What makes Mebane, North Carolina, ‘positively charming’? Find out in My Town Monday
MEBANE, N.C. (WGHP) – If you take a drive down Interstate 40 through Alamance County, you might stop in Mebane to shop at the outlets or fill up your tank, but if you drive a little further off the highway, you’ll find a quaint downtown bursting with life.
Mebane Mayor Ed Hooks says the town’s slogan says it best: “It’s positively charming.”
Explore more North Carolina communities in My Town Monday!
“It’s been exciting to see Mebane transform from, you know, very small, 1,600 people, to now close to 20,000 people,” said Hooks.
He moved to the town in 1979 and watched it grow and evolve. He remembers when the first roadside McDonald’s came to town.
“Our downtown is our heart,” said Hooks. “For years I’ve been on the council and we’ve tried to do everything we can to protect our downtown and enhance it.”
Mebane is a part of the Main Street Program as part of the town’s effort to continuously grow and revitalize the downtown. On any given day, you find people walking and searching through shops full of vintage finds and the latest trends. They stop and eat at restaurants with everything from tacos to ice cream.
Reagan Gural is the president and CEO of Alamance Chamber. One of her favorites is Bright Penny, a brewery and restaurant.
“You can sit in the beer garden, and you can look around. You see representatives from large industries here in the evening having dinner, enjoying fellowship with each other while supporting a small business,” said Gural.
Town leaders take care to preserve what once made the town great. Over the last few years, they turned the dilapidated and abandoned White Furniture building into lofts, and another old mill building became the town’s new library.
“It creates character and becomes a destination people want to visit and we want that,” said Gural.
70 miles of sidewalks might take you outside the town to places like Lake Michael where you can enjoy a stroll on the trail or paddle boats in the sun.
The town is also in the process of building its first greenway.
Mebane also hosts events like the Dogwood Festival and other 5K’s to bring everyone together.
The charm coupled with growing industry make it a great place to visit in Gural’s eyes.
“It’s an exciting time to be alive in Alamance County, we’re growing, we’re in the heart of the state and we have so many unique opportunities here that I think people are searching for,” said Gural.
Mayor Hooks knows the people are at the heart of it all.
“Our citizens are just phenomenal, the volunteerism, the committees and all the things they do to make Mebane better,” said Hooks.
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