Chronology

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1. Civil rights era · 1945–1975

2. 1948
   Naming or commemoration · Amber Alley, off East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Ted Danziger names the passage to his Rathskeller Amber Alley

   Danziger gave the name Amber Alley to the passageway off East Franklin Street that led down to his new Rathskeller. The Weekly said the name came from the yellow lanterns along its walls, not from the novel Forever Amber.

3. 1948
   Founding or opening · Chapel Hill Ted Danziger opens the Rathskeller in the basement of his father's candy shop

   Edward Danziger's son Ted opened the Rathskeller in the basement of the Danziger candy store on Franklin Street. The Hall of Fame credits it with being the first local restaurant to serve draft beer.

4. August 22, 1963
   Disaster or outbreak · Rathskeller, Amber Alley, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Fire breaks out in the Rathskeller and spreads through its East Franklin Street building

   A fire of unknown origin started in the wall behind a stove in the Rathskeller on a Thursday evening and crept through the walls of the building. Ted Danziger put the damage to the restaurant and his Old World Gift Center at about $70,000, and water stood ankle deep in Amber Alley.

5. Recent decades · 1976–2026

6. December 2007
   Closing or ending · 157-A East Franklin Street (Amber Alley), Chapel Hill The Rathskeller on Amber Alley closes over unpaid taxes

   Owner Francis Henry shut the Rathskeller in December 2007 after it failed to pay withholding taxes, ending a restaurant Ted Danziger had opened in 1948. Its contents were sold at auction in February 2008.

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Compiled and maintained by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library from county records, the sources named on each card, and the index’s event pages. Last updated October 1, 2026.