Goodfellows

Goodfellows is right off of East Franklin Street, in the area that's frequented by the younger crowd of Chapel Hill.  It's sort of hidden because it's just a door on the main street instead of a large storefront.  I'm not quite sure how the crowd moves in Chapel Hill, but it seems like bars rotate from being super crowded to being practically empty.  On an empty weekday night, Goodfellows has a really chill atmosphere and is a great place to grab a drink, sit in a booth, and catch up with friends.  Then, on a weekend night when it's crowded, the atmosphere normally changes entirely!  The long, narrow bar gets packed!  Literally packed--so it takes a good long while to move along the long and narrow bar to the restrooms in the back.  There is a DJ and some dancing in the very front, but honestly it's normally too packed to move--much less dance--on a really crowded night.  There are also usually drink specials.

I definitely think it's a good one-stop shop to experience the undergrad UNC nightlife (it was one of the first places I went to when I visited friends going to undergrad at UNC). (Not that it's only undergraduates--I've definitely gone there with friends in our later 20s).

We come here when we barhop on Franklin, mainly because it's one of the few bars that doesn't make you pay cover. For this reason, there's typically a line outside the door, as every college kid is broke and is trying to save a few bucks as well.  You have to walk down a stairway to go in, and the space is really small so there's a bouncer outside that will only let one person in per person that leaves (another reason the line is so long).

So when you finally get a chance to enter, you walk down and this tiny bar is just PACKED with obnoxious college kids trying to get drunk. There are only 5-6 booths, so you will most DEFINITELY be standing as youre drinking, and be prepared to get pushed around the whole night by people passing through. I've had so many beers spilled on me..so don't wear nice clothes!

There's a deejay playing old rock songs in the corner and a few crowd-friendly hip hop songs. There's no dance floor, just a little emptied out space between tables where drunk girls congregate to freak dance on eager guys, even if the music is totally not dance-appropriate (yes, these people will grind to blink 182).

The bar itself specializes in craft beers, which isn't really my thing either. What really makes me dock a star off is the $8 minimum for credit card. We usually only stay here for one drink and go to the next bar, so unless I buy a super expensive drink, I'm screwed. I usually end up having to buy for another person, or get someone else to buy for me, or worse, end up buying an expensive not-even-worth-it drink. It's just a pain in the butt, to have to go get cash, solely for Goodfellows. I guess this is how the bar makes money in compensation for not charging cover. Lame.

I was about 20 years older than anyone else there but I did have fun during my short visit with my much younger cousins.I experienced my first (and last ) pickle back and a few beers I was not familiar with.Fun atmosphere but for a younger crowd.Also very cheap.