March 7, 2024
Business Reporting
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Chapel Hill restaurant Top of the Hill will plan to revamp its nightlife with the help of The Daily Tar Heel marketing agency 1893 Brand Studio in the upcoming seasons with plans to introduce a variety of evening entertainment events.
Biagio Ambrosino, floor manager of TOPO, said the nightlife is not as busy as it used to be and that the restaurant is trying to rebuild its brand as a bar to bring back its social scene. He has been working at TOPO since 2018 and said the restaurant used to be a popular going out spot before COVID-19.
“Everyone used to love coming to TOPO, and so we are trying to recreate that atmosphere, recreate that late night you know,” Ambrosino said.
He said a portion of TOPO’s successful nightlife was due to the back bar, a space located downstairs with a pool table and a bar that closed after the pandemic. TOPO also had a venue called The Great Room which was used for events such as sorority functions and weddings. There are no plans to reopen either space.
Ambrosino said they are trying to have various entertainment opportunities on the weekends to bring customers in. He said on Thursday nights TOPO has music bingo and is currently working to organize a trivia night. They also have a DJ twice a month and have $3 drinks on Saturdays.
The 1893 Brand Studio, a student-run marketing agency at the DTH, is partnering with Top of the Hill to help them reinvigorate their nightlife and market themselves as more than just a restaurant.
Collin Pruitt, the director and advisor of the 1893 Brand Studio, said TOPO approached him last semester for help to solve this problem.
“Scott the owner was kind of telling me that back about like 10, 15, 20 years ago, they used to be pretty much like the hottest bar on Franklin Street,” Pruitt said. “It was packed until 2 a.m. on the weekends and they've seen that decline, especially over the last few years.”
Pruitt began working with the 1893 Brand Studio campaigns team by performing market research and conducting two separate sets of surveys to undergraduate and graduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill. The surveys gathered information about why students go out, where they go, and what they look for in a bar. They generated about 2,000 responses.
Eliza Hodges, a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill and campaign team member for the brand studio, said they found that the three prime motivators for people going out are themed nights, cheap prices, and the location of their friends.
She said they are going to build their campaign around these three factors and will be pitching their ideas to TOPO in April. Pruitt said they will be crafting a full-scale campaign next week dedicated to getting people interested in going out to TOPO.
Carson Wagner, TOPO employee, said most people know TOPO as a restaurant where they go with their parents to eat, not as a place to go out. She has been working at the restaurant since October.
“I think it would take a while to break the stigma of it being a family place,” Wagner said. She said TOPO could use the outdoor patio more because it’s right on the corner of Franklin Street and has a nice view.
Kelly Johnson, UNC-Chapel Hill alumna, said she would go to TOPO after she graduated in 1995. She said she went there because it seemed more upscale than the other bars in Chapel Hill. She said she thinks appealing more to the student population is a good idea for TOPO.
“It's got good quality food and their drink selection, beer selection, you know, they have a wide range of options,” Johnson said. “I think it's neat having the outside area too and overlooking Franklin Street.”
The Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery is located on East Franklin Street and opened in 1994. The Daily Tar Heel is the student newspaper at UNC-Chapel Hill that was founded in 1893.