Cat Tales Cafe/ Vimala’s Curryblossom Cafe/ SATURNI Fusion Bistro & Coffee Bar
Tucked into the western end of Franklin Street, 431 W Franklin Street has transformed many times over — from a family home to a civil rights landmark, from a beloved Dairy Bar to the vibrant Courtyard Shopping Center we know today. Long before Vimala’s Curryblossom Café filled the air with the scent of simmering spices or Cat Tales brought cozy charm and feline friends to the block, this lot was home to Long Meadow Dairy Bar — a local favorite with a complicated past.
431 W Franklin Street’s first structure was the residence of Alex Cordle. Cordle lived there from 1938 to 1945, when Durham Dairy Products bought the property for a distribution and processing plant. In 1953, the operation was rebranded to Long Meadows Farm and Dairy Bar. The Dairy Bar shifted to a full restaurant in 1978.1
Long Meadow Dairy Farms was founded in 1915 and had a service area spanning the Virginia border down to the North Carolina Sandhills. Within 50 years, the company quickly grew from a small operation on an Ellis Road farm in Durham to include 120 farms and 140 trucks.2
The Durham Sun - May 18, 1965
The West Franklin Dairy Bar was an important location for the Civil Rights movement in Chapel Hill. Although the Dairy Bar would serve Black customers at the ice cream counter, they were not allowed to sit in the dining room. Chapel Hill’s first sit-in at Colonial Drug on February 28, 1960, was quickly followed by a series of picketing campaigns outside of Long Meadow Dairy Bar, Bus Station Grill, and Village Pharmacy. The sit-ins and picketing lines led by Lincoln High School launched the integration movement in Chapel Hill. 3
Long Meadows Dairy Bar was not the only dairy shop on Franklin Street; there was another Dairy Bar on East Franklin Street that was owned by Durham Dairy Products. Durham Dairy Products first opened a store at 140 E Franklin Street in 1930. After the success of the distribution and processing plant on West Franklin Street, Durham Dairy Products and Dairy Bar moved into 203 E Franklin Street. The Dairy Bar went through a few rebrands, becoming Chapel Hill Dairy Bar in 1968. The 203 E Franklin Dairy Bar closed in 1978.4
In 1982, Long Meadow Farm’s complex was entirely redesigned. The Courtyard Shopping Center and Pyewacket Restaurant were built at 431 W Franklin Street. Vimala’s Curry Blossom Cafe opened in 2010, serving “fresh, healthy ingredients from the local markets and captivating aromas and flavors.” 5 The Cat Tale Cafe moved into the complex in 2018. Co-owners Katy Poitras and Ilene Speizer were both working on plans to start a Cat Cafe in Chapel Hill when they met each other. Their matching passions for helping the cat community and their unique skill set brought the business to life. 6
For more information on Chapel Hill sit-ins and picketing visit: https://exhibits.lib.unc.edu/exhibits/show/protest/sitin-essay
Endnotes
1. Bernard L. Bryant. Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 5-year intervals, 1793-1998, Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999, 115-167.
2. “From Small Beginning to Giant,” The Durham Sun, May 18, 1965, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-durham-sun-long-meadow-dairy-started/122409936/.
3. “Integration Sit-Ins,” UNC University Libraries, https://exhibits.lib.unc.edu/exhibits/show/protest/sitin-essay.
4. Bryant, Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, 115-167.
5. “Vimala Rajendran: ‘Accidentally’ Award Winning Chef,” Vimala’s Curry Blossom Cafe, https://www.curryblossom.cafe/about.
6. “The Cat Tales Story,” The Cat Tales Cat Cafe, https://cattalescatcafe.com/about-cat-tales.