From delivery to food trucks, how Wilmington restaurants are boosting their business

Allison Ballard, Wilmington StarNews
Updated ·3 min read
A bartender makes Cedar Smoke Old Fashioned cocktails at the Cast Iron Kitchen Kanteen at 8024 Market St., Porters Neck.
A bartender makes Cedar Smoke Old Fashioned cocktails at the Cast Iron Kitchen Kanteen at 8024 Market St., Porters Neck.

As local restaurants continue to struggle with high food costs, labor issues and competition from bigger chains, they are getting creative to expand their services to bring in more customers.

“The margins are tight, so you have to look for ways to increase volume,” said Christi Ferretti, one of the owners of Pine Valley Market. “We’re not going to cut corners in terms of quality. So what else can we do?”

For Pine Valley Market, it was adding a meal delivery service. The Cast Iron Kitchen brunch restaurant, meanwhile, is adding an evening time bar shift. Here’s a look at how you can enjoy what these Wilmington-area businesses are offering.

Something extra

Drea Petty, who owns Cast Iron Kitchen with husband Josh Petty, said the business has been feeling the effects of ongoing construction near their spot at 8024 Market St. in Porters Neck. To bring in more people, they’ve started CIK Kanteen, an after-hours bar service for beer, wine, cocktails and snacks from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Snacks are going to be rotating, she said, but will include items like fresh-popped popcorn, boiled peanuts, smoked fish dip, charcuterie and Frito pie.

Doing delivery

The idea for the new delivery option for Pine Valley Market (3520 College Road, Wilmington) started with their service of stocking refrigerators at vacation properties, Ferretti said. Now anyone can get a la carte appetizers, sides, casseroles and more with 48 hours' notice. You can also get family meal packages like the Southern Sunrise (with biscuits, sausage gravy and bacon) or the Mid-Day Magic, with items like chicken salad, pimento cheese, salsa, bread, tortilla chips and dessert.

Earlier this year, Biggers Market at 6250 Market St. in Wilmington also started offering weekly delivery of local produce, baked goods and meats to some local ZIP codes, with more on the way.

Pine Valley Market is now offering meal delivery for all customers within a 15-mile radius.
Pine Valley Market is now offering meal delivery for all customers within a 15-mile radius.

Bring on brunch

Brunch has always been a fun way to lure diners on weekends. It's now an option at the recently opened Covey restaurant at 1610 Tiburon Drive in Wilmington. And Bluewater Waterfront Grill at 4 Marina St. in Wrightsville Beach has started brunch earlier, at 9 a.m. on Sundays, and added more brunch cocktails and dishes like the Eggs Benedict Bowl and a breakfast burrito.

Epicurean Bistro at 1978 Eastwood Road is also planning to add brunch in the coming weeks, with items like their Bistro Burger (with brie, arugula and fried shallots), chicken biscuits with a tarragon cream sauce) and a seafood Benedict to start.

More: This couple's next act is at a French restaurant near Wrightsville Beach

Menus and more

Epicurean’s sister restaurant Sweet n Savory Café at 1611 Pavilion Place is taking another approach to revamping.

“It’s all new menus, very old school,” said owner Rob Shapiro. The focus is on affordable quality, with $7 cheeseburgers daily, and the same price for the All American breakfast plate. There are also options for $3 local beer drafts and $15 steaks.

Along with their meats, extras and grab-and-go fare, The Butcher’s Market at 4512 Oleander Drive added a menu with 11 sandwiches, from the classic club to hot dogs.

Sealevel City Vegan Diner has recently added a mobile food unit.
Sealevel City Vegan Diner has recently added a mobile food unit.

On the go

Chef Keith Rhodes has long been a proponent of extending his restaurant reach through the addition of a food truck. Michael’s Seafood in Carolina Beach has also added a food truck and will soon bring a second into service.  Other restaurants are seeing the benefits of adding a mobile food unit.

One of them is Sealevel City Vegan Dinner, which is now making appearances at local breweries and festivals, and expanding the reach of the food beyond the storefront at 1015 S. Kerr Ave. in Wilmington. Another is the hot dog stand Glizzies on the Go, from the On Thyme restaurant team, Corey and Phallin Scott. They got their start with a food truck before opening at 918 Castle St. in Wilmington.

More: Chef Q&A: There is a secret to the chowder at this popular Carolina Beach restaurant

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Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at aballard@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington restaurants are boosting business with bars, food trucks