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FROM THE INSIDE…
Inside This Issue: We're featuring Grata Connects — the nonprofit born when a Carrboro restaurant owner closed his diner to go full-time on keeping families housed. Juneteenth is tomorrow at Hargraves, the Hurricanes just won the Stanley Cup, the Class of 2026 walked across the stage at the Dean Dome, and the NC Symphony is playing a free show at Southern Village tonight.
LET'S STEP INSIDE →
Feature Story
The Diner Closed. The Real Work Started.
How Jay Radford traded the kitchen at Carr Mill Mall for a mission to keep families in their homes
For more than four years, Jay Radford fed people at Grata Diner in Carr Mill Mall. The space that once belonged to Elmo's Diner became something new under Jay — Italian-inspired comfort food cooked from scratch, a no-tipping policy with an $18-an-hour starting wage for every employee, and a menu that quietly gave back. Proceeds from specific dishes went straight to TABLE and The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. "Grata" means gratitude in Italian, and Jay built the whole operation around that word.
But while Jay was serving omelets and meatballs, he was also watching something else happen in the community that kept showing up to eat.
Families one bad month away from losing everything.
In January, Jay closed Grata Diner. Not because the business failed — because something bigger needed him. He walked away from the restaurant to go full-time on Grata Connects, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit he'd been building focused on one thing: keeping families housed.
Here's the math that makes this urgent. In North Carolina, a family that misses one month of rent can be standing in front of a magistrate within two weeks. Within three weeks, they can be locked out. The programs designed to help them? The funding exists. But most of those programs take 30 to 90 days to deliver. By the time the check arrives, the family has already lost their home.
That gap — between crisis and help — is where Grata Connects lives.
They work directly with landlords to resolve eviction situations within 72 hours. Not months. Hours. Most of the families they serve need between $800 and $1,500 to stabilize. Twelve hundred dollars keeps one household housed for a full month.
Think about that for a second. For less than what most of us spend on a vacation, a family stays in their home. Their kids stay in their school. The cascading damage — job loss, food insecurity, developmental harm to children, mental health crises — all of it gets interrupted before it starts.
Grata Connects is a registered NC 501(c)(3) serving both Orange and Chatham Counties, which means this work is happening right here — in the neighborhoods around us. And Jay isn't just writing checks and walking away. The organization connects families to the agencies and support systems that help them stay stable long-term. It's intervention plus navigation. Stop the bleeding, then build the path forward.
Jay is no stranger to this community. Before the diner, he founded the Not So Normal 5K races in Carrboro. His wife, Rachel, owns Ceremony Salon in Carrboro. His roots here run deep, and that matters — because this kind of work only happens when someone who actually knows the community decides to do it.
He's also launched an Innovation Lab in partnership with UNC students. In this nonpartisan, student-led program, students research local policy challenges in housing, education, and public health and produce real deliverables like policy briefs and stakeholder memos. It's the kind of bridge between campus and community that doesn't usually exist.
If you want to learn more, volunteer, or donate, visit grataconnects.org. If you or someone you know is facing eviction or a housing crisis, you can request support directly through the site. They move fast, with no judgment.
The same community that supported his business for five years was full of families who needed something his diner couldn't serve. Now he's serving it.
Community Moment
Congrats, Class of 2026
Last Saturday, the Dean Smith Center became something bigger than a basketball arena. Carrboro High, East Chapel Hill High, and Chapel Hill High walked their seniors across that stage one school at a time — caps, gowns, flowers, tears, the whole beautiful mess. These are kids who started high school during a pandemic, figured out who they were in the hardest possible conditions, and came out the other side ready. Some of them are heading to UNC. Some are heading across the country. Some are staying right here. Wherever they land, they carry a piece of this community with them — and this community is better because they were in it. To every graduate and every family who raised one: we see you, and we're proud of you.
Market Watch With Meri Lynch
In Case You Missed It: June Market Watch with Meri Lynch
— Meri
We want to thank Meri Lynch Realty for sponsoring this issue!
Upcoming Events
LOCAL EVENTS COMING UP
June 19 – July 2
🎵 Live Music
Thu, Jun 18 NC Symphony: Patriotic Pops | Southern Village Green, Market St., Chapel Hill | 8–10pm | Free. Bring a blanket and the family. Tonight only. | ncsymphony.org
Fri, Jun 19 Robyn Hitchcock | Cat's Cradle, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro | Doors 7pm, Show 8pm | The legendary art-rock storyteller. If you know, you know. | catscradle.com
Sat, Jun 20 Tank and the Bangas – The Last Balloon Tour | Cat's Cradle Back Yard | Doors 4pm, Show 5pm | Grammy-nominated, New Orleans-born funk and soul — outdoors. A Carrboro Juneteenth celebration. This is a big one. | catscradle.com
Sat, Jun 20 of Montreal with Cormae | Cat's Cradle, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro | Doors 7:30pm, Show 8:30pm | Athens indie legends still putting on one of the most inventive live shows around. | catscradle.com
Mon, Jun 22 Subhumans | Cat's Cradle, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro | Doors 7pm, Show 7:30pm | British punk, still sharp after four decades. | catscradle.com
Every Wed Wine Down Wednesday at La Vita Dolce | Southern Village, 610 Market St., Chapel Hill | 5–8pm, music at 6pm | Live music, wine specials, and a perfect midweek reset. Now in its 10th year.
🎭 Theater and Arts
Fri, Jun 19 Elizabeth June: NOTES from a NARCISSISTIC NEGRO and Other N Words (NNN) | The ArtsCenter, 400 Roberson St., Carrboro | 7:30pm | Free, donations encouraged. A Juneteenth performance — raw, personal, powerful. | artscenterlive.org
🏛️ Community and Civic
Fri, Jun 19 Chapel Hill-Carrboro Juneteenth Festival | Hargraves Community Center, 216 N. Roberson St., Chapel Hill | 4–8pm | Live performances, music, poetry, dancing, food, kids' activities, arts market, and history exhibits. One of the best community gatherings of the year. | chapelhillcarrborojuneteenth.com
Fri, Jun 19 255th Regulator Remembrance Day | Cameron Park, 200 E. King St., Hillsborough | 6pm | A piece of Hillsborough history you might not know about.
Fri, Jun 26 Carrboro Pride Dance Party | Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main St. | 5–9pm | Food trucks, drag shows, music, crafts for the kids. Co-organized with El Centro Hispano. Everyone welcome. | carrboronc.gov
Fri, Jun 26 Last Fridays in Hillsborough | Downtown Hillsborough | Late afternoon–evening | Free art walk through galleries, studios, and shops with live music on the courthouse lawn. One of the best free nights out in Orange County. | hillsboroughartscouncil.org
👨👩👧👦 Family and Kids
Every Sat Carrboro Farmers' Market | Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main St. | 7am–noon | Everything sold is grown or made within 50 miles. Live music most weeks. | carrborofarmersmarket.com
Every Sat Chapel Hill Farmers' Market | University Place, 201 S. Estes Dr. | 8am–noon | Local produce, pottery, prepared foods — all from within 60 miles. | thechapelhillfarmersmarket.com
Sat, Jun 20 Hillsborough Garden Open House | Bonnie B. Davis Center, US 70, Hillsborough | 11am–2pm | Visit 8 demonstration gardens. Free.
Mon, Jun 23 Kids Summer Movie Camp: Paddington in Peru | Check visitchapelhill.org for venue and times
📣 Heads Up
Sat, Jul 4 July 4th Drone Show — NEW LOCATION | Chapel Hill School, 9217 Seawell School Rd. | Chapel Hill is replacing fireworks with 300 synchronized drones this year. Shapes, images, light, and color painting the sky. Mark it now. | chapelhillnc.gov
Local News
FROM AROUND TOWN
Juneteenth Closures — Tomorrow, Friday, June 19
Tomorrow is Juneteenth, a federal holiday. Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County government offices will be closed, along with the U.S. Post Office, banks, and most federal and state offices. Orange County Public Libraries will also be closed. Chapel Hill Transit will run on a Saturday schedule. If you need to handle anything at Town Hall, the tax office, or the DMV, take care of it today. Everything reopens Monday.
Canes Are Champions
The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. If you're anywhere near Raleigh this Saturday, the official Championship Parade rolls through downtown at 11 a.m. Even if hockey isn't your thing, this is a once-in-a-generation Triangle sports moment. Congratulations to every Canes fan who never stopped believing.
NC Symphony at Southern Village — Tonight
The North Carolina Symphony is performing a free Patriotic Pops concert tonight from 8 to 10 p.m. at Southern Village Green on Market Street in Chapel Hill. Bring a blanket, bring the family, and enjoy a summer night under the stars with live orchestral music. You can't beat free.
Chapel Hill Passes $170 Million Budget
The Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously approved a $170 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year — a slight increase over last year. The budget keeps existing services intact and funds ongoing infrastructure and community programs.
Diamond Heels Still Fighting in Omaha
The UNC baseball team earned a 6-2 win over Ole Miss at the College World Series, keeping its season alive. This team has shown serious mental toughness through the bracket. Keep pulling for them.
Carrboro Pride Dance Party — June 26
The Carrboro Pride Dance Party takes over the Town Commons on Friday, June 26, from 5 to 9 p.m. Check out the food trucks, drag shows, music, crafts for the kids, and resource tables from El Centro Hispano and other community organizations.
INsight from the INSIDER
"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now."
— Chinese proverb
Jay Radford didn't wait for the system to catch up. He saw a gap and stepped into it. That's what community looks like when it moves at the speed of the crisis. It doesn't ask permission. It just starts.
Until next time,
Be in the know!