Two local businesses on Hillsborough Street are no more, as of this month.  Sylvia’s Pizza and Go Paks Convenience Store have officially closed down for good.  The two businesses closed without much advance notice.

When told of the closings, Michael Gregory, a junior in biological sciences, said, “Oh wow. It’s terrible that local businesses on Hillsborough Street, especially the ones that cater to the student needs, are closed down.”

Hillsborough Street community organizers chalked up the closings to cyclical factors.

Jeff Murison, the executive director for the Hillsborough Street Community Service Corporation, said, “I found out late last year about the closings.  My understanding is that they closed due to the natural cycle that happens in business.  The owners had different things they wanted to do in life.”

“The pair of closings was unfortunate, but part of Hillsborough Street’s continuing evolution,” Murison said. “It’s pretty natural for a business community to evolve, with some businesses phasing out and new businesses opening up every now and then. Sylvia’s and Go Paks were stable businesses on the Hillsborough Street with dedicated customer service.”

Still, students were sad to see Sylvia’s and Go Paks go.

Luisa Gomez, a senior in biological sciences, said, “I do not stay on campus, but I did visit Sylvia’s pizza, and I felt the food was good.”

“I visited the Go Pak store for a T-shirt or an occasional snack,” Gregory said.

Alan Lovette, who owns Melvin’s and 5 O’Clock Sports Bar on Hillsborough Street, said he believes the businesses may have never recovered from the loss of business during construction work.  Hillsborough Street was undergoing renovations for about a year that caused many businesses to lose money.

“Some people just haven’t really gotten back to normal yet.  Students got into the habit of going somewhere else while the construction was going on, and they haven’t transitioned back to Hillsborough yet,” Lovette said.

There was no real advertising about the businesses closing.  Most people did not hear about the closings until directly before they happened, according to Murison.

“Those were great staples to Hillsborough and were well-liked.  There’s never much excitement about businesses closing, not the way there would be if we were talking about new businesses opening,” Murison said.

There is already talk of a new business to replace Sylvia’s, according to Murison.  A local business called HotBox Pizza will be opening later this year.  HotBox will offer pizza, breadsticks, salad and beer on its menu.

“It’s a very urban, social and engaging environment,” Murison said of HotBox.

“It’ll cater both to the residents around the Hillsborough Street as well as the student community from N.C. State.”

The construction project on Hillsborough Street officially ended in August.  Since then, Hillsborough Street has welcomed five new businesses, including FreshBerry, a frozen yogurt bar.  According to John Lenzmeier, the original owner of FreshBerry, success for the new businesses will take time.

“We opened up after the construction, mostly because we didn’t want to have to work around it,” Lenzmeier said. We’ve been very happy with the success so far, but we would like to reach more of the student body.”

Although business is slowly improving, many businesses are still suffering from the effects of the construction work, according to Lenzmeier.

“We need to come together as a city, a university, a community and as business owners in order for Hillsborough to be a success,” Lenzmeier said.

University students greatly impact the well-being of the businesses on Hillsborough Street, according to Lovette.  If businesses on Hillsborough Street were to stay open later to better cater to the hours students usually go out, they would be more successful, Lovette said.  

“I’m talking about the 30,000 students that live right across the street.  Students don’t want to go out until around 10 at night and by then, most things on Hillsborough are closed.  Keeping things open later could really raise business,” Lovette said.

There have been a few ideas pitched by business owners to garner more attention for the businesses on Hillsborough.  Adding more Hillsborough Hikes, such as the one held every Halloween, or more festivals, such as the one held in September 2010, is something that business owners are considering, according to Lovette.

“Students attract more people; that’s all there is to it.  If we can get more students out there and interested, we could blow Franklin Street right out of the water,” Lovette said.