SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Lots of movement happens around the Port City when it comes to restaurants, food trucks, bars and bottle shops, not to mention organizational and nonprofit foodie events and festivals.
Port City Small Bites covers a little bit of it all. Below is a look at some news from our local dining scene.
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Bojangles spikes its sweet tea with new product line
While chicken and biscuits may be the stronghold of this North Carolina-founded fast food chain, its sweet tea also has culled a die-hard fanship.
Now, Bojangles is spiking its sugary concoction in a partnership with Appalachian Mountain Brewery in Boone. The companies noted in a press release they would create a product that’s easy to drink and refreshing, to be released by March 2023.
“Partnering with AMB to craft our Legendary Iced Tea into a hard tea for fans of legal drinking age was a natural fit, and the team poured passion into the entire process,”Jackie Woodward, Bojangles’ chief brand and marketing officer, said in a release.
Bojangles Hard Sweet Tea will be sold in 12 packs with 12-ounce cans; individual 16-ounce cans will also be available. It will be sold in participating stores but not in Bojangles restaurants. So far the list includes Circle K, QT, Spinx, Harris Teeter, Ingles, Lowes, Walmart, Food Lion and Sheetz.
READ MORE: Move over Wawa: Two Sheetz locations coming to the Cape Fear
“AMB couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with such an iconic Carolina company,” Nathan Kelischek, AMB founder and brewmaster, said in the release. “We are excited to continue to share our craft in innovative, new ways.”
Elizabeth’s Pizza announces closure
A well-known pizzeria on the area dining scene has announced its closing. But for how long exactly remains unknown.
Elizabeth’s Pizza, located at 4304-1/2 Market St., has been a Wilmington institution since 1987. The family-run operation, owned by Shamir and Maria Lookman, served a wide variety of pies — hand-tossed and Sicilian — as well as pasta dishes, sandwiches, salads and appetizers.
It has become revered throughout its three-plus decades for its oversized strombolis and calzones.
The pizzeria moved to takeout only during Covid-19 and never fully reopened its dining area.
In mid-December, it publicized it was closing until Jan. 4 to give staff “some well-deserved time off for the holidays this year.” When the first week of 2023 arrived, the restaurant posted it would be closed an additional week due to a family emergency.
On Saturday, Jan. 14, came a formal announcement to its social media page:
“It is with heavy heart that we pass along the following news to our cherished customers. Due to complications and other limitations due to a longstanding insurance claim for storm damages, we have determined that temporary repairs and partial operations are no longer practical and therefore we decided to temporarily close our family restaurant.”
There is no timeline in place for how long it may take, according to the post, which continues: “Unfortunately, this closure may persist for many months (or years) pending the completion of our insurance claim.
Elizabeth’s Pizzas also operates in Greensboro, Fayetteville, and Eden, North Carolina, as well as in Collinsville, Virginia.
The Wilmington store expanded in 2014, when the Lookmans’ daughter, Annemarie, opened a cocktail lounge, MOD, next to the restaurant. The two were connected and could be accessed from inside either operation’ food was delivered into the bar, also allowing Elizabeth’s to extend their service beyond wine and beer into cocktails.
At the time, the Elizabeth’s menu was also upgraded to include new specialty pies and pastas.
The bar also remains closed.
Port City Daily reached out to the restaurateur for an interview and will report back with more details as they become known.
Raw 32 construction underway
Ash Aziz’s new oyster bar, Raw 32, is one step closer to opening in 2023 at Renaissance Park.
Last week, Wilmington’s Thomas Construction Group announced it would be handling the upfit of the eatery and gave a first look at the open-air space, connected to Hudson Renaissance Apartments — also completed by Thomas.
There will be outdoor and indoor dining, with windows and shutters opening the space to bring in the coastal breeze, as Raw 32 is located three miles from Wrightsville Beach.
The restaurant’s approach puts a focus on modern seafood, Aziz told Port City Daily last year after opening his fine dining restaurant, Origins, in Autumn Hall.
READ MORE: 22 restaurants in 24 years: Ash Aziz opens Origins in Autumn Hall
“It is gonna be different,” he added, “like Boston meets Wrightsville Beach.”
The groundbreaking experienced some delays but is back on truck with Thomas to start work on the interior by the end of the month.The company also worked with Aziz on Origins and are scheduled to finish by early summer.
“We are glad to be on a collaborative team that takes a team-centered approach to achieve Ash’s vision,” Thomas spokesperson Scout McGraw wrote to PCD.
Raw 32 is expected to open before the summer season ends.
California poke restaurant coming to Barclay
A former Port City Java in Barclay Commons will be home to a California franchise in coming months.
PokiBowl got its start in 2015 in San Jose, opening five restaurants in the first two years. Today, 18 restaurants are operational from Texas to Florida, with more restaurants moving east into Tennessee and North Carolina this year.
Michael Nowak of Cape Fear Poki, LLC is listed as the owner of the local establishment, according to county permitting, with Mark Loudermilk Architecture listed among the design team.
Construction is underway to upfit the 1,000-square-foot eatery, slated to accommodate 68 diners. PokiBowl is a counter-service, build-your-own-bowl experience, wherein diners choose a base (rice, mixed greens, tortilla chips.), proteins (tuna, salmon, octopus, tofu), toppings (avocado, sesame seeds, cucumber, masago, seaweed salad) and sauces (poki spicy, miso dressing, Sriracha).
The restaurant also offers macaron ice cream sandwiches.
A Hawaiian dish, poke has grown in popularity over the last few years, due to its health-forward ingredients, containing omega 3s, and customizable makeup.
PokiBowl will join two other poke establishments in Wilmington — Nakedfin, which moved into a new location in Landfall Shopping Center last year and Pipeline Poke opening in Autumn Hall over the summer.
A report covering years 2022 to 2026 has the poke foods market growing by $781.91 million.
Port City Daily reached out to PokiBowl for comment but didn’t hear back by press.
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