Crook’s Corner/Facebook

The shrimp and grits aren’t going anywhere though

Chef Carrie Schleiffer, executive chef at Alley Twenty Six in Durham, has taken on the additional role of executive chef at Crook’s Corner, signaling a new chapter in the storied life of the famed Chapel Hill restaurant.

Situated at the end of Franklin Street, right at the bend where Chapel Hill becomes Carrboro, Crook’s Corner is one of the most celebrated restaurants in the American South. Opened in 1982 by Gene Hamer and chef Bill Neal, Crook’s was at the forefront of the Southern farm-to-table movement, and is credited with popularizing the modern iteration of shrimp and grits.

Provided Chef Carrie Schleiffer

After Neal passed in 1991 another Bill, chef Bill Smith, took the helm and guided the restaurant through the nineties and into the new millennium. And now, in 2021, after nearly forty years