Daniel B.
Yelp
Merritt's Grill is a Chapel Hill institution known for its BLT and other sandwiches plus burgers and more. The food here is worth the hype and the casual atmosphere, if dining in or outside, is nice too. These were among the best sandwiches and burgers we've had in the state. No Chapel Hill/Carolina experience is truly complete without a visit to Merritt's.
Our first experience with Merritt's was at a UNC football game in 2022. Merritt's had at least one concession stand inside Kenan Stadium. They were selling Single BLTs with chips ($13 each) and banana pudding ($5 each). Both were delicious. Merritt's had always been on my list of places to try. After we had the BLT and banana pudding at the Carolina game, I knew we had to go visit the brick-and-mortar store.
The restaurant is located south of UNC's campus just off 15-501 and 54. It's open for breakfast and lunch only, Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday. I'm glad this place is open on Saturday because it's hard for my wife and I to make it out here during the week because of work.
Merritt's consists of a small freestanding building with a limited-seating indoor dining room and plenty of seating on one of two outdoor patios: (1) the front patio which you can see from the road and (2) a large patio in the back surrounded by bamboo. All the tables outside have umbrellas. The patios are pet-friendly.
There's plenty of free parking, both in the gravel lot around the building and across the street in another dedicated gravel lot.
You order and pay at one of two registers inside. Drinks, napkins, plastic eating utensils, condiment packets, etc. are self-serve. They'll take your name and phone number and text you when your order is ready. We placed our order on a Saturday at 1:01pm and I received my order-ready text at 1:08pm. Seven minutes.
Referring to the wait time, I read in the News & Observer that the current owners, John and Paula Toogood, had "aimed on cutting the experience down to six or eight minutes." They succeeded. Here's a link to the February 16, 2022 paywalled article: https://bit.ly/3OeTV1X Before the Toogoods assumed ownership in September 2021, I read in various places that Saturday waits at Merritt's were anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes: https://bit.ly/3OgvNMu Yikes. There was no line when we entered, so we only had to wait the seven minutes.
While Merritt's has been around since 1929, the business didn't start selling and becoming famous for their signature BLTs until 1992. That was one year after the previous owners, Bob and Robin Britt, bought the place. Merritt's was originally a gas station, garage (for car repairs), and general store. The original owners were Eben and Ruby Merritt. In May 2013, Ruby, who was 102 years old at the time, was interviewed on the local talk radio show Who's Talking with DG Martin: https://bit.ly/3OduEFx It's a good listen if you're interested in hearing firsthand the history of Merritt's from Mrs. Ruby herself. Here's a link to the full audio which originally aired on 1360 AM WCHL / 97.9 FM The Hill: https://bit.ly/3DbH3nb
Here's what my wife and I had:
* Double BLT ($12.35) - nine slices of bacon, three layers of lettuce and tomato, toasted sourdough, mayo, salt and pepper, plus avocado (+$2.50)
* Pimento Cheese ($5.95) - housemade cheddar pimento cheese atop a bed of lettuce, tomato, and mayo
* Carolina Burger ($8.25) - two 2.5-oz all-beef patties, chili, housemade slaw, onions, and mustard
* Banana Pudding ($3.50)
Everything was excellent. The Double BLT was just as delicious as the Single BLT I remembered having at Kenan Stadium. We both love the sourdough bread they use on the sandwiches. It's fresh, high-quality bread. The current owners also own The Bread Shop in Pittsboro. They sell the sourdough by itself here along with other breads from their shop. The BLT had juicy, ripe tomatoes and delectably crispy bacon. We love avocado and adding it was a good call. One of our local friends enjoys her Merritt's BLTs with guac.
The Pimento Cheese sandwich was outstanding. It might have been the best pimento cheese sandwich I've had anywhere including The Masters. I'm not saying that to humble brag, but The Masters has some of the best pimento cheese sandwiches and Merritt's trumps Augusta. That said, it's probably unfair to compare the two as The Masters' version is much simpler and produced in mass quantities. Merritt's pimento cheese is made in small batches to ensure high quality. I love how their pimento cheese is chunky and perfectly balanced. Also, I like how they add mayo to the sandwich.
Don't sleep on the burgers here. The Carolina Burger was fantastic. Again, great quality all around and well balanced. I love a good chili slaw burger or dog and this was that.
The Banana Pudding was as terrific as the version we had at Kenan. It was light, creamy, and the banana tasted really fresh.
Service was fast and friendly. I noticed a lot of the staff was young, perhaps UNC Chapel Hill students.