Walking into Love, Lydia Bakery and Café you will find traditional, staple baked goods such as rich coffee cake and big, salted chocolate chip cookies along with intriguing new twists such as tahini cookies and lavender-infused shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate.   The bakery was dreamed up by Lydia Clopton, pastry chef at PinPoint Restaurant.   &l ...

World Central Kitchen has been on the ground in Wilmington and Raleigh since early last week, preparing to provide first responders and those housed at area shelters with two hot meals a day. Chef José Andrés founded World Central Kitchen after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, with the belief that food can be an agent of change. The organizat ...

As recovery begins and power is restored, many area restaurants are assessing damage, beginning repairs and opening their doors following several days of closure in the wake of Hurricane Florence.  Many are open for limited hours because of limited staff and imposed curfews. Most are serving limited menus. Some are only able to accept cash, while others are operati ...

Beach Bagels opened recently in Monkey Junction, serving signature New York-style bagels, espresso drinks and all-day breakfast seven days a week.  This is the third location for cafe owner Tony Di Norcia, who said he aims to provide families and students with a fun atmosphere and fresh food options.  “The foundation of our business is built ...

Marina Village at RiverLights is home to a new bar and bottle shop, Southern Shores Craft Beer & Wine.  Owners Josh Lacy, Nathan Baird and Caitlin Pyatt say they are proud to be a part of the new community and look forward to providing a space for residents and visitors to gather at RiverLights.  Lacy said the idea was to create a hybrid between a bar a ...

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Durham-based Rise Biscuits Donuts has partnered with Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation to join the race to end childhood cancer. Rise is now serving the Bee’s Knees Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit Slider, with a percentage of the proceeds benefitting the foundation.    “Cancer has touched us ...

After five years, the Osteria Cicchetti restaurant location in Monkey Junction has closed and another restaurant is expected to open under new ownership. The restaurant at 5104 S. College Road, which was opened by Circa Restaurant Group owner Ash Aziz in a building that previously housed an O'Charley's, served its last meal as Osteria Cicchetti in Monkey Junctio ...

Kirsten Mitchell, a well-known figure in the Wilmington dining scene, has announced that she plans to open her own restaurant soon, potentially by early October. A self-trained, award-winning chef, Mitchell said the concept is a tiki bar featuring Caribbean cuisine, with influences from the Bahamas and South Florida, where she spent much of her childhood, as well as fro ...

The Cape Fear Craft Beer Alliance will mark the halfway point to Cape Fear Craft Beer Week 2019 (March 22-March 31) with Halfway There, a celebration of locally crafted beer, on Sept. 15.  Local breweries will be set up at different venues in downtown Wilmington to release brand new brews, including seasonals, first releases and carefully crafted one-offs ...

A family-owned bottle shop specializing in beer, wine and cigars opened this weekend at 15010 U.S. 17 N. in Hampstead.  Leaf & Barrel Provision Co., owned and operated by Jerry and Jeremy Coy, Jim Brekhus and David Blackwell, carries a wide variety of beer and wine, as well as fine cigars.  Leaf & Barrel contains a walk-in beer cooler as well as a w ...