Update: Rathskeller to reopen in August

Editor’s note: The Rathskeller is still not open, but the restaurant’s Facebook page indicates that it will open in “late 2011.” Please see the page for more information. 

CHAPEL HILL
Come August, the Rat will be back.

That’s 63 years after it first opened, four years after it closed and seven months after its original date for a grand reopening.

“It’s been a numbers process,” said Diane Fountain, the owner of the soon-to-be revived Chapel Hill eating establishment, the Ramshead Rathskeller. “This has taken insanely long.”

Fountain, a 1980 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate and a real estate developer who lives in Wilmington, said she was overzealous when she set the Rathskeller to reopen at the start of the year.

She said she underestimated how long it would take to get the lease settled, which has prevented her construction crews from starting demolition.

But after sorting out the paper work with an attorney, hiring a construction consulting company in Raleigh, and drafting a 37-page lease, Fountain said she is 100 percent confident that an August reopening will happen.

“As far as the determination to make sure that it happens, I’m more determined now than I was before,” she said. “I can visualize exactly how it’s going to happen. I can even see all the people in here.”

With updated numbers and logistics in check, Fountain said demolition could gear up within the next ten days.

Part of her initial budget — $847,000 for construction and kitchen equipment — had some gray area, she said. She hired Wakefield Associates in Raleigh to re-evaluate the construction costs, and she said with their more accurate numbers, these estimated costs shrunk to $541,000.

Despite the reduced cost estimates, Fountain said she won’t have to hold back on any of her original plans, like the 65-inch plasma-screen televisions or the conversion of the old prep kitchen into a bar.

But she has decided on at least one change away from her original plans — converting the original bar, known as the ‘Zoom Zoom Room’ or the ‘Rat Trap Lounge,’ into more seating space.

She said she still wants to keep everything under $1 million, which should still allow for some cushion room. She originally thought it would be $1.6 million, but had prepared to go up to $2 million, she said.

The next step? Recruit investors, Fountain said.

On Friday, she e-mailed about 15 potential investors who requested information. She is looking to sell 10 shares at $100,000 each, to raise a total of $1 million from investors.

She said that although the restaurant’s reopening has been delayed, it was crucial to have this time to determine more accurate figures.

“We’ve done it the right way,” she said. “It’s safer for investment partners and we won’t get in there and have any surprises. I’m committing to doing this and doing it the right way.”

Fountain said two different people have already committed to one share each, and she doesn’t anticipate any problem finding investors for the other eight.

The investors will have the opportunity to have booths named after them, and possibly even the new bar space, she said.

“Now I’m able to let the people who want to be involved come on board,” she said. “They will own a piece of the Rat forever.”

Amanda Ruehlen, a senior from Concord, N.C., is an assistant editor for the Reese Felts Digital News Project.

  1. This is an excellent opportunity for seniors to think about taking a victory lap.

    Comment by Lucas on February 3, 2011 at 9:41 am

  2. What a great story! Some friends and I were talking just the other day about the Rat and the fact that it was originally going to open by the end of last year, and we wondered what happened. Good to know it's still moving ahead. I can't wait!

    Comment by Jo Bass on February 3, 2011 at 1:14 pm

  3. This is an amazing return. I have been to the Rat ONCE my FRESHMAN year. It would be an honor to return my sophomore year (of life)

    Comment by Anish on February 3, 2011 at 1:31 pm

  4. None of this will matter if she doesn't hire the same cooks and waiters …. "Demolish" ALLLLLL you want, but the people and food are what made that place.

    Comment by KenBud on February 3, 2011 at 2:44 pm

  5. Hi KenBud,

    Check out our original story about the Rat reopening: http://reesenews.org/2010/11/01/the-rathskeller-r….

    In that story, I talked to some of the former cooks and waiters, and Fountain talks of her plans to hire the past employees. Also look on the right hand side of the story and you'll see video interviews with past cooks and waiters. Enjoy!

    -Amanda

    Comment by Amanda on February 3, 2011 at 4:04 pm

  6. I am 73 years old and have eaten at the Rat for yearssss…no way there were the same cooks or people over that length of time!!!!Hooray for this wonderful lady!

    Carolina AND the RAT have equaled one institution for many years…thank you so much!!

    Bebe

    Comment by Bebe Johns Fox on February 3, 2011 at 5:28 pm

  7. Thanks for the update and well-done tour. I grew up in Chapel Hill and graduated from the university (class of '75) and my brothers and my initials are all over that place. Truly grateful for Diane Fountain's plan to bring back The Rat. Just don't make it too fancy — keep it simple. That was the beauty of the old Rat. That and the guys who worked there for decades. Bring them back. And please let Diane know that the founding family is DanZIGer, not DanZINGer.

    Comment by David on February 3, 2011 at 6:44 pm

  8. I use to eat there in the early 80's. Remember the place well and all the good times. As a young man my friends and I had a blast with the rat. The food was great the beer was always cold and the atmosphere was TARHEEL. Look forward to trying out the new Rat.

    Comment by Kenneth on February 3, 2011 at 8:14 pm

  9. 65" plasma screen tv's? Converting the kitchen into a bar? Stick with TRADITION, and keep the ambience of dimly lit rooms!

    Comment by Alan on February 4, 2011 at 8:15 am

  10. Anyway to get Parson Micklejohn cider back? Only places to get it (IIRC) were the Rat, Zoom, Ranch House, and BC Hedgepath's King Neptune in Wrightsville. That's BC in 2 of Roland's photos, mis-id'ed as a "waiter."

    Comment by John Elliot '70 on February 4, 2011 at 4:56 pm

  11. Thanks for the update! Hope everything comes together.

    Comment by @OrioleWay on February 5, 2011 at 10:41 am

  12. I just cannot see this new restaurant succeeding. The time for the Rat has come and (thankfully!) gone.

    I am not a sentimental or nostalgic person. All I care about is good food and good service. The old Rat had neither — that is why it closed.

    I wish someone could put something new and imaginative there.

    Comment by Wes on February 6, 2011 at 4:23 pm

  13. The Rat you ate at SUCKED after it was bought by those crooks who took over ten years ago.

    The REAL Rat is the one that didn't change a lick between 1947 and 2000.

    Why is there a need to demolish anything????? The place was perfect as it was.

    Comment by Shane Hasty on February 22, 2011 at 3:04 pm

  14. I can't wait for the Rat to reopen! I think it's great to take it up a notch – but not too much. The last time I was there, the service was great, but the food wasn't as good. Can't wait to see it brought back to it's prime!

    Comment by Linda on February 23, 2011 at 12:32 am

  15. Double Gambler was the best plus Apple Pie Louise

    Comment by Mike Waddell on April 9, 2011 at 10:35 pm

  16. The Rat will always have a place in the hearts of alumni and those in Chapel Hill. My question is whether it can be reopened with changes and still feel like the Rat. Wasn't all the decor and tables all auctioned off? Too much change will make it feel different and turn those who loved it as it was. Decor must be similar, menu very similar with perhaps a few additions and service improved. – UNC'87

    Comment by Brendan on April 10, 2011 at 10:55 am

  17. The Rat did not close due to your claim of poor food or service. I seem to remember the owners stopped paying state employment taxes.

    Go eat in Durham.

    Comment by Brendan on April 10, 2011 at 10:58 am

  18. Really nice use, Amanda, of video and the restaurant's floor plan to tell a story of a place that some of us have never seen in person.

    Comment by Tom on April 13, 2011 at 4:09 pm

  19. My first experience of dining at the Rat was in the mid 60'sand continued through college, dental school, and coming back to sporting events with my children until it closed. When the Rat re-opens, it will be the only restaurant I will visit while in Chapel Hill. You will still have your lasagna and The Gambler, right? Paul

    Comment by Paul Neal on April 25, 2011 at 6:33 pm

  20. As a student at Carolina from '68 to '72 I had many a meal at the Rat, along with the long gone Zoom Zoom farther down the street, and even the Ranch House for a few special occasions. As for the food, well it was not the best but it had a certain endearing quality. That Gambler was the toughest, greasiest thing I ever ate, whether I got it at the Rat or the Zoom Zoom. But I always got it and I did the last time I ate there in 2001. I think the plans are great and good mix of updating while maintaining the old. Chapel Hill needs the Rat. Too much on Franklin Street has disappeared over the last 30-40 years. The Rat belongs up there with the Post Office and the Carolina Theater as icons. Now if they could just figure out a way to bring back the flower ladies of the 50's and 60's.

    Comment by Tarheel72 on August 13, 2011 at 9:18 am

  21. I graduated from CHHS in '69 and UNC in '73. Imagine that, four years of higher education squeezed into four years. Really irratated the hell out of my sons when they were in school. Anyway, it's a shame that BC Hedgepeth, late of the King Neptune at Wrightsville Beach, is no longer with us. He managed the Rat around 1950 and would be a great consultant. I'm sure Diane Fountain knew him down here and hopefully got some good info before he died. I shared our last meal out with my Dad at the Rat in '98. He loved the Russian dressing on the salads, anyone remember that? Ric PS: You're right, the name of the original owners was Danziger. I went to high school with Randy. They also owned the Zoom Zoom Room farther up Franklin close to Walker's Funeral Home and a gift shop on Franklin. There was also a restaurant down the hill on Franklin St named the Villa Tempesta that, I think was owned by a relative. I also went to HS with a Tony Tempesta, female, and a Roddy Tempesta. Interesting days. Remember Jubilee.

    Comment by Ric Nipper on August 23, 2011 at 9:34 pm

  22. I'm so happy ya'll are re-opening, but I hope the computers won't slow down the waiters! One of the best things about the Rat was how fast the tea, then the salad and then the beef parm came to the table!

    Comment by steveoakes on August 26, 2011 at 10:31 am

  23. Has an official opening date been set yet?

    Comment by Frank on March 7, 2012 at 5:02 pm