Nearly two years ago when plans for an eight-story life sciences building were unveiled for downtown Chapel Hill, owners of The Purple Bowl questioned whether they’d be able to keep the açaí bowl restaurant and café open. Now, though, the business is preparing to open in a new, expanded space down the street – and will feature a new branch of the restaurant as well. Gilland, who owns the business with his mother Paula, had grand visions at one point for what The Purple Bowl could do at its current home on 306 West Franklin Street – where it opened in 2017. That included an expansion they completed a few years ago into a neighboring suite and ideas for a rooftop patio. But many of those came to an end when the property was purchased in 2022 by Longfellow Real Estate Partners and the restaurant concluded it would need to move. When approached by the property owners of 505 West Franklin Street, the Gillands realized a new path and came up with things they never expected to have the cha...