
SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Lots of movement happens around the Port City when it comes to foodie news.
While Port City Daily already covers most of the headlines, “Small Bites” offers another way for readers to stay in the know. The column uncovers newsworthy tidbits, from smaller shifts and changes to local menus, expansions of existing establishments, temporary closures and renovations, added hours or grand openings, pop-up events and, of course, openings and closings.
Here are seven restaurants from six brands that have either opened or will soon in the greater Wilmington region.
Amanecer Cocina & Cafe
1616 Shipyard Blvd. #20 • 910-833-5260
Formerly Krazy Pizza and Subs, Amanecer Cocina & Cafe flipped on the open sign Monday at Shipyard Boulevard and 17th Street.
The restaurant is the latest venture from the Ibarra family, best known for the El Cerro Grande restaurants. They also own two El Arriero taquerias, Zocalo, and last year opened El Mariscal in the Landfall Shopping Center.
Emmanuel Ibarra told Port City Daily when El Mariscal opened in July 2022 that the Mexican seafood restaurant may be his last for a while — well, at least until the next concept compelled him otherwise.
“If something shows up, I won’t say no to it,” he said then.
That happened a month later when Krazy Pizza officially closed its 3,000-square-foot restaurant.
“My wife and I used to take the kids there all the time,” he said Tuesday.
They tried to patronize the restaurant after a trip to Mexico last summer but saw it had permanently shuttered.
“I always liked the location, and even before I thought about a concept, I decided to call the landlord,” he said.
He had a lease in hand shortly after. With the hospital and doctor complexes nearby, as well as Zocalo less than a mile away in The Pointe at Barclay, Ibarra knew he had to go in a different direction with the food. Focusing on breakfast and lunch seemed logical.
Amanecer — meaning sunrise — concentrates on breakfast, lunch and brunch, seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. It blends traditional Mexican fare with American twists.
For instance, pancakes are served tres leches style.
“Each layer we put the leches syrup, so they’re soaked, and it’s served with blueberries and strawberries,” he said.
Chilaquiles also make an appearance: eggs (prepared to the liking of the customer) beans, peppers, onions, pico de gallo and tortilla strips, but rather than served over rice, it comes with home fried potatoes. It’s smothered with red sauce, made with chile guajillo, or green sauce made from tomatillos. They’re topped with cilantro, onions and Mexican cheese.
It also can be punched up with steak and served with both red and green sauces.
Avocado toast, with added Mexican spices, is on the menu, as are breakfast molcajetes and breakfast fajitas. The latter is served with a choice of chicken or steak, and topped with eggs, peppers and onions, served with cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Homemade guacamole and corn tortillas, both made fresh daily, accompany it.
There are also specialty beverages, including clericot — Mexican-style sangria — offered in red (Merlot) and white (Moscato), with slices of pear, apple, orange, peach, and mango.
“It’s a lot lighter and more fruity, more sweet,” Ibarra said.
The bar will have full ABC permits, featuring margaritas and mojitos. There will also be specialty coffee, such as carajillo. It’s espresso served with a walnut-flavored liqueur, a popular drink in Latin America, Ibarra said.
The restaurant offers indoor and outdoor seating for upward of 120 people. Ibarra said the space has been completely renovated, leaning into tropical colors and its coastal location, with plants peppering the space. Two murals cover the walls, one of the pier in Wrightsville Beach, another of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge downtown.
If the concept for Amanecer takes off, Ibarra said it’s likely the restaurant would expand into other areas.
As for other restaurants in the works currently, he said: “The same comment as last year:f something comes up, we’re gonna get it.”
Angus Grill

6331 Carolina Beach Road • angusgrillnc.com
Burger lovers will be happily sated by a new offering in the southern part of the county.
Greenville, North Carolina’s famed Angus Grill, which landed in Wilmington two years ago in the Brooklyn Arts District, is opening a second location in the coming week or so, according to a social media post.
Port City Daily reached out to managing partner Jordan Michaels to ask when exactly, but Michaels did not return the call.
Angus Grill number two will be situated at 6331 Carolina Beach Road, near the Cape Fear Habitat Restore toward Pleasure Island. Before opening downtown, Michaels told PCD he had looked at locations from Leland to Carolina Beach.
The restaurant is known for its robust menu, featuring 30 burgers served in single-, double- and triple-patty form (with prices ranging from $9 to $16). It offers traditional beef but can be swapped for black bean, turkey, and Beyond burgers.
“Our most popular is the brown-sugar-and-egg burger,” Michaels told PCD when its first location opened. “Really, it’s like breakfast and lunch all at the same time — so it’s kind of like a brunch burger. We sell a lot of that one.”
The burger joint goes beyond the favorite American handheld and also tackles variations on cheesesteaks (steak-and-egg, Hawaiian, Buffalo chicken, teriyaki), as well as wraps (Buffalo, Caesar, fajita, bruschetta). It offers salads and appetizers, like mac-and-cheese bites, jalapeño poppers, fried green tomatoes, and mozz sticks — all of which appear as toppings on burgers too.

The Greeks
7150 Market St., Ste. 100, Ogden Market Place
3572 Leland Town Center Drive, Leland Town Center
thegreeksnc.com
The Papanikolaou family — George and Roula and their children, Yanni and Nina — of Wilmington’s The Greeks will add more locations in both New Hanover and Brunswick counties in the coming year.
They announced in the winter the opening of the first Brunswick County restaurant at the Leland Town Center, slated to be operational by early 2024.
“We have always wanted to go to Leland ever since we moved into Wilmington,” George wrote to PCD Tuesday.
A few weeks ago, another announcement was made: The Greeks would land in the Ogden Market Place where Publix is located. The 2,600-square-foot restaurant, formerly Morgan’s Seafood, will open by late summer, early fall.
George and Roula live nearby. The two restaurants will be located in regions that have seen booming growth in recent years. The Papanikolaous said they also have received inquiries from diners to expand to the areas for a while.
“That corridor of traffic is a great spot,” George said of Ogden. “The goal is for Wilmington and the surrounding areas to turn into a little metro spot and we are super excited about it.”
The Papanikolaou family started The Greeks in downtown Wilmington in 2011 before it moved to Oleander Drive. They operated a Monkey Junction location as well, but it closed a little more than a year ago.
“We were close to our lease expiration, and we decided to not renew,” Yanni said. “We wanted to put some distance between the spots, too, and cover a lot more area.”
The same menu and family recipes — devised by patriarch George’s family lineage — will be offered, including the restaurant’s famed tzatziki, spiced feta dip and hummus, as well as platters of souvlaki, gyros and salads.
“My mother, she is still in Greece, she cooked with her hands, and her heart, something that she passed on to me,” George said.
New items will be offered when the additional restaurants open, such as pork shawarma.
“We strive for authenticity and besides the lamb gyro, one of the favorite gyros of actual people in Greece is the pork,” Roula said.
They may also add patisserie-style desserts.
“Plus we are working on our cookbook and always looking for new recipes,” George said.
The plan is to publish the cookbook by the end of the year. It will include recipes from the restaurant and explore further into Greek cuisine.
The area of Greece he is from is “at a crossroads” to Asia, the Mediterranean, Africa and Europe.
“So we have always been influenced not only by traditional Greek recipes, but also an amalgamation of food cultures, like a huge melting pot,” the chef, who worked on cruise ships and for vacation resorts worldwide, said.
The latest expansions are being ushered in with franchise opportunities as well. It was a goal of the Papanikolaous before the pandemic.
“Then everything happened and we had to put all our plans back until the world got back on its feet,” George said. “We have a very good, proven, profitable model here, that we invented from scratch and we have fine tweaked it in the past 10 years or so eliminating any kinks. And it works.”
The family is in early discussions about bringing The Greeks to other cities in the state, such as Raleigh, but also beyond. Conversations with interested parties have taken place for potential restaurants in Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
It also may revisit two of its former locations in the future.
“We love the Monkey Junction area,” Nina said, “and at some point we would love to do a hole-in-the-wall concept, like a Greeks Express. Same as downtown.”

Far From France
1474 Barclay Pointe, Suite 201
The quaint French patisserie has expanded its cafe and bakery into the former Il Forno space, located a few doors down from its original location at the Point at Barclay.
Far From France announced its official opening is Wednesday, June 21.
Owned and operated by Josephine and Alban Pelletier, the team has been upfitting the space since announcing its expansion last October.
ALSO: Pizza to pastries: As Il Forno closes, Far From France expands
Seating will triple from the 30 or so at the former location to 90-plus, with dining offered both indoors and outdoors. The restaurant will operate as tableside service with only retail products sold counterside.
Far From France churns out homemade croissants, brioche and baguettes, as well as tarts, tea cakes and petit fours. A variety of crepes — both sweet and savory — freshly prepared salads, light sandwiches, homemade soups and entrees, such as ratatouille, are offered.
It’s also become known for its confections — chocolates from Maxims and macarons — as well as speciality items like confit, tapenade and marinades from L’Epirucrean, all shipped from France.
The Pelletiers told PCD once it moved into its new location, Far From France’s menu would evolve more. A menu has not been published yet, but it is serving lunch and dinner, so expect more French delicacies to be served.
Lunch and dinner will operate Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday will feature brunch from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The bakery will open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The restaurant will be closed Monday and Tuesday.
Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant at 910-833-5002. Port City Daily will have a full report on the restaurant later in the week.

Ida Thai
5920 Carolina Beach Road • idathairestaurant.com
On June 3, the famed Carolina Beach eatery opened in its new location in the Beau Rivage Marketplace at the corner of Carolina Beach and Sanders roads.
With it comes a modern look, featuring dark woods and rich golds — a different palate completely from the former bright pink and green decor at its former location, 304 N. Lake Park Blvd.
Ida Thai has been a staple of the greater Wilmington region’s dining scene since 2010. Today, in its new iteration at the former Niche Kitchen and Bar location, it also has a full wine, beer and saki menu and a copper-top 10-seat or so bar.
Owned and operated by Rachanee and Jackie Bongkotmanee — who worked throughout Thailand and California before moving east — the recipes are the same tried-and-true from the original. Curries, Pad See Ew, Pad Thai, fried rice and chef specialties, such as Panang salmon, roasted duck, and Thai three-flavor fish, are offered.
The restaurant is open daily except Tuesday. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., as well as Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Reservations are required for six or more: 910-458-8136.

Salita Pizza
615 S 16th St., Suite 130 • salitapizza.com
The Cargo District’s newest artisanal pizza shop has officially opened.
Pastry chef Jim Diecchio, who handles all sweets and breads at Seabird, opened Salita — meaning rise up — last week.
The 10-inch pies are made with Diecchio’s naturally leavened sourdough — “thinner in the center but with a bubbly, airy crust with some nice char on it, a little bit of chew, a little bit of crunch,” he told Port City Daily last year.
The menu is simple: Nine pizza options, some salads, and dessert, consisting of soft serve ice cream in unique flavors like blueberry sorbet and olive oil. The pizza flavors will be driven by seasonal ingredients and include local vegetables, as well as expected pizza toppings, like pepperoni and salami.
Bases include traditional red — tomato — and a few versions of white, such as spicy cream and herby cream.
The pies are $18, salads $12 and ice cream is $6.
As well the restaurant donates a portion of proceeds to a local nonprofit organization; this month it’s Retake. The nonprofit helps people rebuild memories, by offering free photos and family portraits to people whose belongings have been lost from hurricanes, fires, or earthquakes.
The restaurant only accepts cards and is open Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., located in the courtyard behind CheeseSmith in Wilmington’s Cargo District.
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