Ye Olde Waffle Shop has been serving residents, visitors and students in downtown Chapel Hill for 35 years, and to mark the anniversary and thank its customers, the shop will offer its original 1972 menu -- with original 1972 prices -- on Friday starting at 7 a.m. The 1972 menu will be offered for the whole day with only breakfast items; the restaurant offered customers only breakfast when it opened.

Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe will have a raffle for customers. And throughout the year, the restaurant will feature one 1972 menu item as the special of the day one day a month.

For information, call 929-9192.

Downtown cleanup set for MLK Day

On Jan. 21, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, people around the nation will honor King's dedication to turning community concerns into citizen action by volunteering. The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership will join with Carolina ROCTS, a UNC service group, for a downtown cleanup on Jan. 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

More than 30 UNC students and community members will clean up trash, sort recyclables, remove stickers from benches and trash cans, remove old fliers from the downtown kiosks and wipe down the street furniture and light poles.

The downtown cleanup is a part of the Downtown Partnership's commitment to addressing community concerns of cleanliness and litter in the downtown area. Since last summer, the partnership has hosted monthly volunteer cleanup projects downtown by private groups, community service youth, UNC fraternities and other community organizations.

Everyone is welcome to volunteer and pitch in on the day of Service. Contact Meg McGurk at 967-9440 or meg@downtownchapelhill.com to sign up.

New businesses prepare to open

Several new businesses have recently opened or are preparing to open in Chapel Hill.

Among the newcomers:

• Baba Ghannouj Mediterranean Bistro, specializing in a blend of Lebanese and Greek foods, plans to open at the end of January in The Courtyard at 431 W. Franklin St. The menu will feature Mediterranean fare such as falafel, tabouli, charcoal-grilled kabobs, pita wraps shawirmas and gyros.
• Buns, a gourmet burger restaurant offering fresh and homemade menu items, plans to open in February at 107 N. Columbia St. With take-out and eat-in options, Buns' menu will include turkey, veggie, beef, salmon and tuna burgers with hand-cut French fries.
• The Crunkleton, 320 W. Franklin St., a new bar joining the West End in March, will meld arts- and-crafts-style furniture, art and drinks under one roof in an unassuming and cozy atmosphere.
• Cluck University Chicken plans to open at the end of January at 127 E. Franklin St. The menu includes sandwiches, wraps, salads and Cluck's trademark Wingers.
• Glee Kids is to open in February in University Square, 133-C W. Franklin St. The boutique will offer clothes, shoes, gifts and gear for children ages up to age 8.
• Jernigan-Wicker Fine Arts & Pearson Fine Arts is to open in February at 142 E. Franklin St. The shop will offer art and antiques.
• Sugarland, a bakery, is to open at 140 E. Franklin St. at the end of January. The shop will offer specialty pastries, gelato, a gourmet lunch menu and coffee drinks.

Just before the holidays the downtown saw two new businesses open their doors to customers. Chill Bubble Tea, which offers smoothie drinks featuring a blend of fruit, tea and tapioca, opened at 145 E. Franklin St., and the Carolina Skybar at 136 E. Rosemary St. features two 90-inch video projectors, two 50-inch HDMI flat screen televisions and nine other televisions, along with a state of the art sound-and-light system.