The mural on 411’s exterior wall honors Harrison J. “Mickey” Ewell, the founder of the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group and a true icon of North Carolina’s restaurant industry.
Mickey first opened Harrison’s Restaurant on Franklin Street in 1974 and followed that with Spanky’s in downtown Chapel Hill in 1977. His future partners all worked at Spanky’s, and in 1986, they joined forces to form the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group. They opened Squid’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Fordham Boulevard, then 411 West Italian Café on West Franklin Street, followed by a sister restaurant in Raleigh, 518 West. The group followed these iconic spots with two restaurants in the Research Triangle Park - Mez Contemporary Mexican, and Page Road Grill. After Mickey’s retirement, his partners opened LuLuBangBang in the RTP.
Mickey was recognized by the North Carolina Restaurant Association as “Restaurateur of the Year” in 2009 and was inducted into the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 2013. Mickey touched countless lives through his restaurants and his involvement in the Chapel Hill community, and his legacy will endure.