WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — A popular eatery from the Myrtle Beach area is expanding into North Carolina this spring. According to Blueberry’s Grill regional manager Michelle Gustafson, the restaurant is shooting for a mid-May opening in Lumina Station.
Currently, the 4,800-square-foot restaurant — once home to Halligan’s Pub — is undergoing renovation. Gustafson said the aesthetic will be “modern farmhouse,” including a few murals created by local artists and shiplap walls. There will be an expanded patio with an outdoor fireplace and outdoor bar (another bar will be located indoors). The restaurant will seat 97 inside and 84 outside, she said.
“It’ll be mostly covered,” Gustafson described of the outdoor patio. “It’s going to be garden-style, with a brick wall around it, some ivy and lanterns.”
The restaurant, founded by Phillip Kasey and a silent partner, first opened its doors in Myrtle Beach in 2017 before expanding into North Myrtle’s Barefoot Landing in 2018. The management company that runs Lumina Station, Burroughs & Chapin Company Inc., also oversees Barefoot Landing and approached Blueberry’s Grill about coming to Wrightsville Beach. Burroughs & Chapin bought Lumina in 2015 for more than $14.5 million, according to Wilmington Business Journal.
“We scoped the area out and thought we could offer a lot that’s missing,” Gustafson said. She has been in the restaurant industry for 30 years and became involved with the company when she made the move to Long Beach outside of North Myrtle six years ago.
“We have a lot of breakfast places here,” she said, speaking of the Myrtle area, undeniably peppered with a pancake house on every corner. “But we knew what we could bring to the table was going to be different than what you can get at most breakfast places. We only use top quality ingredients. Fresh — we don’t keep anything frozen and we get our deliveries every day.”
Blueberry’s Grill specializes in breakfast and brunch, particularly taking classic items and offering a modern take. Benedicts, omelettes, skillets, biscuits and gravy, pancakes and waffles can be expected. One of the more popular items is their seafood omelette with shrimp and scallops, covered in Hollandaise. Gustafson said the restaurant will buy seafood from local fishermen.
“We have a crab cake Benedict that’s popular,” she said. “And the Jungle Isle skillet is one of our favorites: corned beef hash, mushrooms, jalapenos, cheddar jack cheese, avocado cream.”
Gustafson said the restaurant will work with local vendors for its fruits and vegetables, such as procuring blueberries from Burgaw for their waffle and pancake “blasts.” The sweet breakfast items come topped with fruits, vanilla icing and whipped cream, served warm with syrup.
The restaurant also has vegan items, such as cinnamon roll French toast or their famed blueberry hushpuppies — fried cornmeal and blueberries, served with blueberry compote.
Healthy items also fill out the menu, including granola and yogurt, steel cut oats and healthy omelettes, like a chicken and kale variety.
“After we get Lumina Station up and running, we’re going to start another location — probably the Surfside area,” she said. “And we will see how the restaurant does in North Carolina and we may expand there some more.”
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