Market and Moss is a community restaurant and bar in Chapel Hill serving seasonal new American cuisine in a warm, organic, European setting. We use local ingredients to create bright, flavorful cuisine, and offer food and cocktails that are both approachable and delightfully surprising. We welcome all to stop in for a drink, small plates or dinner, to create new connections and further old ones!
Our People
Market and Moss is led by a team of two Executive Chefs, Chuck Jones and Danny Vacca. They bring decades of experience leading nationally-acclaimed restaurants along with a rare synergy felt whenever they’re in the same kitchen.
Executive Chef, Danny Vacca
Chef Danny, born in Boulder, Colorado, has spent much of his career at industry-leading restaurants in Boulder and Denver, Colorado. His intense focus, work ethic, and years of culinary experience have granted him ease when working with ingredients from around the globe. It is a joy to watch him cook.
After graduating with a Culinary Arts degree from Johnson & Wales in Denver in 2005, Chef Danny worked at Fruition, the first restaurant from Food & Wine Best New Chef winner Alex Seidel. He later joined the kitchen at Denver’s Squeaky Bean, named as one of Bon Appetit’s Top 50 Best New Restaurants in the country the following year. Next, he held Sous Chef positions at nose-to-tail Colt & Gray and Latin-inspired Señor Bear.
In 2018, Chef Danny was tapped, again by Seidel, to lead Michelin guide restaurant Mercantile Dining & Provisions as Chef de Cuisine. Danny led the Mercantile kitchen with chef-owner Seidel through 2020, during which time Seidel won a James Beard award. Mercantile has earned a number of accolades including those from Gayot, Zagot and Bon Appetit.
The pandemic brought Chef Danny to North Carolina, where he now lives in a tiny house on his sister’s property in Pittsboro. He collects digital art and, these days, much of his free time goes into training his puppy, Dijon, a mini Dachshund (while still giving plenty of love to his other dog, Brewski). He has traveled from Europe to Africa, experiencing a range of local cultures across the world.
Chef Danny’s cooking is rooted in Old World technique while incorporating thoughtful contemporary innovation. He has immersed himself in both cooking and food culture, and harnesses this understanding to create familiar food that’s also different in all the right ways. Danny describes his food as “comfort food – delicious and approachable.”
Executive Chef, Chuck Jones
Shortly after graduating from high school in New Jersey, Chuck stumbled upon his love of cooking while working in a grocery store. He followed his passion, got a job as a cook at The Brother’s Moon in Princeton, New Jersey, and within months, had worked his way up to the Sous Chef position.
He then joined the kitchen at Rat’s Restaurant at Grounds for Sculpture, the destination sculpture garden and arboretum in Hamilton, New Jersey as Poissonnier. As he provided seasonal, romantic culinary experiences for guests, Chuck found romance of his own with his now wife, Michele, who worked in the pastry kitchen.
He went on to lead a number of restaurants in New York City, Philadelphia, and New Jersey before being named Sous Chef at Majorelle, the elegant French restaurant at The Lowell in New York City. During Chef Chuck’s tenure, The Lowell received a number of accolades, including being named the #1 Best City Hotel in the Continental United States by Travel & Leisure. He was also on the opening Chef team at the Logan Hotel in Philadelphia, where he hosted events on a national stage, including the Democratic National Convention and the NFL Draft.
In 2019 Chef Chuck moved to Pinehurst, North Carolina. He has since been Executive Chef at The Sycamore, was named Best Chef in Chatham County, and led the revamp of the culinary program at Haw River Tap & Table.
At Market and Moss, Chef Chuck brings an unwavering belief that we can always be better paired with the experience gained from leading fine dining restaurants in five-star settings. His food is also fun, and above all, it’s food that you want to eat. It’s thoughtful and creative, always in ways that enhance enjoyment.
In his free time, if he’s not fishing or spending time outdoors he’s likely experimenting with new recipes and culinary techniques. He and Michele enjoy traveling, which has provided Chuck with endless culinary inspiration.
Owner, Annie Johnston
Market and Moss grew out of Annie’s vision for a restaurant that brought together seasonal cuisine, beautiful ambience, and warm hospitality extended not only to guests but to employees and other stakeholders. From the beginning, building a positive culture based on a shared commitment to create exceptional experiences was an integral part of the Market and Moss concept.
Growing up in Chapel Hill, Annie worked at several local restaurants. Her first job in the industry was at Pazzo, an Italian eatery, where she was a backwait who served bread and bussed tables. She went on to hold jobs at several other local restaurants as a Host and then as a Server, before leaving for Vanderbilt University in 2005. During college, she left the hospitality industry and after college, she led companies ranging from a due diligence investigation firm to an online startup that she founded in 2012. She had a passion for growing businesses, but hadn’t found the industry that felt right until she returned to hospitality.
In 2015, Annie bought and reinvented La Vita Dolce Cafe, just a few doors down from Market and Moss, and fell in love with growing a business that in turn grows community, connection, and its employees.
In 2019, Annie began to look for a location that could house her newest vision — Market and Moss. Near the end of the year, she got a call from Pazzo owner Seth Kingsbury.
He was retiring and closing Pazzo, making the 700 Market Street restaurant space in Southern Village available. The space was perfect for the community-focused restaurant and bar vision. So Annie signed a lease at 700 Market Street and returned to the space where she held her first job in hospitality to build a new concept.
As Market and Moss was about to open in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, devastating the industry.
But the drive to create an experience where the cuisine, beverages, ambiance, and culture all aligned never died, and it was worth the wait when Market and Moss opened its doors in the fall of 2020.
Front of House Manager, Ivana Uzunova
If you’ve been to Market and Moss, you likely know Ivana. Her greatest joy is getting to know our guests and ensuring every aspect of their experience is beyond the expected. From sharing stories, to finding the the right wine, to making the sun move if it’s shining too brightly on your patio table…Ivana will do everything she can to make your experience just right.
Born in Sophia, Bulgaria, Ivana has traveled much of the Middle East, embracing local culture and cuisine along the way. In 2012, she moved to the United States, left behind her career as a specialty florist, brought along fluency in four languages, and entered the hospitality industry. She has since worked in several Triangle-area restaurants.
Ivana and Annie met before Market and Moss opened, immediately discovering a shared vision of a warm and comfortable hospitality, and a shared priority of first establishing a positive culture and a like-minded team. Since then, Ivana has been the Front of House Manager of Market and Moss, overseeing front of house staff and training, the development of service technique, and playing a leading role in what it feels like when you dine at Market and Moss.