Home Care In Hillsborough, NC

For nearly a decade, chef Josh DeCarolis has served some of the Triangle’s best and most authentic Italian food. At His Durham restaurant Mothers & Sons, the pasta is hand rolled on a communal table before service, the meats are kissed by the flames of a wood-burning grill.

Now, DeCarolis is opening a new restaurant celebrating the flavors of his childhood in Connecticut, the Sunday gravy and the red sauce classics.

Serratore’s Pasta & Pizza will open next month in Hillsborough, taking over the former Radius space at 112 Churton Street downtown. DeCarolis is partnering with veterans from Mothers & Sons, chef Phil Bey and general manager Pietro Costanza.

“Our concept is Italian-American, which draws a contrast to what we do at Mothers & Sons,” DeCarolis said in a phone interview. “This will be more the stuff you’d see in Italian-American restaurants in New England and New York; that’s where I’m from and that’s what I grew up eating.”

Similar to Mothers & Sons, the new restaurant takes its inspiration from family. Serratore is the maiden name of DeCarolis’ mother, whose father Vito can be seen in photos on the wall at Mothers & Sons.

“I grew up eating this kind of food and coveting this kind of food,” DeCarolis said. “My own culinary interest and success, this is where it comes from. Sunday sauce is a big deal for us.”

At Serratore’s, pasta will be a centerpiece, featuring around a half dozen fresh pastas a night, including gluten free and vegan options. Look for chicken parm, shrimp scampi and rich, meaty dishes like a pork rib sugo.

When initially dreaming up Serratore’s, the three partners hadn’t planned on serving pizza, but in the Radius space they inherited a giant wood and gas burning oven and pizzas had to happen.

There will be around six pizza options per night, plus the ability to create your own. Serratore’s will serve pies in the Neapolitian style.

“It might be a weird term, but the pizzas will be ‘juicy,’” DeCarolis said. “Very flavorful.”

In a unique menu twist, Serratore’s will have a cutlet section, where diners can order thin, fried veal and chicken cutlets prepared in four different styles: Parmesan, Toscana, Saltimboco and Piccata. Each will be served over linguine.

“Cutlets are a big thing for me, I make them all the time,” DeCarolis said.

On the drinks side, Serratore’s also inherits a large tap system, so look for lots of beer options, plus draft prosecco and spritzer. In addition to a tight but interesting wine list, look for a slushie machine cranking out frozen Campari and lime.

“It’s going to be pretty fun,” DeCarolis said.

Serratore’s looks to open by the end of August, serving dinner to start with brunch and lunch service to follow.

In more pizza news:

? The beloved Winston-Salem pizzeria Mission Pizza Napoletana was named one of the top 50 pizza spots in the United States (again).

? Durham’s top chef Tom Cuomo recently opened a new pizzeria, Dino’s Pizza. Take a first look inside.

While the Town of Hillsborough ended its conservation call for water and sewer customers after flooding damaged and contaminated its treatment plants, the road back to normal operations appears to be long for the small town.

Historic rain from Tropical Depression Chantal led to flooding levels not seen for decades in Orange County, with parts of Hillsborough throttled by the Eno River. Floodwaters limited the town’s clean water supply, which caused the initial call for water conservation — but the flooding at a critical piece of wastewater infrastructure in the floodplain is what may cause an extended financial strain.

As Deputy Utilities Director for Water Treatment Jeff Mahagan used the walkway over the pipe of the River Pump Station, he pointed out its concrete facility on the bank of the Eno. The site sits near a convergence of sewer lines and uses electric pumps to send the raw wastewater to the plant on the other side of the river. Mahagan said when crews arrived in the aftermath of the storm on Sunday, there were several inches of water above the standing platform of the pump station — meaning all the equipment was waterlogged and marking the biggest flood seen since Hillsborough opened its reservoir in 2000.

“When [Hurricane] Fran came through, the water level came [pretty] close to going over and flooding the pump station,” said Mahagan. “And everybody thought, ‘That was a once in a lifetime storm, we’re never going to get that again.’

“But we did,” he said with a chuckle, “and even worse.”

At a press availability held by the town on Friday afternoon, Town Manager Eric Peterson said staff did their best to prepare for severe weather. After forecasts showed Chantal moving through central North Carolina, Hillsborough employees quickly moved vehicles and equipment to areas projected to be safe from major flooding. But as they quickly found out, Peterson said, this was no ordinary flood.

“After Hurricane Helene,” the town manager said, “our emergency management team internally reviewed flood maps to try to identify potential evacuation areas and make adjustments to town facilities at a level that we’ve never even seen before. We even took it to a 500-year flood level.

“Our early projections are that [Chantal] was close to a 1,000-year flood event,” he continued. “Much of the equipment, infrastructure and vehicles that were destroyed or heavily damaged in Hillsborough were not only outside of the 100-year flood plain, they were outside the 500-year benchmark.”

According to rainfall amounts reported by the state, Hillsborough saw the third most of any town from the storm — with 10 inches of rain dropped in just a few hours, and 13 inches of rain dumped into the rivers upstream that eventually flowed to the community. With the gravity sewer pipes near the river pump station overflowing from floods, untreated wastewater went directly into the Eno River for days instead of getting to the treatment plant. The local government estimates roughly 75% of their customers’ wastewater is serviced by the damaged pump station, and repairs are now estimated to take several weeks.

While Hillsborough successfully connected temporary pumps to bypass the damaged ones, Mayor Mark Bell discussed how the long-term future of the station is still an issue.

During the Biden administration, the town government earned $6.8 million in grant funding from FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program to redesign and move the infrastructure away from the floodplain. It served as an example of what the BRIC program — which began during Donald Trump’s first presidential stint — aims to do: help local governments proactively improve their infrastructure’s resiliency to severe weather compared to after.

But, as the mayor pointed out on Friday, the Trump administration cancelled the BRIC program and its grant recipients’ funding entirely in April of this year. While nothing could have been done to prevent Chantal’s flooding from damaging the wastewater pump station, it leaves Hillsborough facing a tremendous rebuild, redesign and future relocation with little to no financial assistance.

“Temporary bypass pumps are being installed now and replacements will be installed in the months ahead,” Bell said on Friday, “but the river pump station must eventually be relocated to ensure the health of the community and to allow for future economic development in Hillsborough. To be clear: the impact of Tropical Storm Chantal on the river pump station is exactly the type of scenario that BRIC grants were intended to protect the public against.”

Public Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz said the town is still gathering its cost estimates for the damage and manpower to quickly restore functionality to both water treatment plants. Before the flooding, the local government was pivoting to see if North Carolina could grant them funding for the pump station’s relocation — but there is no guarantee it will qualify and will further extend the project.

“I think they are working very hard on a way to try to prioritize those that lost the funding under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program,” Strandwitz said. “But, unfortunately, that will set our timeline back at least six to eight months because they will not start reviewing applications until this fall and into the winter.”

Hillsborough’s water operations are not the only part of the town that will face significant costs from the flooding, as its public works department took a big hit to its resources. Public Works lost its operations building, office trailer, and a third of its equipment for solid waste and street service. Peterson said they are using equipment from other facilities and nearby local governments to cover any gaps in service, but long-term replacement will require mutual-aid assistance.

Additionally, some of the town’s prized Parks and Recreation facilities along the Eno River will need significant repair and recovery too: the Riverwalk and Gold Park.

“For those that are familiar in the area with Gold Park,” Peterson said, “the restroom facilities are the furthest asset that is away from the river and the flood levels that far away still reached six feet in that facility. All of the bridges and boardwalk and other facilities along the Riverwalk are doing engineering assessments, making sure they’re structurally okay. We’re already coordinating repairs, but it’s going to be at least weeks before we can possibly get those facilities back online.”

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HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — As a boiling water notice went into effect Monday in Orange County after Tropical Storm Chantal, some community members are lending a helping hand.

U.S. Army veteran Robert Gilmore heard about what happened Sunday and drove from Winstead, North Carolina to help deliver cases of water to those who need it.

“I'm going to keep going as long as there's a need and if they tell me that they don't need any more water, then I'll be waiting to hear if there's other needs,” Gilmore said.

After 24 years serving in the Army, he went to work for Orange County local government. He now works part-time with the Orange County Department of Social Services. Gilmore said he donated more than 20 cases of water for families in need, and he won’t stop until everyone has what they need.

For Kirby Saunders, an emergency services director for Orange County, this has been a difficult time for the community.

“This is a time of struggle and uncertainty for those who are impacted during the storm,” Saunders said during a virtual news conference. “I just want to reiterate that our efforts, collectively as local government with the support of the state’s Northern Division of Emergency Management and various partners are here to support our community.”

The boiling effect remains in place until Thursday. There has been 59 damage reports to road and bridge infrastructure, downed trees and utilities lines.

On Tuesday, the distribution site outside of the Orange County Social Services Center said there were 720 cars that came through and picked up a case of water. They will allow for more cars to come through the line to get another case of water, Wednesday from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. The location for that site is 113 Mayo St., in Hillsborough.

The town of Hillsborough was hit hard by Tropical Depression Chantal Sunday night. The town remains under a boil water advisory, and Gold Park and the Riverwalk are closed. The historic Eno River Mill building also sustained significant flooding damage.

The town of Hillsborough was hit hard by Tropical Depression Chantal Sunday night, and many areas are still feeling the impact.

The town remains under a boil water advisory, and Gold Park and the Riverwalk are closed.

The historic Eno River Mill building also sustained significant flooding damage.

The record-breaking crest of the Eno River flowed into the Expedition School, a public charter school on the property.

"The river was filling the entire elementary wing, and that's a lot of river. The water was very strong; some of these items that we're seeing here have come all the way from the front of the school at the kindergarten,” director of education and curriculum Tammy Finch told WRAL. “The water pushed everything this way and then sucked everything back as it receded."

As cleanup began, Finch found a fish in the exceptional children's classroom, relocating it back to the river. She and her staff are working to stay positive.

"Coming in light of other things that are happening in the country right now, and knowing what other people are dealing with, just trying to stay positive. This is stuff, and a lot of this stuff was important to us, but it's stuff and it can be replaced,” Julie McCauley, the EC Director, said. "It is devastating, but we know that it could be worse. A lot more grows in the valleys. So, when you're in a valley and things are difficult, you grow more together."

India Little arrived at the school on Monday for her first day of work as the director of business and operations.

"I was completely blown away. I have dealt with small things, like a burst pipe, water leakage, but I've never taken on a project this big,” Little said. "I just really appreciate the community. So many people showed up yesterday, so many people showed up today just to help out."

The school expects 381 students in the upcoming school year, with 212 on the first floor where the flooding occurred.

“It's probably 98% loss of all the contents in the whole school. We'll need a complete refresh,” Finch said. “We're going to be relocating the elementary wing and all of those adults."

Finch said the landlord of the building will open the Cloth Mill Event Space next door for the elementary students to temporarily use.

The school plans to invite community members to upcoming work days to assist with cleanup and building new furniture.

They are also collecting donations to replace school supplies, technology, and furniture here.

Around the corner from The Expedition School, the Eno Arts Mill also saw significant damage.

Katie Murray is the director of the Orange County Arts Commission and the executive director of the nonprofit Orange County Arts Alliance.

She arrived at the Eno River Arts Mill to find floodwaters still receding from the loading dock.

“Everything was just totally destroyed. The water was up so high, it lifted up a refrigerator and pushed it over,” Murray said.

The mill is home to 15 artist studios, and a show with 60 artists opened there last Friday night. Offices and a classroom for summer camp are uninhabitable.

Some artists had 10, or even 20 years worth of work ruined, and while they had to have insurance for their studios, flooding damage isn’t covered for most.

"It does not cover flood. No one knew that. No one added it on. This 150-year-old building has never experienced a flood like this in its history,” Murray said. "That means they're most likely not going to be able to get any kind of insurance benefits from this, and that is what's really upsetting."

The Eno Arts Mill also hosts the Teen and Tween Arts Collectives.

Natalia Torres del Valle is a teaching artist, an expressive arts therapist, and a licensed clinical mental health counselor who created the safe haven for teens and tweens.

The groups each meet once every other week in an open studio format.

Some of the teenagers lost their work in the flood, but Torres del Valle said that did not stop them from helping.

“Their immediate response was, ‘How can we help?’ They're coming today with their gear to help clean because this space means so much to them,” Torres del Valle said. "Some of the kids who come here have been really lonely and haven't had friends at school, and they've found a home here."

Murray told WRAL when the space opened four years ago, the goal was to provide a physical space for the arts that could welcome everyone.

“We have such a diverse group of people here, and diversity in every way. We have all these youth programs, where like these are the kids who don't fit in in school - this is their safe space,” Murray said. "That is the greatest loss right now, that this community that we have built is the home for so many people is no longer."

The Eno Arts Mill does not have a timeline for reopening, but you can donate to help artists and the space here.

The town of Hillsborough has lifted its boil water notice after it found no bacteria in water test samples, the town said Thursday.

On Saturday, the town’s water treatment plant came back online and the town is no longer advising customers to conserve water.

“Customers do not need to take the actions typically required after a boil water notice such as running water, changing filters or dumping ice,” the town stated in a news release.

While the water treatment plant was offline, Hillsborough’s only water came from Durham through a water system connection.

“We are grateful to the City of Durham and its staff who helped get their water into the town’s system through our interconnection piping,” said Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz. “We look forward to our continued working relationship on resiliency and redundancy matters.”

Hillsborough had issued a boil water notice after Tropical Depression Chantal flooded central North Carolina Sunday.

Chantal flooded the Eno River, which then flooded the clear wells at Hillsborough’s water treatment plant that disinfect drinking water before it goes to customers.

The wells have been sanitized and refilling has begun, the town wrote.

“Once partially filled, the water will need to sit for 24 hours before testing for bacteria, which will take another 24 hours,” the town wrote.

The plant sustained minor flooding, but two sewer pump stations were damaged, the River Pump station and Elizabeth Brady station, said JC Leser-McMinn, a town spokesperson.

The two pump stations are the final two stations water passes through before going to the wastewater plant.

Hillsborough had planned to move the River Pump station, which crosses the Eno River, to higher ground using a $7 million grant from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program, Leser-McMinn said. But FEMA announced in April that it was canceling any BRIC grants that had not been paid out.

The grant would have also funded a water booster pump station to collect water from the Orange Water and Sewer Authority system in case of emergencies.

Currently, because of the flooded River Pump station, wastewater from toilets or washing for about 75% of the town’s sewer customers is going directly into the Eno River without any treatment, the town wrote.

Between the Elizabeth Brady station and an aerial sewer pipe crossing in Churton Grove over Strouds Creek, the town estimates that at least 188,000 gallons of sewage overflows occurred in the Neuse River Basin. It did not have an estimate of sewage overflows from the River Pump station as of Tuesday.

The town is working on installing temporary pumps at the two pump stations to send raw sewage to its wastewater treatment plant and replacing the pipe at Churton Grove.

The town wrote that it has verbally notified the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality of the overflows.

The city of Durham, meanwhile, said 5.8 million gallons of wastewater flowed into the Eno River after flooding, CBS 17 reported.

The town announced Hillsborough Commons will host another bottled-water distribution at 113 Mayo St. from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Food Lion has donated 984 packages of 24-pack bottled water to its two Hillsborough stores. The packages arrived at 7 a.m. Tuesday, and households can get one pack free of charge while they last.

Reporter Anna Roman contributed to this story.