The Station

MAN I was not expecting this. So for starters, it’s not just one bar– it’s a whole complex of bars. And they’re all decorated in a railroad theme. One of the bars is even located in a converted railcar.
The drink menu was pretty extensive, and I was pretty pleased. I got a Dark and Stormy, which, flavor wise, was very well done. It’s got that hipster, eclectic vibe to it, and it was all I could do not to imagine Mumford and Sons looking people roll through with clove cigarettes.
Seating here is en fleeque. There’s seating in each bar, seating outside each bar, seating in this little square in the middle of all the bars, and a whole courtyard in the back with a Merritt’s kind of feel.
Atmosphere overall is pretty chill but not pretentious. Although right beside it, you do have all the drunken ratchetry happening inside the building where Southern Rail is. So cater it to your night however.

Service has been consistently terrible and even rude every time we try this place. It’s a cool concept and in a great location but we won’t be back unless all other options are exhausted. Trivia on Tuesdays is boring, not enough seating

The heart of Carrboro.
Best staff. Mark is brilliant!
Chill, so many places to sit, dining room, bar car, stage, patio, and the train tracks!

I liked the Station and have been there countless times in the past with friends and colleagues. The food is great and service and okay. Other than Speakeasy, this was my go-​to spot.
However, I will not be handing over anymore of my money to this establishment. I refuse to support any business that supports discrimination.
I witnessed a gentleman be harassed by some Neo-​Nazi recruiters (one african-​american included) outside the bar near the entrance while smoking a cigarette. The gentleman went in to the bartender and informed him of the bald-​headed crew outside.
When the Neo-​Nazi people started gay-​bashing and talking about how much they hated and wanted to kill gays, the gentleman went back inside a second time to tell the bartender of the situation and that’s when he got kicked out from the establishment. I later find out that the bartender is friends with the Neo-Nazi’s and that’s why the gentlemen was dismissed from the premises.
I don’t approve of how the situation was handled and will not support any business whose employees support discrimination.
Due to my good history with The Station, they get one star better than the lowest.

Always fun, great bands, ok food, fun staff, lots of good times, …

The food our family had for lunch was spot on. Everything was fresh and we’ll seasoned. Best falafel I’ve ever had. Chef makes it fresh with cummin and a little red pepper for some heat. Greek inspired garnish and fresh peta. Wow. will be back

When I just feel like throwing on some Converses, getting some drinks and dancing for the hell of it, The Station does it for me. It’s the perfect place on a mellow Friday or Saturday night when you just feel like going out for a few drinks and dancing like you want to, without getting all dressed up. Plus, I love chill and divey atmospheres that still make an effort in the «style/​décor» department. Each time I go to The Station, I find myself staring at all the eclectic décor. The first time I went to The Station was actually on New Year’s Eve and that was a ton of fun — it was packed, but it was awesome.
I especially like that the crowd is a bit older than the sea of undergraduates near Chapel Hill — more along the lines of hippies and yuppies in their late 20’s and 30’s.
My only recommendation, would be to make the bathrooms bigger, with more stalls. On busy nights, like NYE, the wait can get verrryyy long. Otherwise, cheap beer, good cocktails, good music, and great ambiance :)

Came for brunch on Sunday. Plenty of open tables both inside and out. We were told they couldn’t seat us, that their kitchen was too busy and that there was a 35 minute wait. After asking about the 4 empty tables out front and the vast array of free indoor tables, we were told the kitchen is too small, and we’d have to stand around (we couldn’t even sit at the open tables) until they were capable of serving us.
This is ridiculous. Build a bigger kitchen, serve food that is easier to make, or hire employees that aren’t slackers. There is no excuse for turning away business, for having open tables and telling customers who want to pay you money to go away.
The food is decent, but nothing special. The atmosphere is nice. But the fact they turned us away, combined with the terrible parking situation (they have 5 spots in a cramped lot and if you park next door in the mall lot you’ll be towed, even if the mall isn’t open), means we will never be back.

Very unique place. There are 4 different train cars that you can go into in this area. We visited all of them. The atmosphere is nice for a nighttime hangout spot. The drinks are good prices and the clients aren’t the same college crowd you get in chapel hill. One of the train cars is an actual bar car that had vinyl records playing! Maybe next time we will try the food.

Friendly and charming bartenders, good pub snacks, all your drinking needs under several roofs. I liked the old school vinyl being played in the bar car. Met some good characters of the local variety. Makes me think this could be a place that I could live someday. Cards Against Humanity is a perfect way to get things livened up along w an Irish coffee.

Okay, I’ve been holding off on this one because I’m up here so much. Until recently, at least four nights a week, but I’ve taken a break from drinking (wonder why?) so I can be found skulking around the porch Friday night and possibly Saturday afternoon.
Other than that short guy with the beard who always wears a hat and hipster glasses, the bar staff is pretty cool. A quick-​witted Jersey boy (seems like a contradiction, right?), flaming-​haired Norm (not a Cheers joke), and a motley assortment of rotating shape-​shifters (all zombie obsessed with a touch of class) round out the alcohol cowboys. Unless it’s busy, they are happy to discuss all manner of drink recipes, AMC sitcoms, or Carrboro happenings. The décor is super quirky… like somebody dropped a museum basement bomb in a train station from the 1920s. But don’t worry, they have air conditioning… and quality bathroom graffiti.
Now for the scene, it totally depends on the night:
Open Mic Mondays are generally miserable unless you are in high school or just moved to town and can’t find a band. Even so, they are very well attended, and occasionally have a decent act that won’t kill your eardrums. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually run of the mill, mainly locals, chill. There’s usually a cool band and always a decent drink special.
Thursday and Friday begin the gear up for the weekend. Friday has an early show of good, regular live music and a late show of drunken debauchery. Frat boys in topsiders, pink shorts, and polos will make the rounds with their sorostitute counterparts until last call. I get the hell out of dodge by 10 because it often becomes so crowded you can’t move easily, let alone order a drink above the pulsating Eighties remixes (or whatever the DJ drags in.)
All in all, it’s a great spot for local flavor and a few good drinks… you can order food, but if you read my other review, I wouldn’t. Unless you get the tots (bacon, cheese, and ranch forever!)…it would be better if they had fried pickles, though.

un des bars les plus populaires de carrboro. il a une particularité, ceci-​dit: il est bondé le week end soit le vendredi, soit le samedi, mais jamais les 2 soirs de suite, et personne n’est capable de prédire quel soir sera LE soir. dans le doute, vous pouvez toujours le tester le mardi ou le jeudi, ils profitent à fond des soirées étudiantes :)

I owe them finding my favorite local beer: Triangle Brewery White. I’m from Colorado where I consider the birth of microbrewed beer to have occurred but after trying my first local beer at the Station I am hooked. NC all the way.
i like the funkiness of this bar, that weird old piano and the nice bartenders who still card me even though I’m twice the legal drinking age. Its a nice place to hang out before a show at the Cat’s Cradle and they have a nice outdoor seating area. Not loving the cigarette smoke out there though.
I absolutely detest the service and food at Southern Rail but the Station is tops for a hang-​out and beer.

This place does have historical significance, and tremendous novelty; however, it is not a staple of my outing experience as it is for so many Carrboro/​Chapel Hill citizens. Come on a weekend to see this spot packed out with rowdy plaid-​clad 20-​somethings. If you’re looking for that kind of scene, you can definitely find it here.
Last note: This place does keep it classy with cheap PBR’s. Get the tallboys.

Love the vibe here. It’s so laid back. Plenty of parking. Cool casual bar in the back with never-​fail live music. It’s so entertaining to watch the bands perform because they have so much fun on stage.
Later in the evening the dance floor came alive and the dj totally rocked.
I love a place that has Bulliet and they even serve food in the bar section. The cheesecake wasn’t the best, but its nice to have a few options at least while hanging out.
Something about Carrboro that escapes the college-​esque of Chapel Hill.

There is absolutely no way I could ever hate this place based solely on the fact that my favorite all time band R.E.M. played here before I was even born and I recently saw an acoustic Fountains of Wayne set here mid day on a Friday. Day drunk AND my third fav band? FANTASTIC.
Seriously though… amazing and ample outdoor and indoor seating. Good beers. FABULOUS margaritas. Strong gin and sodas if you are into that sort of thing. Sometimes good deejays. This place is the best earlier in the night, though I have ended a few nights here after getting super drunk at other places (or starting off here and then returning to close it out). I’ve danced here, had great chats here, and made so many MEMORIES.
Ladies — make sure you lock the bathroom door behind you! It DOES lock!
Just don’t park in Carr Mill or else the parking nazi will get you. Or go on half price wine night with the intentions of splitting a bottle with a friend then end up drinking your own. On a Wednesday night.
Spot on.

Not a fan of music so loud you can’t hear other people talk. But what was really disappointing was that they allow smoking outside and on the patio. If they would ban smoking outside so I could talk to people without secondhand smoke surrounding me, I’d probably come back.

Stopped in for a pint for the first time on the way home tonight. Looks like it will be a regular hangout spot. More later, but for right now, all I can say is good music and nice atmosphere.

If you’re looking to grab good beer — Avoid this place!
This used to be one of my favorite establishments; but the rude/​surely bartenders this year have definitely put a damper on things.
Brought a few international friends to sample NC brews on Friday night — mistake! When asking for a recommendation between two local beers we were told «These are beers, not cars». When we were then given the cold shoulder for a solid 10 mins, we were forced to leave to drink at Milltown.
If you’re looking to branch out, try a new beer, and need a rec, get yourself to Milltown, Speakeasy, or really any other establishment but here. Not to mention any place but here is more welcoming to internationals.
I was definitely ashamed of the Station on Friday, especially since when I visit my friends in their country, the waitstaff is nothing but warm, despite my broken Spanish.

The Station is a fun place to dance and party in. I have only experienced the live music here once, so I can only say that it was an amusing time and it seems like the live music could be nice here, but that band was not for me…
However… the dancing… ah the dancing!!! So much fun to dance here. You get to know the people who come every week to dance here. There’s the dirty looking people who dancing ridiculously well, the guy who could out dance MJ, and so on. The music can be crappy sometimes, but most of the time it’s a nice mix of stuff that’s just plain fun to dance to. The bartenders are awesome and nice and get to know you easily if you’re a regular. Southern Rail is next door to grab drinks if the floor is too packed to make your way to the bar.
All and all, this is a great place to come dance. Friday and Saturday nights are amazingly fun and I highly recommend trying out the dance floor :)

I’ve been here for two prime things: Dance parties and Hell Trivia. Both are quite awesome.
Dance parties are quite interesting at The Station: it’s not your traditional grind fest a la Players. Yet it’s not slow or anything either. It’s just enjoyable. It can get a little hot in there, but people are having a good time, and that’s what matters.
And then there’s the awesome challenge that is Wednesday’s Hell Trivia. It’s not for the meek: categories based around 90s hip hop artists, the humming of TV theme songs, and psychology dot the potential landscape of questions. Trivia also moves quickly, making it far less time-​consuming than other places in the Chapel Hill/​Carrboro area.
This, coupled with decent prices on beer and food, make The Station an ideal hangout place.