When complimented for his or her cuisine, a chef may often respond, “The first ingredient is love.”   That sentiment rings true for Chris Guarino, who opened A Taste of Italy on South College Road in 1994 with his brother Tommy.   Today, Tommy is mostly retired, and Guarino and his wife, Marie, run the deli and specialty grocery, awaiting the righ ...

Chef Keith Rhodes of Catch Restaurant and Catch the Food Truck will host the first of a series of pop-up dinners celebrating the revival of Phun Seafood Bar. The first event, which takes place next week at Flytrap Brewing and highlights the food of Central Vietnam, is already sold out. But Rhodes said tickets for a Chinese New Year pop-up dinner planned for early Februa ...

The owners of two popular area Mexican restaurants are bringing Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken to New Pointe Boulevard in Leland. Papi’s Chicken, a fast-casual concept that will seat 110 guests, is scheduled to open sometime next week.   The restaurant is owned by the Zaragoza brothers, Alex, Eddie and Oscar. Alex Zaragoza also owns Si! Señor Modern ...

Barbara and Jim Christiana plan to bring casual Italian dining to 2 Market St. in downtown Wilmington, in the building that formerly housed the Riverboat Landing restaurant.   The property was purchased by 2 Market St. LLC, a company managed by real estate broker Todd Toconis of Town & Country Real Estate, early last year. At that time Toconis told the Greater W ...

This weekend marks the second annual Azalea Festival Chefs’ Showcase, taking place Saturday at Hotel Ballast from 1 to 4:30 p.m. The event, which was new to the festival in 2018, features a seated, five-course meal prepared by area chefs, with wine pairings, entertainment and a silent auction.   Participating chefs include: Steve Foote, LM Restaurants corpo ...

Leading Into New Communities Inc. (LINC), the Wilmington-based nonprofit organization providing transitional services to men and women returning from prison, as well as youth development services for African-American men ages 16 to 24, will host its fifth annual Milestones Dinner on Feb. 4 at the Hotel Ballast.  Brandon Chrostowski, founder and execu ...

Clean Juice has opened its second Wilmington location at 300 N. Front St., the former home of Port City Java.  “We had a soft opening on Dec. 29 and have been very busy so far,” said co-owner Allen Tyndall.  The new location offers more of a relaxing cafe vibe, complete with a cozy fireplace and leather chairs for lounging. Tyndall and his wife, ...

Chef Josh Petty, owner of Cast Iron Kitchen, will be featured at 9 tonight in an episode of the Food Network program Guy’s Grocery Games, hosted by chef Guy Fieri.  Petty met Fieri when he visited the Port City last January to film episodes of another of his Food Network programs, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Cast Iron Kitchen was one of several Wilmingt ...

Bitty & Beau’s Coffee will open its third store this weekend, this time expanding to Savannah, Georgia. Co-founder and CEO Amy Wright, who started the venture with her husband in 2016, describes Bitty & Beau’s as a human rights movement disguised as a coffee shop. Wright is the recipient of the 2017 CNN Hero of the Year Award, and mother of Bitty and ...

A Panda Express could replace an existing restaurant on property at the corner of Market Street and Van Campen Boulevard in Wilmington, according to site plans submitted to the city. The plans show the Chinese food chain replacing Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery, a Celtic-themed restaurant and bar, at 11 Van Campen Blvd. According to the plans, submitted by Panda Express I ...