Great food, a retro vibe and early R&B music are all part of the vision for new restaurant, Rx, a nod to its location in the old Hall’s Drugstore at 421 Castle Street. Co-owners Josh Novicki and James Doss hope to open the new restaurant and bar by May.

For years, the two have worked in the kitchens of various Wilmington restaurants, including The Port City Chop House, Elijah’s, Dockside and the former Tango du Chat. But this will be their first venture as restaurateurs.

The two childhood friends ran into each other while home for the holidays in Goldsboro and unexpectedly began talking about their shared interests in returning to Wilmington and opening a business.

Novicki, who has been living in Brooklyn, NY for the past seven years, had been looking at commercial space to open a restaurant in Wilmington. Doss, who, since 2010, has been working under James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Brock at his Charleston, S.C. restaurant Husk, also was looking for opportunities to return to Wilmington. In December, they checked out the property on the corner of Castle and South Fifth streets, liked what they saw and signed a lease.

“It was one of those things that just lined up. It was just finding the right person to partner up with,” Novicki said. He plans to manage the front of the house while Doss will manage the kitchen and menu.

“I’ve always wanted to be a chef-owner,” Doss said.

One of the first things they bought for the new eat spot was a jukebox that plays 45 rpm records. Rx blueprints also include a DJ booth in the back corner where Novicki plans to have cool tunes spinning from lunch and dinner to late night.

“I’m a huge music person,” he said. “It’s not going to be a crazy dance party, but during service I want people play old funk and soul records.”

He describes the cuisine as “forward-thinking Southern,” from classic comfort food and burgers to interesting daily specials. The two plan to use locally sourced ingredients from purveyors they know.

He also hopes to offer menu items that strike a balance between fresh and new and accessible, and to attract a varied group of patrons. “Hip but not too hip,” he said. “I don’t want anything my grandma wouldn’t want to come to.”

He hopes to draw a steady stream of regulars by offering a reasonably priced menu with a variety of offerings under $25.

Reclaimed wood from a 100-year-old barn on his grandparents’ farm outside of Kinston is being planed for a customized bar and table tops for its aesthetic and sentimental appeal, as well as its sustainability.

“It’s important to me,” he said. The same wish to honor the past went into selecting the restaurant’s name.

“That’s fine,” said Alex Hall, owner of the property, whose grandfather, James Malcolm Hall Sr., opened the drugstore in 1901. Alex Hall, a local attorney, operated a restaurant in the space from 1994 to 1998. He plans to install a fireplace in the 3,500-square-foot restaurant.

Novicki said he plans to invest about $50,000 to $75,000 in the new restaurant before it opens its doors. So far, the partners have pulled up the carpet and installed tile flooring. Although the kitchen is equipped, the new restaurateurs plan to buy a range, coolers for beer and a keg box from industrial kitchen supply company Jacobi-Lewis. 

“If you do something right and make it special, people will come back,” Novicki said. The location was key.

“There were other places that worked, but I liked that it was away from everything,” he said. “It’s great to have something in your face, but those places are expensive.”

He’s gathered some ideas from restaurants and bars he’s frequented over the past seven years in New York, where he organizes underground parties with international DJs that draw 500 to 1,000 people once a month.

“Basically I’m taking my favorite elements from different restaurants and bars [in New York] and bringing them back here and making them my own because there’s a void,” he said.

Stay tuned as GWBJ follows the progress of this new Wilmington restaurant.