After 29 years slinging burritos and margaritas on West Rosemary Street, Carrboro staple Carrburritos closed that location on September 5 and is reopening at Carr Mill Mall on September 8 — this time with a full bar, Sunday brunch, and nearly double the seating and parking.
Owner Rae Mosher, who was just 17 years old when Carrburritos opened in 1997, said the move is about growth rather than necessity. According to The Daily Tar Heel, Mosher said the restaurant did not want to keep raising prices, and the old Rosemary Street kitchen had limited how much catering the business could take on. The new Carr Mill Mall space comes with a bigger kitchen and more dining space, giving Carrburritos room to finally expand that side of the operation.
A Bigger Kitchen Built for Catering
The restaurant previously offered catering but was constrained by its old kitchen's capacity, per the same account. Rae Mosher told northcarolinagolfhomes.com the new kitchen is big enough to finally grow the catering side of the business. The Carr Mill Mall suite also features an exterior-facing storefront, a courtyard patio and thirty-foot ceilings, according to that outlet.
Carrburritos previously served margaritas and beer; at the new location, it will offer a full bar with other liquors and wine alongside its existing drink menu. The restaurant also plans to begin Sunday brunch service within a few weeks of opening, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Daily Tar Heel reports.
Nearly Double the Seats and Parking
Carrburritos will nearly double both its seating capacity and its parking capacity at the new address, a change UNC alumna Farrell Wiggins expects will mean easier parking and more room to sit down. The restaurant is keeping the exposed brick walls already inside the Carr Mill Mall space, and staff brought over the oilcloth tablecloths and decor from Rosemary Street while adding new purple, red and yellow colors to the room.
Mosher described the transition as smooth, even though the old Rosemary Street location felt like home, according to the Daily Tar Heel's reporting. Carrburritos targeted an opening in late summer, ideally before students returned to campus in mid-August, while keeping its Rosemary Street doors open during the changeover, per northcarolinagolfhomes.com.
Following in Elmo's Footsteps
The Carr Mill Mall suite has a well-worn history in Carrboro dining. The space was Elmo's Diner from 1991 until it closed in 2020, and Grata Diner took over not long after, closing in January 2026 according to the same source. That makes Carrburritos the third occupant of that same corner in six years, per northcarolinagolfhomes.com's reporting.
For some longtime locals, the corner carries personal history that predates any burrito. UNC alumna Alex Hubbard said she went on her first date with her now-husband at Elmo's Diner, and she still remembers the wood floors, the creaking, and the diner's old bar area, according to the Daily Tar Heel. Rae Mosher has her own tie to the space: her family moved to the Chapel Hill area in 1992 and first ate at Elmo's Diner not long after, the paper reports.
For now, Carrboro's burrito faithful have a new address to learn, a fuller bar to explore, and a brunch menu on the way — all inside a building that has quietly hosted the town's comfort-food favorites for more than three decades.
