by Charly Mann

For baby boomers who grew up or attended college in Chapel Hill there is only one business left on Franklin Street that is still essentially the same, Sutton's. The other core establishments that gave downtown its unique flavor, the Varsity Theater, Julian's (the original store), The Ratskeller, and Jeff's Confectionery are all gone. Jeff's was the first of these landmark businesses to close, and probably the most widely missed because it represented so many things to such a wide variety of people.

Jeff's Confectionery, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill during its prime

Jeff's was opened in 1922 by Jeff Thomas (1898 – 1957), the first in a long line of Greek merchants who would improve the quality of life in Chapel Hill. These included Pete Galifinkas who opened Hector's, a Greek fast food restaurant in 1969, Tommy Mariakakis who brought the first authentic pizza to Chapel Hill in the early 1960s with his Mariakakas Restaurant and Bakery in Eastgate, Leo (whose last name escapes me even though he was my landlord for many years), whose Leo's restaurant was a culinary treasure on West Franklin Street for many decades, and Spero Dorton, who was Jeff's cousin and owned the Goody Shop next to the Carolina Theater. In the beginning Jeff's was primarily a convenience store with a soda fountain. Next door to Jeff's, until 1932, was a much larger business called Carolina Confectionery which sold and made candy and pastries, which is by definition what a confectionery does. Soon after this business closed, Jeff's changed its name to Jeff's Confectionery, though the only major change in the business was that they added a magazine stand that took up most of one side of the store.

The is the original Jeff's on Franklin Street in 1928 which would become Jeff's Confectionery

Jimmy Mousmoules, Jeff Thomas's nephew, took over Jeff's in the early 1950s and became the face of the business until it closed in the early 1990s. Jimmy made the best fountain cokes you ever tasted, and he was especially adept at adding vanilla, cherry, or chocolate flavoring to them. He also offered a tiny sized cup for nickel drinks. For many people, like myself, who worked on Franklin street or students needing a quick and inexpensive meal, getting a candy bar, chips, or Lance crackers with a coke at Jeff's was almost a daily occurrence.

To many others Jeff's was the only place in town that offered a wide selection of men's magazines. In the 50's and 60's these magazines were pretty tame, and kids like myself knew better than to pick up anything on the "adult's only" shelf. For men who were looking for magazines that then would be considered pornographic, I have been told by several of Jeff’s former customers, that those were sold in a separate room in the back. For many women in town Jeff's reputation as a "dirty book store" prevented them from ever entering its doors. While I do not recall ever looking at a men's magazine at Jeff's in my youth, I did spend hours on the floor there drinking cokes and reading comic books. Jeff's had the best selection of comics in Chapel Hill for most of the 50s and 60s, and had a separate swivel rack stand for them.

Carolina Confectionery was a bakery and candy shop near Jeff's in the 1920s

For the majority of Jeff's history it sold beer in cans and bottles to go, and because of its proximity to campus probably sold the most alcoholic beverages in town until Chapel Hill got its first ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) store in the Eastgate shopping center around 1962.

What most Chapel Hillians remember most fondly about Jeff's was not even inside the store, but was the large blackboard on the right side of the door where the s of college games were posted. In the days before the Internet people would often gather around Jeff's on Saturday afternoon in the fall to find out how their favorites teams had done.

Jeff's was also widely known as a place where one could make illegal bets on sporting events, especially Carolina games. Jimmy apparently fronted for a bookmaker in town, and he was often seen with large rolls of cash paying out winnings. Unfortunately, the few friends I knew who placed bets with Jimmy lost far more money than they ever won.

Standing in front of Jeff's Confectionery on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill in 1978

Tweet