By Gene Galin
Pittsboro, NC – After more than eight months of uncertainty surrounding one of downtown Pittsboro’s most visible vacancies, the former Havoc Brewing space at SoCo has a new tenant and a phased plan for returning customers to the landmark property: coffee and pastries as soon as September, a wine bar later in the day, and a full-service Italian restaurant targeted for early 2027. The business name displayed on the doors is La Cucina della Nonna.
Still, the announcement offers the clearest answer yet to a question that has circulated around Pittsboro since Havoc closed in December 2025: What will replace the brewery, coffee counter and gathering space at 39 West St., directly across from the historic Chatham County Courthouse?
“We signed a lease,” broker Eric Andrews told me as we sat talking outside the building. He said the property attracted multiple applicants, but the selected tenants stood out because their proposal paired food with the existing social character of the site and included a plan to begin operating sooner than other prospects.
The concept, as Andrews described it, will divide the customer experience by time of day and by section of the building. The front portion is expected to serve coffee and pastries in the morning, then shift toward wine in the afternoon and evening. The larger restaurant side is planned for Italian lunch and dinner service. The shared outdoor patio, fire pit and live-music function are expected to remain central to the property.
The plan is ambitious, but it is not complete. The September café opening is a goal rather than a firm date. The larger restaurant cannot open until a commercial kitchen is designed, installed, inspected and permitted. Andrews said the full-service operation could begin in the first quarter of 2027 “if all the stars align.”
Pittsboro residents can reasonably expect visible activity and a gradual reopening, but the announcement is the beginning of the next phase – not the end of the development process.
A prominent vacancy gets a tenant
The former Havoc space has been hard to overlook. It occupies a curved-front building facing the courthouse traffic circle, with rows of outdoor chairs, a stage area and a broad patio that had become associated with live music, casual meetings and weekend crowds.
Havoc Brewing opened in 2023 in a renovated portion of the former Justice Motor Company property. The brewery closed Dec. 14, 2025, after about two years in business. Havoc had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier in 2025, although the company did not give a specific reason when announcing its closure. Its departure came amid a broader run of Triangle taproom closures and a difficult national market for small breweries.
The closure left more than an unused bar. It removed a high-traffic gathering place from the center of town and reopened difficult questions about how to reuse a large, specialized building.
The commercial listing described the property as approximately 8,494 square feet, renovated in 2023 and built out with a custom bar, indoor seating, storage, offices and access to outdoor seating. The SoCo patio itself is a 6,000-square-foot, full-block outdoor space with a performance stage.The N.C. Main Street and Rural Planning Center recognized the patio with a 2023 Award of Merit for design.
That scale creates opportunity, but it also narrows the field of possible operators. A small retailer cannot easily absorb the space. A restaurant needs a kitchen, ventilation, grease management, refrigeration, utilities, accessible service areas and health-department approval. A music-oriented venue needs to consider neighbors, scheduling, weather and crowd management. An alcohol-centered business must develop enough repeat traffic to support a large property throughout the week.
In an earlier March discussion at the site, Eric Andrews and property developer Greg Stafford described the former brewery as a flexible but difficult “blank canvas.” At that point, no tenant had been selected, and a split-space concept was among the options under review. They warned me that architectural, engineering and permitting work could push a reopening into spring 2027.
The new lease turns that earlier possibility into a more definite direction. Rather than waiting until the entire restaurant is ready, the tenants intend to introduce part of the concept while the costly kitchen work proceeds.
“They want to create some buzz,” Andrews said. “They want to know what people’s expectations are. They want to make sure that they fine-tune everything.”
The commercial kitchen was nonnegotiable
The decisive feature of the new lease was not Italian food alone. It was the tenants’ willingness to commit to a commercial kitchen.
Andrews said some applicants proposed reopening as a beer-focused operation and adding food later. The property team rejected that approach. Greg and Paula Stafford, who developed SoCo and own the property, wanted the next tenant to offer a dependable food program from a kitchen inside the building.
“The Staffords said the new tenant must have a commercial kitchen,” Eric said. “That’s a huge expense, and not every tenant was willing to step up and do that.”
The requirement reflects one of the most frequent public observations about Havoc’s former model. The brewery partnered with food trucks and, at times, offered ordering from nearby Doherty’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, but it did not operate a full kitchen of its own. Patrons could drink, hear music and gather at the site, but food availability depended on outside arrangements rather than a kitchen controlled by the principal operator.
It would be too simple, however, to declare the lack of an in-house kitchen the sole reason Havoc closed. Brewery economics, financing, labor, production costs, debt and changing consumer habits can all affect viability. Havoc’s bankruptcy filing provides evidence of financial strain, but no public record cited in the announcement assigns the failure to a single factor. Eric also rejected rumors that rent alone drove the brewery out, saying the property’s rate was around the downtown market level and lower than rates in some new commercial developments.
The new operation will face its own test: whether breakfast, café, lunch, dinner, wine and entertainment sales can support the staffing and overhead required by a building of this size.
The kitchen mandate nevertheless changes the customer proposition. Instead of asking patrons to coordinate a food truck schedule with a visit, the new business intends to make meals part of its core identity. That could help it attract families, lunch customers, dinner parties and people who do not choose destinations primarily for beer.
A phased opening – and several unanswered questions
Under the plan outlined Sept. 1, the first phase would bring coffee and pastries to the front section of the building. The goal is to open that portion sometime in September, though Eric emphasized that timing is controlled by the tenants and whatever approvals or preparations are required.
The second phase would transform the property into a broader day-to-night business. Coffee service would give way to a wine-bar atmosphere later in the day, while the restaurant would serve Italian food at lunch and dinner. Beer is also expected, Eric said, but the beverage list has not been announced.
The strategy has practical advantages. A café requires less infrastructure than a full restaurant and can begin rebuilding the habit of visiting the site. It gives the operators a chance to train employees, test traffic patterns, hear customer feedback and establish their brand before the full dining room opens. It also returns some activity to the storefront while construction continues elsewhere.
But the phased approach raises questions the owners should answer before opening:
- Will pastries be made on-site, supplied by another bakery or prepared in an approved temporary kitchen?
- What permits are required for the first phase, and have they been issued?
- Which part of the building will remain closed during kitchen construction?
- How will construction be separated from customers and food service?
- What is the projected seating capacity for the restaurant and café?
- Will live music resume immediately or wait until the full restaurant opens?
- How often will music be scheduled, and what types of performances are planned?
- Will the business employ the former brewing area, divide the space or remove brewery equipment?
- What parking arrangements will be available to customers and employees?
- Who are the owners, and what restaurant or hospitality experience do they bring?
Those are not minor details. They will determine whether the café can truly open in September and whether the first quarter of 2027 is a realistic restaurant target.
I’m planning to record a video conversation with the owners’ after they have their cafe open for a few weeks.
Live music remains part of the fit
Food was one requirement. Use of the patio was another.
Eric said the property team received interest from several restaurant concepts, including Japanese, sushi, Chinese and other Asian businesses. Those applicants may have been viable in a conventional restaurant space, he said, but some did not want live outdoor music to be part of their operations.
That made them a less natural fit for SoCo, where the patio and stage were designed as shared assets rather than decorative extras.
The new tenants, by contrast, are expected to preserve entertainment and outdoor dining as prominent parts of the business. Eric said the fire pit will remain, outdoor seating will continue, and bands are expected to return.
“I think this is going to be a good, strong anchor for the community,” he said. “I think it’s something new and different.”
Whether an Italian restaurant and wine bar can reproduce the former brewery’s crowd patterns is an open question. Breweries often encourage long, casual visits built around shared tables and repeated drink purchases. Restaurants depend more heavily on reservations, table turnover, food preparation and coordinated service. Live music can enhance that experience, but it also requires space and staffing that might otherwise be used for dining.
The site’s shared patio may help bridge those models. SoCo was conceived as a connected dining and nightlife district rather than a row of isolated storefronts. The continuous deck allows customers of neighboring businesses to occupy the same outdoor environment, and events can create spillover among tenants.
Eric described the incoming operators as interested in collaboration rather than direct confrontation with existing businesses. He said they have attended stakeholder meetings and met other business owners.
“All ships rise with the tide,” he said in summarizing their outlook. “They just want to be part of what is Pittsboro.”
That philosophy will be tested in a downtown where restaurants need one another to create destination traffic but still compete for customers, workers and discretionary spending.
An Italian concept arrives amid growing competition
The new SoCo restaurant will not enter an empty market. Pittsboro already has established independent restaurants downtown and in surrounding developments, and another Italian business is opening at MOSAIC at Chatham Park.
A Tavolo Italian Eatery, from Greg and Maria Lewis – owners of The Sycamore, 39 West Catering and Forest Hall – is scheduled to open in October 2026 at 367 Freedom Parkway. Its published concept includes fresh pasta, pizza, Italian entrées and a full bar.
The timing creates an intriguing comparison. A Tavolo is opening in newer commercial space at MOSAIC, while La Casina de la Nona is adapting a historic downtown building. One is expected to begin with a complete restaurant menu; the other plans to introduce itself first as a café and pastry operation, with its restaurant following months later. Both will seek customers from a community that is expanding but still small enough for reputation and repeat business to matter greatly.
Competition does not necessarily mean the market can support only one. The restaurants may differ in price, menu, service style, entertainment and hours. Their locations may also serve overlapping but distinct customer routines. MOSAIC draws residents and visitors toward Chatham Park’s commercial gateway, while SoCo is tied to the courthouse circle, downtown events, independent shops and the historic street grid.
The larger issue for Pittsboro is whether new growth produces enough year-round demand to sustain both new restaurants and existing businesses. Restaurant openings often generate excitement; survival depends on consistent weekday traffic after the novelty fades.
Growth is real, but projections require care
Eric said the incoming tenants were attracted by Pittsboro’s long-term growth and suggested the local population could increase tenfold over the next 10 to 20 years. The direction of change is supported by public plans, though the exact pace remains uncertain.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Pittsboro’s population at 5,054 on July 1, 2025, up 11.3% from the 2020 estimates base. The town’s 2023 Future Land Use Plan projected a study-area population of 18,412 in 2030, 29,704 in 2040 and 40,996 in 2050, while warning that forecasts are uncertain and depend on infrastructure and economic conditions.
Chatham Park is the largest driver behind those expectations. Pittsboro’s approved plan describes a development district of approximately 7,100 acres with as many as 22,000 homes, up to 22 million square feet of nonresidential development, at least 1,320 acres of open space and at least 667 acres of park land. Full buildout is expected to take decades, not a few years.
For a restaurant choosing a long-term lease, those figures represent potential. More households can mean more diners, workers, visitors and private events. They also mean more competitors, more traffic and greater pressure on utilities, roads and parking.
The new tenants are therefore making two bets at once: that the current Pittsboro market can support the business during its early years and that future growth will strengthen it over time.
Parking and public-property plans loom over downtown
During the interview, Eric identified parking as one of the most important variables in downtown’s future. He said Greg Stafford is particularly concerned that redevelopment of nearby public properties should preserve or improve the ability of customers to reach local businesses.
The concern is timely. Chatham County and the Town of Pittsboro are working on the Downtown Pittsboro Public Properties initiative as county services prepare for an eventual move to a new complex. The planning area includes outdated government buildings, public land and surface parking near the courthouse circle. The town says possible future uses include housing, commercial development, civic facilities, infrastructure and public gathering spaces.
Those sites could extend downtown activity and add customers within walking distance of SoCo. They could also disrupt familiar parking patterns during and after redevelopment.
Pittsboro’s challenge is common to growing small towns: residents value walkability but often expect to park close to their destination. A lively center needs sidewalks, crossings, shade, lighting and multiple reasons to move from one business to another. It also needs enough clearly marked parking, including spaces for employees, people with disabilities and visitors unfamiliar with downtown.
Eric noted that thriving downtowns such as Hillsborough and Apex do not guarantee a space at every storefront. Pittsboro customers may gradually accept a longer walk. That cultural shift will be easier if the town provides safe routes and accurate wayfinding – and if the destinations are compelling enough to justify the walk.
The SoCo reopening could influence that broader discussion. If the restaurant, café, wine bar and music venue draw large crowds, parking demand around the circle will become visible quickly. If patrons circulate among multiple businesses rather than driving from one storefront to another, the project could also demonstrate the value of a connected downtown district.
A hopeful announcement, not a finished project
The Sept. 1 news resolves the largest uncertainty surrounding the former Havoc building: there is a signed tenant, and the intended use combines food, drinks, coffee, pastries and entertainment.
It does not resolve every risk.
Commercial kitchens are expensive. Construction schedules slip. Equipment can take longer than expected to arrive. Plans may change during building review. Health inspections can reveal additional work. Restaurant hiring remains difficult, and opening multiple service periods – morning coffee, lunch, dinner and evening wine – requires a larger and more flexible workforce than a single-shift concept.
The operators will also inherit public expectations created by the site’s previous life. Residents remember a busy patio and live bands. Some will expect the same casual atmosphere; others will want a quieter restaurant. Some will welcome another coffee option; others may ask whether Pittsboro has enough cafés. Some will celebrate Italian food; others would have preferred one of the concepts that was not selected.
As Eric observed, no tenant choice could satisfy everyone.
The fairest early measure will not be whether the concept matches every resident’s wish list. It will be whether the owners execute the plan they have offered: open safely, communicate clearly, build the kitchen, serve consistent food and drink, use the patio responsibly, cooperate with neighboring businesses and become a reliable presence rather than a short-lived novelty.
For downtown, the larger takeaway is already visible. The former Havoc space will not simply reopen as another beer hall. The property owners selected a tenant willing to install a kitchen and operate across multiple parts of the day, while preserving the patio and entertainment role that made the site a community gathering place.
If the plan succeeds, an empty storefront at Pittsboro’s most recognizable intersection will again become an active front door to downtown.