Word came down Monday about the demise of Pepper's Pizza, which abruptly shut down at the close of business that night. Pepper's was one of the most venerable food institutions of Chapel Hill's Franklin Street strip, and I'll miss the food and the vibe there; it was just the sort of place that made you know you were in a college town.

But even more than that, I'll miss the wall decor -- specificially, the North Carolina Musicians Mural painted by Birds of Avalon drummer Scott Nurkin, including portraits of George Clinton, Doc Watson, Ben Folds and other key musical figures. With Pepper's closed, the collection's fate is up in the air. But Nurkin says that he's heard from the music department at UNC-Chapel Hill about possibly acquiring the portraits for on-campus display in Hill Hall.

Stay tuned...

For the past few years, Birds of Avalon drummer Scott Nurkin has been working on a very cool art project on a wall of Pepper's Pizza in Chapel Hill -- the North Carolina Musicians Mural, which includes Kanapolis George Clinton and 16 other luminaries (with a dozen or so more still to come). There will be a story about this in Sunday's paper; meantime, check out our online photo gallery, which includes most of the portraits.

ADDENDUM (6/28/09): And here's the story.