Update: Mama Dip’s isn’t closing, but there will be changes. Here’s what’s happening.

Where Mama Dip’s Kitchen , the famed Chapel Hill restaurant, is concerned, there’s good and bad news.

Mama Dip’s isn’t closing — at least for now.

On Wednesday night, the restaurant announced on its social media accounts that Aug. 17 would be its last day in business after 48 years.

But on Thursday, Spring Council, one of the owners, said that’s not exactly the case. Instead, Mama Dip’s will end its traditional service model on Aug. 17, and then shift to selling family-style take-home meals.

“There was a miscommunication,” Spring Council told The News & Observer Thursday evening. She owns the Rosemary Street restaurant with her siblings.

“The situation is actually that we’re going to continue serving in the restaurant as normal for the next three weeks,” Council said. “After that we’re going to do family-style carry out. But the doors aren’t closing.”

The legendary Chapel Hill restaurant helped give a national voice to traditional Southern cooking, led by its matriarch and founder Mildred “Mama Dip” Council.

“For the past 48 years it’s been our honor to serve the Chapel Hill community,” according to the video posted on the restaurant’s social media pages Wednesday night.

The video mentions the restaurant will begin its next phase of business, though it didn’t reveal any specifics of what the future holds.

That next phase will continue on Rosemary Street, Spring Council said.

In its farewell message, Mama Dip’s encouraged fans to stop in for goodbye meals at the restaurant.

“This is not a goodbye,” the post continued. “But we wanted to take the chance to thank everyone who has graced Mama’s kitchen these last 48 years and the whole community for supporting us along the way. We cannot wait to see you in our next adventure.”

Mildred “Mama Dip” Council opened her famed restaurant in 1976 with just $64 for groceries and change. By lunchtime, the restaurant had made enough money to buy ingredients for dinner service, never looking back for the next five decades.

The restaurant has been cherished for its Southern cooking and desserts, particularly a beloved sweet potato pie.

Restaurant property for sale

The restaurant’s property at 408 W. Rosemary St. was put up for sale last spring as the restaurant’s owners pursued a new style of Mama Dip’s. A commercial real estate listing had the property at $3.6 million.

In a phone interview, Spring Council confirmed that a sale of the property is pending, but did not share a closing date.

“The property is for sale, but not the brand,” said Spring Council, one of Mildred Council’s daughters, in a phone interview in April 2023. “We’re going to keep the brand and switch it out to do a fast-casual model.”

Mildred Council died in 2018 at age 89. Her legacy extended well beyond the Triangle, reaching fame through cookbooks, television appearances and visits to the White House.

Since her passing, Council’s children have operated the restaurant, and her granddaughters continue to build on her legacy, with Tonya Council opening a bakeshop in Chapel Hill last year and Erika Council operating Bomb Biscuit Co. in Atlanta.