Long before 119 E. Franklin Street became home to Chapel Hill Sportswear, it was the site of one of Chapel Hill’s most influential and unconventional bookstores. For much of the twentieth century, the Intimate Bookshop was not just a place to buy books but a space where literature, politics, and local culture intersected on Franklin Street.¹

Before it was located at 119 E, Intimate Bookshop was opened by Milton Abernethy and his wife in the early 1930s at 175 E Franklin Street. Abernethy, a UNC alumnus, was already a well-known figure in Chapel Hill’s intellectual circles. As a student, he was one of the editors and publishers of Contempo, a student-led literary magazine that ran from 1931 to 1934 and became nationally known for its bold political and artistic voice.

Contempo distinguished itself through its left-leaning perspective and its willingness to publish controversial work. In 1931, the magazine drew national attention after publishing Langston Hughes’s poem “Christ in Alabama,” an issue dedicated to the Scottsboro Boys. The publication coincided with Hughes’s visit to UNC, where he gave a public reading in Gerrard Hall. At a time when such voices were rarely amplified in Southern publications, Contempo positioned Chapel Hill as an unexpected center of literary dissent.. 

After he served in World War II, Abernethy returned to Chapel Hill where he continued to run his bookshop with his wife. As Cold War tensions intensified in the 1950s, his political reputation increasingly shaped public perception. In 1955, the Abernethys left Chapel Hill and relocated to New York, marking the end of their direct involvement with the store. 

In 1965, Intimate Bookshop was taken over by Wallace Kuralt — whose brother, Charles Kuralt, was an iconic CBS News correspondent — and his wife, Brenda. The Kuralts continued to run Intimate out of 119 E Franklin, and even helped build the business into a chain, with locations across North Carolina and Georgia. However, Intimate continued to face hardships, and it even caught fire on September 20, 1992. The fire was devastating, and its damage was extensive. As the fire raged for three hours, it got so intense the chimney exploded. The bookstore made a triumphant comeback in November of 1993, almost 14 months later, and continued to serve the Chapel Hill community for another 4 years. 

In 1998, the Kuralts filed a lawsuit against big chain booksellers – Barnes & Noble, Border, Amazon – for unfair business practices after being forced to close many of their stores. Unfortunately, they lost the suit, which led to the Kuralts having to close Intimate’s doors for good in 1998. This sparked an outcry across Chapel Hill, as so many generations remember the store fondly for its welcoming atmosphere. Even though Intimate is no longer here, its legacy lives on and the building complex is now named after the Kuralt family. 

119 E Franklin Street was then rented out to Sephora, which, at the time, was still a relatively new chain. The store only lasted about 4 ½ years before closing in 2003. The Kuralts then chose to sell the building to Tarheel Book Store Inc. Michigan because they also sold textbooks and the Kuralts wanted to keep the building within the bookselling community. 

Chapel Hill Sportswear moved from 133 E. Franklin to 119 E. Franklin Street in 2011, briefly renting from the owners of Tarheel Books, and later buying all three floors of the building. Remembering the Kuralts and the Intimate Bookstore, the owners of Chapel Hill Sportswear are proud to be serving the Chapel Hill community and to carry on the legacy laid out before them. 

Today, while the shelves of Intimate Bookshop are gone, its legacy remains. The building at 119 E. Franklin Street stands as a reminder of a time when Franklin Street served not only as a commercial corridor, but as a place where ideas, art, and community conversation thrived.