CAM Café, located in Cameron Art Museum, has announced that it will reopen to the public on Tuesday, Sept, 15, with a new chef at the helm.
 
With a background in restaurants ranging from Italian trattorias to fine-dining steakhouses to farm-to-table bistros, Jeff Gray brings a vast array of experience to his new role as executive chef at CAM Café.

According to a news release from the museum, after getting his start in the restaurant business making pizzas and cheesesteaks as a teenager outside Philadelphia, Gray got his first taste of upscale cooking while pursuing his other passion: TV, movies and a career in TV and film production.

Following many successes in that industry, Gray eventually decided to pursue his passion for cooking by attending the famed Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, and then working his way up the ranks at fine dining restaurants in the Atlanta area. Gray relocated to Wilmington in 2017.
 
Gray said the museum and the cafe provide a unique opportunity for him to challenge himself creatively. As a lover of the visual arts, he said he has always tried to translate those creative pursuits into his food and presentation.
 
“The museum wants to be a dining destination for Wilmington diners,” Jeff Gray said. “Not just an alternate choice but a first choice. Where else in the Cape Fear region can you dine amongst great works of art? I was drawn to the ability to reopen and relaunch not only the cafe physically, but to create a menu that is more fine-dining, yet casual.”
 
Gray said he will look to appeal to locals first when creating dishes for his menus and specials, along with featuring cuisine designed to attract diners visiting from out of town.

He said he will be utilizing fresh, regional produce, meat and fish, featuring dishes from Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Italy, among other international cuisines.
 
“We’ll be doing a velvety but bold shellfish bisque with North Carolina crab and shrimp and a creamy adobo curry coconut lobster broth and finished with gojuchang,” Gray said. “We will also have a signature bahn mi burger with traditional house picked vegetables, sriracha mayo and Terra Vita farms micro cilantro.

"Another favorite from growing up; a pressed Cuban with mojo marinated pork, cola-basted ham, melty gruyere and house-made pickles. One of our dinner entrees is a simple yet tasty pistachio encrusted cod or grouper (depending what’s coming from our fish purveyors) with a rosemary cannellini puree, crispy fennel, and tomato broth … but we will always will feature NC seafood.”
 
As for taking on a new executive chef position during a global pandemic, Gray said that chefs and restaurateurs realize that the entire industry has changed overnight. It has, and will be, he said, an ongoing challenge to stay ahead of any and all restrictions geared to the most important factor: keeping employees and guests safe.
 
CAM Café will be following the guidelines outlined by the museum’s reopening plan. Upon entering, cafe guests will follow a predetermined route into and out of the restaurant.

The dining area has been expanded to allow for social distancing both inside and on the courtyard. Hand sanitizer will be available, and tables, pens and menus will be sanitized and/or be disposable.

The cafe also plans to adopt touchless payment procedures and employees are required to complete a daily health assessment that includes temperature checks and health questions. Additionally, Gray and the museum’s food and beverage director, Sabrina Scarborough, have completed the National Restaurant Association’s training for reopening and take-out programs.
 
The café serves lunch Tuesday through Friday, dinner with live music on Thursday, and brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Gray said he hopes to expand the dinner service in the near future.  
 
“We encourage the community to come support the arts and have exquisite cuisine in one incredible setting,” Gray said. “A crown jewel right in your own backyard.”
 
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