Time-Out Restaurant

Time-Out Restaurant: Chapel Hill’s 24-Hour Home of the Chicken ‘n Cheddar Biscuit

A Franklin Street Institution

Few names are as woven into the fabric of downtown Chapel Hill as Time-Out. Tucked into a spot at 201 East Franklin Street, just steps from the University of North Carolina campus, this independent Southern kitchen has been feeding Tar Heels, night-shift workers, and hungry visitors since 1978. Generations of UNC students have measured out late nights and early mornings by trips through its doors, and the restaurant has earned its reputation as one of the truly essential stops on Franklin Street. It is the kind of place that gets passed down like a family recipe, recommended by parents who ate there in college to the children now doing the same.

The Legendary Chicken ‘n Cheddar Biscuit

If Time-Out is famous for one thing, it is the Chicken ‘n Cheddar Biscuit. A crisp, golden piece of fried chicken is tucked into a warm, house-made biscuit and finished with melted cheddar, creating a handheld comfort that has become the stuff of local legend. It is simple, generous, and deeply satisfying, which explains why the line rarely thins. The kitchen builds an entire menu of biscuit sandwiches around the same idea, from country ham and sausage to bacon and egg, but the chicken and cheddar remains the one that newcomers are always told to order first.

Southern Comfort, Around the Clock

What sets Time-Out apart from nearly every other kitchen in town is its clock, or rather its lack of one. The restaurant is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making it a rare round-the-clock refuge in a college town that keeps unpredictable hours. Whether it is a 2 a.m. craving after a Franklin Street celebration, a pre-dawn breakfast before an early shift, or a quiet weekday lunch, the fryers are always going and the biscuits are always warm. That constant, welcoming presence has made Time-Out a genuine community anchor, the sort of place where you can count on a plate of something good no matter the hour.

More Than Biscuits

Beyond its signature sandwich, Time-Out serves a full lineup of Southern comfort food. Baskets of fried chicken come by the piece or in combinations, and the sides read like a Sunday-supper roll call: creamy mac and cheese, seasoned home fries, fried okra, collard greens, potato salad, coleslaw, and grits. Regulars with a big appetite reach for the “Man vs. Food” combo, a hearty pairing of the famous biscuit with mac and cheese and a drink. Be sure to save room for dessert, because the sweet potato pie, pecan pie, cinnamon rolls, and brownies keep the down-home spirit going right through to the last bite.

Catering and Community

Time-Out has also become a go-to for feeding a crowd, offering Southern comfort catering for groups both small and large, from intimate gatherings to events of well over a hundred guests. That same warmth extends to its everyday service, with delivery available across the area for anyone who would rather bring the biscuits home. For decades it has been a fixture at UNC tailgates, late-night study sessions, and class reunions, quietly earning its place among the Chapel Hill mainstays that tie the community together.

Visiting Time-Out

You will find Time-Out right in the heart of downtown at 201 East Franklin Street, an easy walk from campus and from the shops and bars that line Franklin Street. Prices are refreshingly friendly, service is fast and counter-style, and no reservations are needed, so you can simply drop in whenever hunger strikes. Come hungry, come curious, and come at any hour, because at Time-Out the welcome and the fried chicken never take a break.