A Secret No More: Merritt's Store and Grill

Our State magazine July 2013 issue featuring Merritt's Store and Grill.

 A feature article in this month's issue of Our State magazine was "10 Best Kept Secrets in North Carolina", and one of those listed was Merritt's Store and Grill in Chapel Hill.  Judging from the crowd that was there on Wednesday, it's no longer a secret.  I had hardly noticed this tiny little store on South Columbia Street that I passed each time I visited my PCP at the ACC in Chapel Hill.  But after reading that this Grill is known for its B.L.T.'s and learning that it is the little store that I had passed so many times, friend Marcia and I headed over for lunch the other day.

Marcia at the side of Merritt's Store and Grill.

Robin Britt and her husband Bob own this Store, and it was she who greeted us as we entered.  She explained that we ordered at one place, waited until the sandwich was ready while we selected our drinks from the cooler and then moved to the other side of the store to pay at the cash register.  So we got in line and both ordered the single B.L.T. (they come in three sizes single, double, triple---based on the number of layers of bacon, lettuce and tomato) between two slices of homemade sour dough bread.

Their BLT's come in three sizes.

Making sandwiches.

Our sandwiches were made very quickly, (the service was faster than most so called "fast food" places) and by then a long line had appeared.

Long line of customers waiting for their favorite sandwiches.

We just managed to get a table where a couple were leaving.  There is outdoor seating as well, and I noticed that many were getting their sandwiches to go.

I must say it is one of the best, if not the best, B.L.T.'s I have ever eaten.  And for my drink I chose an old-fashioned Cheerwine in a glass bottle with the metal cap. They have an old-fashioned bottle opener mounted near the door. 

My BLT.

Cheerwine in old-fashioned glass bottle with metal cap.

The store, at one time an Esso station, is now just a country store that is well-known for its sandwiches, particularly the B.L.T.  Sometimes on Saturdays, there is live music in a corner of the store.

After sharing my experience with my dear husband, my son, and my grandson, they are all ready to go with me the next time I head over for a B.L.T.  Best Kept Secret no more, not in our family.