55 Dogwood Acres Dr. / Mellott's Store / Mellott's Self-Service Grocery

"Dogwood Acres" was subdivided in 1949, as a development for people to have custom homes built on purchased lots. Mellott's Store was built on lot 55 of the subdivision sometime between 1951 and 1959.

According to a 1951 article in the Chapel Hill Weekly, "Lot 55 is being reserved for a service [station] and shopping center to be built for the convenience of the residents."

The store and gas station was owned and operated by Calvin and Nora Mellott. It was also used as a polling place. It operated until at least the 1980s.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, several local bands (such as Dillon Fence, Polvo, Metal Flake Mother, What Peggy Wants, et al.) used the space, described as "abandoned" by 1991, for practicing/rehearsal room, paying $150 a month to rent the property. They called it "the gas station."

Former store, view south east, June 2024 (via Google Streetview)

REFERENCES:

Chapel Hill city directories, 1959-1981
The Chapel Hill Weekly
Tom Maxwell. A Really Strange and Wonderful Time: The Chapel Hill Music Scene: 1989-1999. New York: Hachette Books, 2024. pp203-204.
Orange County deed book 132, page 477; deed book 212, page 806; plat book 4, page 113