Hawaiian chain restaurant opening in former Wilmington coffee shop

A new restaurant is in the works for the former Port City Java location at Barclay Commons. The sign is up for Poki Bowl and social media sites have announced that the California-based chain is coming to Wilmington soon.

Renovations are underway at 2512 Independence Blvd. for the fast-casual concept that focuses on Hawaiian poke, a dish of seasoned, diced raw fish with accoutrements. In this case, it’s customizable bowls with options for bases, proteins, veggies and toppings.

More:4 things to know about Wilmington’s new poke restaurant as it opens

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Poke isn’t new to Wilmington. Nakedfin Poke Bowl opened in 2018 and announced last year it was moving from its location at 420 Eastwood Road. Pipeline Poke joined the restaurant scene last year, and opened in Autumn Hall.

Poki Bowl started in 2015 in San Jose. There are now 17 of the restaurants open in the U.S., the majority of them are in California. Another nine are listed as ‘coming soon’ on the company’s website.

One location is currently open in Wake Forest and, in addition to the Wilmington restaurant, there’s one coming to Fayetteville, too.

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: Poke seafood restaurant chain is opening soon in Wilmington