Earlier this summer 2024, Mildred “Dip” Council’s children announced they will be closing the restaurant in mid-August after forty-eight years of service. The Council children make up the core of the staff, and many of them are approaching retirement age.
Mama Dip’s and the late Mildred Council made food that tasted was just like home, according to regulars. Fried chicken of course, but also pork chops, fried catfish, all kinds of things with gravy, both chicken and beef liver, greens, butter beans, and all manner of homemade cakes and pies. Her restaurant was the place to have lunch after the First Baptist Church held its Martin Luther King Day service in Chapel Hill every year.
Mrs. Council passed away in 2018, but her children continued to run the restaurant.
After the dining room closes on August 17, the staff will continue to serve family-style take-home meals for a while longer. Mrs. Council’s daughter Spring plans to keep rights to the brand and keep running the website that offers cookbooks, barbecue sauce, and T-shirts. Spring also has plans to start up a new fast-casual place in the future.