Photography by John Michael Simpson

Home to eateries, shops, salons and boutique fitness studios, West Franklin Street plays host to Festifall, Chapel Hill’s beloved arts festival, each autumn at 140 West Plaza.

If you’re looking for suggested itineraries, directions, visitor guides, North Carolina and local maps, try the Chapel Hill/Orange County Welcome Center. The staff, like executive director Laurie Paolicelli, is friendly and helpful, and you might just find your new favorite spot.

Cat Tales Cat Cafe is the purr-fect pit stop even if you’re not in the market to add a friendly feline to your home. The cafe serves beer, wine, coffee and gourmet ice cream sandwiches and popsicles and is home to a dozen adoptable kitties and cats of all colors.

Carly Erickson started Boro Beverage using unwanted produce from farms she worked on to make her own fermented beverages. Now her shop, Boro Bodega, carries nonalcoholic beer, spirits and beverages from across the country that are perfect for dry January and beyond.

Perennial, a leafy hideaway of a coffee shop, makes a mean seasonal specialty drink. Try the “No-Groni,” with Ardi cold brew coffee and bitters, or maybe a maple spice cappuccino is more your style.

Try one of the signature cocktails at The Crunkleton, or have a bartender make you something custom. Opened in 2008, this is a classic spot for sophisticated sipping.

Karen Cunningham opened her carefully curated designer boutique, Simply Audrey, inside of hair salon DB Sutton & Co. She hand-selects each of the new, preloved and vintage pieces so you know you’re in for a one-of-a-kind shopping experience.

Come for the boba tea, stay for the art at Koala Craft Art Studio. Amy Fang (pictured left with her mother, Jingjing Wang) named the store after her favorite animal. You can unleash your creative side, working on beading projects or tufting a cute rug.

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