A beloved North Raleigh neighborhood restaurant and bar set to close after 23 years

Over the weekend, North Raleigh’s Sawmill Tap Room saw record crowds grabbing beers and dinner, co-owner Kellie Morgan said.

It wasn’t the Duke-Carolina game or ACC Tournament action that seemed to be the draw, she said, but the trickle on social media and community message boards that Sawmill would soon close.

By Monday morning the restaurant was out of everything, Morgan said.

Sawmill Tap Room will close in May when its current lease expires, Morgan said.

The restaurant opened 23 years ago in North Raleigh’s Greystone Village, sharing the popular shopping center these days with Sola Coffee, Gonza Tacos & Tequila and Two Roosters Ice Cream. Morgan said Sawmill’s landlord, a Myrtle Beach real estate firm, is not offering a new lease and has posted a lease sign outside.

The word of Sawmill’s closing spread quickly on NextDoor and was shared widely from the restaurant’s Facebook page.

“This past weekend we were packed, we didn’t have any inventory left,” Morgan said. “The sales were the highest they’ve been.”

Burroughs & Chapin, the Myrtle Beach-based real estate trust, did not return a message seeking comment Monday afternoon. The company’s portfolio also includes Myrtle Beach’s Broadway at the Beach and Barefoot Landing.

Sawmill Tap Room is owned by married couple Kellie and Chris Morgan, a former general manager at downtown Raleigh landmark 42nd Street Oyster Bar.

“Our landlord said our lease had come to a natural end and we wouldn’t get a new one,” Morgan said. “We’re in a state of shock, we’re heartbroken.”

In its two decades, Sawmill joined the timeless tradition of the local pub, pouring countless beers from its 30 taps, hosting sports teams, candidate parties and neighbors’ nights out.

“We’re a local neighborhood restaurant and bar, we just try to support the community and all the schools and be charitable,” Morgan said.

While its days on Lead Mine Road seem to be numbered, Morgan said the couple have spent their lives working in restaurants and would consider reopening in a new location.

“We’d like to reopen somewhere else, but we only recently heard the news,” Morgan said. “We’re still trying to figure things out.”