Downtown Wilmington's Winter Openings Are Moving Into Storefronts You Already Know

"My husband used to work at Screen Gems doing the tours and when they stopped doing that it occurred to us there's nowhere in town that celebrates this rich history," Tyler Christensen told WECT about why he and Patrick McCarthy opened Hollywood East Brewseum on Market Street. "It was kind of being forgotten."

The Brewseum opened in September. The same thing is going on with the three openings coming to downtown after it this winter. The people behind them already have history in Wilmington's dining rooms or on its film sets, and every one of them is moving into a space the city already knows. One used to be a Dunkin'. One has been three different businesses on Front Street. Another sits under a Castle Street mural that has just been painted over. Not one of these openings is a chain or a newcomer. Together they show local operators rearranging the downtown map with what they learned working in it.

Four addresses, four former lives

The order matters. The one place you can walk into this week opened in early fall and is the one built most openly on Wilmington's past. The other three are coming in sequence through the cold months, and each one draws on a different part of the city's restaurant history.

Market Street went first, with props out of local closets

Hollywood East Brewseum has been open since September. It calls itself a taproom, a restaurant, and a space devoted to the region's film industry. The pieces on display come from productions shot around North Carolina. They include an outfit Will Ferrell wore in "Talladega Nights," the original Fisherman costume from "I Know What You Did Last Summer," autographed "One Tree Hill" jerseys, and a drum set from "The Runarounds." Christensen told WECT that much of it had been "tucked away in closets or garages," and that the displays will rotate about every two months. For Halloween, the owners set up a horror corner with Annabelle, "Scream" masks, and the fish from "Piranha 3DD."

The collection started about four years ago with a dress Sandra Bullock wore in "28 Days." It grew because the owners know people who worked on these productions. Christensen described a scene WECT passed along: a visitor calls out her favorite movie, and the man next to her offers a story about driving one of its actors to set.

The menu is built like a movie-theater concession stand. WilmingtonBiz listed popcorn, hot dogs, soft pretzels, hot-honey cheese pretzel bites, pickle bombs, cheese curds, sweet-potato waffle fries, and donut holes, plus beer, wine, and nonalcoholic drinks. The beer comes from local breweries and is served next to film-themed drinks. The StarNews photo tour showed indoor and outdoor seating, vintage theater details, a converted garage seating area, and a screening area.

The Brewseum's own site lists these hours:

• Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.
• Closed Monday through Wednesday

WECT reported that a grand opening is planned for mid-November, so the official celebration falls right around now.

After Thanksgiving, a Dunkin' on Third Street becomes a matcha bar

The next opening comes from someone who grew up around one of downtown's best-known kitchens. Sada Hudson's father and aunt opened The German Cafe in The Cotton Exchange and ran it until they sold it last year. Hudson herself worked at The Little Dipper and Pilot House, WilmingtonBiz reported. Her shop, Uji, is being built out in the former Dunkin' on the ground floor of 101 N. Third St. She is targeting a soft opening after Thanksgiving and a full opening in December.

Her reasons for choosing the corner describe the block better than any listing sheet could. Hudson told WilmingtonBiz she liked the locally owned businesses nearby on Princess Street, the visibility from Third Street, the short walk to the New Hanover County courthouse, and the parking close by. She also considered a Castle Street space and a food truck before signing the lease in late September.

The shop is named for the region of Japan where some of the most prized matcha leaves are grown. Hudson is working with Kettl, a specialty tea company with offices in the U.S. and Japan, to source matcha and teas from Japanese producers. She described matcha in Wilmington right now as "very one-note." The planned menu changes over the course of the week:

• During the day: drinks made with standard and premium matcha, teas, specialty iced matchas, cold brew with Japanese-inspired flavored cold foams, sandwiches modeled on those sold in Japanese convenience stores, onigiri, desserts, and monthly specials
• Weeknights: hand rolls
• Friday and Saturday nights: reservation-only omakase dinners of six to eight courses, paired with wine and other drinks

That last item turns a coffee-chain storefront into a weekend dinner reservation, which is a bigger change for that corner than the switch from coffee to tea.

In January, a Front Street room with three past names gets a fourth

Downtown regulars have probably eaten at 9 S. Front St. more than once under different names. Port City Daily traced the space back through Caffe Phoenix, 9 Bakery and Lounge, and Platypus and Gnome. Its next tenant is Little Bird, a sister restaurant to Seabird next door, from chef Dean Neff, who also runs Zora's Kitchen and Market. The paper reported a January 2027 opening target.

The plan puts 60 seats into the 2,200-square-foot room, 10 of them at the bar. It will open for breakfast and lunch, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at least five days a week, and add dinner later. Planned food includes pastries, coffee, fresh juices, seasonal vegetables, salads, sandwiches, sustainable seafood, and small plates. Neff described the menu as fresh, sustainable, seasonal, and flexible.

The restaurant also has a second job. Port City Daily described it as a place for guest-chef events and private functions. Seabird's chef is building a daytime café and an event room beside his dinner restaurant, so one stretch of Front Street could cover a day from the morning pastry to the evening reservation.

Early next year, Castle Street trades a mural for a deli

The last opening on this winter's list comes from operators who have shaped Wilmington nightlife for years. Ivan "Chip" Moore and Joe Sena founded Tacobaby, Runcow, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and Underfront. Their partners at Rook's Neighborhood Pub and Deli are Moore's wife Noelle Vandermark and Deanna and Frank Iadicicco, Port City Daily reported. They are renovating 506–508 Castle St., Coco Pippa's former home, and aim to open by the beginning of 2027.

The plan is for a neighborhood pub. It will serve hot and cold sandwiches and subs, homemade sides, soups, salads, desserts, beer, wine, and a simpler cocktail list. The owners are aiming for $12 to $14 sandwiches. There will be seats for more than 40 indoors and on a front patio, plus a large backyard. The kitchen is expected to close around 9 p.m. on weeknights and later on weekends.

Of all four buildings, this one shows the turnover most clearly from the sidewalk. The "Greetings from Castle Street" mural on the building was painted over during the renovation. Port City Daily reported that the owners are considering three options: commissioning a replacement, organizing a community mural, or rotating work by local artists. They had not made a decision. For now, a blank wall at 506 Castle St. marks where Rook's will be.

If you own near Market, Third, Front, or Castle and want to know how a new neighbor on your block affects what your home is worth, the Jennifer Bullock Team can walk you through it with the same street-by-street detail. Get a Free Home Valuation, and we'll start with your address.