned four others. The Assembly earlier this year reported on the cases of three of the men who received commuted sentences.
Today’s weather
Rainy with a high of 83 degrees.
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