Leland Brewing Finally Has a Kitchen, and a Fall Night Out in Leland Has Changed

When Leland Brewing Co. opened at 2115 Ale Ave. in 2023, the original plans included a taco stand. Three years later, the kitchen is finally here. It's called All Good Kitchen. It runs out of a shipping container beside the taproom, and Chef Patrick Quinn's menu includes smash burgers and fish tacos.

Around Leland, the places that pour local beer have been adding reasons to stay: a kitchen on Ale Avenue, golf simulator bays on Ploof Road and a ticketed cider festival on South Dickinson Drive. For a Leland resident planning a Friday night this fall, the pint and the plan now come from the same place.

A kitchen three years in the making

Leland Brewing's owners have worked toward a kitchen since the doors opened, and the StarNews reported on Oct. 1 that the planning goes back even further than 2023. In recent months they brought in Quinn. He started as a teenage dishwasher and has since cooked in restaurants in Colorado, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.

In practice, an evening at the brewery no longer depends on which food truck is parked outside or on a pickup order from somewhere else. Smash burgers and fish tacos are simple, and simple is the point. They're the kind of food that keeps a table of friends ordering a second round instead of leaving at 7:30 to find dinner.

The StarNews food roundup that carried the news also listed Hampstead and Wilmington openings, but All Good Kitchen was the Leland entry. If you haven't been to the taproom since summer, the container kitchen is the change you'll notice first.

One building on Ploof Road, three answers to the same question

A couple of miles away, 9600 Ploof Road SE has tested what a Leland taproom needs to offer more than any other address in town. Here is the building's recent history, in order:

1. Mannkind Brewing announced an indefinite closure on Dec. 1, 2024, WECT reported, about a year after it opened.
2. MOBA Beer, the Museum of Beer & Art, opened in the same space in August 2025 with a concept that paired art with beer. The StarNews reported on March 3, 2026, that the partners were calling it the concept's last week.
3. Backspin Social, an indoor golf and social venue, held its grand opening weekend July 24 through 26, 2026, after renovating the roughly 5,500-square-foot building.

The third tenant still pours beer, but the beer isn't the main draw. The building is now organized around golf simulator bays, and the bar works alongside them.

What Backspin built around the bar

Backspin's owners, Mike and Cat Wilson, opened their first location in Wilmington in October 2023, and Leland is their second. North Brunswick News traced the business back to a simple problem: Mike Wilson couldn't fit a golf simulator in his garage.

The Leland location opened with three simulator bays, each about 16 feet wide by 16 feet deep, and a fourth is planned. The owners told WWAY these are among the largest indoor golf simulator setups in the area. The layout was designed with people who don't play golf in mind. "The Leland layout gives the golf bays more separation from the bar and social area, which helps us welcome people who may not golf at all," Mike Wilson told WWAY.

Backspin is also part of the local brewery scene it replaced. The bar has 20 beers on tap, and North Brunswick News reported that all but two come from regional breweries, including Leland Brewing Co., Brunswick Beer & Cider and several Wilmington businesses. So a pint brewed on Ale Avenue can end up in a glass between golf swings on Ploof Road.

Cat Wilson described what she wants the space to do in terms that reach beyond golf. "We are excited to create a space that celebrates local talent, from food and beer to musicians and community-led workshops, while giving golfers and non-golfers a place to unwind and connect through activity," she told WWAY. Backspin offers leagues, memberships, private event rentals and community programming at both of its locations.

Where the evenings land through early November

Backspin's fall calendar follows the same approach as the rest of the building: live music paired with a rotating food vendor, so dinner is already part of the night. Brunswick Beer & Cider at 1313 S Dickinson Dr. has its own event on the first Saturday in November.

The Halloween party's event page address mentions Oct. 30, but the listing gives Saturday, Oct. 31. The Applearchy listing on Brunswick Beer & Cider's events page shows the day and date without a year, so check ticket details there before you plan around it. If you want a simulator bay on a music night, Backspin encouraged reservations for bays during its opening weekend, and booking ahead is a sensible habit for a venue with three bays.

These events can make for a full weekend without crossing the river. One option is Friday, Nov. 6, at Backspin for Wes Hunter and a smash burger from Ted's, then Saturday afternoon at Applearchy, then a fish taco from All Good Kitchen on Ale Avenue to round it out.

The next wave arrives with chain names in 2027

The next round of places to eat out in Leland will be a different kind of business. Leland Village, a shopping center under construction at U.S. 17 and Kingsbridge Road, is expected to open in early 2027, according to WECT. The developer is Branch Properties. In August, WilmingtonBiz reported 11 new lease signings, including First Watch, Wingstop, Domino's Pizza and Qdoba. It also named Handel's Ice Cream, which the article called a first for the Wilmington area. WECT's tenant list from later that month named 10 of them and did not include Qdoba.

The tenant list also includes Hollywood Feed, FS8 Pilates, Glo MedSpa, Mattress Firm, Sport Clips and a Chase Bank branch. These are national names on a highway corner, and they serve a different purpose than a taproom with a container kitchen or a golf bar that pours Leland beer.

Jennifer Bullock grew up in Wilmington, and the Jennifer Bullock Team follows how places like Ale Avenue and Ploof Road change the way a neighborhood spends its evenings. If you're wondering how Leland's growing list of things to do affects what your home is worth, we're glad to talk it through. Get a Free Home Valuation whenever you're ready.