It's not a ruse: Wilmington area could get a sixth Cook-Out location

John Staton, Wilmington StarNews
·2 min read
In 2020, the company that operates Cook-Out purchased the former Wells Fargo building at 4195 Market St. in Wilmington. However, the development status of the lot remains under review. Cook-Out has three locations in New Hanover County and one in Shallotte, with another in Leland soon to open.
In 2020, the company that operates Cook-Out purchased the former Wells Fargo building at 4195 Market St. in Wilmington. However, the development status of the lot remains under review. Cook-Out has three locations in New Hanover County and one in Shallotte, with another in Leland soon to open.

It looks like a sixth location of the popular Cook-Out hamburger chain could be coming to the Wilmington area, although when that might happen is in question.

In June, Summey Engineering Associates of Asheboro submitted plans to the city of Wilmington detailing work to be done at what would be a new Cook-Out location at 4195 Market St.

The site of a former Wells Fargo bank location, and a Wachovia bank branch before that, plans call for a demolition of the current building and the construction of a new building for the restaurant. The plans are under review by the city of Wilmington's planning department, which has not approved them.

The property is listed as having been purchased by "Roo's Diner, Inc." of Thomasville, where Cook-Out's corporate headquarters are located, in late 2020. In April of 2020, a long-simmering restaurant owned by the Cook-Out chain called Taco Roo's opened in Wilmington after months of speculation but later changed into just another Cook-Out location, one of two bookending the University of North Carolina Wilmington campus on College Road.

A woman reached at Cook-Out's corporate headquarters, who gave her name as Kelly and said she wasn't authorized to give her last name, said the 4195 Market St. location was not on a list she had of Cook-Out locations set to open in the next couple of years, although she said it could be added later.

Cook-Out operates more than 300 restaurants, including more than 100 in North Carolina. Three of those are in Wilmington, one in Shallotte and another opening soon in Leland.

Earlier this month, local fans of Cook-Out, as well as those who followed the Taco Roo's saga, posted stories from around the state pointing to a "Roo's Chicken" restaurant set to open in Raleigh, one that would serve breakfast and exist next to — wait for it — yet another Cook-Out.

The story prompted a Wilmington-based parody Facebook page, "Taco Roos Tacos & Chicken & Chicken Tacos & Coffee," to do its first post in a year and half.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Plans for another Cook-Out in Wilmington NC