WILMINGTON — After serving the Wilmington dining scene for five years, a restaurant that focused on upscale vegan dining has announced it will close its doors later this month.
The Green House, located at 1427 Military Cutoff Rd., announced via an email to customers on Thursday that its last day will be on Feb. 21.
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“Owning this restaurant and serving you over the past five years has been the most meaningful work of my life, and I’m so proud of what we’ve built here,” co-owner Anastasia Worrell wrote, explaining she was heartbroken see its final service come into focus. “I feel incredibly lucky to have been part of this community, and so grateful to our amazing team who brought it to life.”
In 2021, Worrell and Laura Tiblier (the latter of whom opened Ceviche’s in Wrightsville Beach in 2014) founded The Green House, in a former Moe’s Southwest Restaurant at the intersection of Eastwood and Military Cutoff roads. Both owners follow a vegan lifestyle and have grown to serve a niche family of diners, Worrell told Port City Daily Thursday.
“We have created relationships for life. We have become a special community space here and I’ve received so many responses in support,” she said. “It’s been hard to respond to everyone because there are so many emails and text messages I’ve received — and our customers mean so much to us.”
In the email to customers and to Port City Daily, Worrell said there have been “ongoing issues” with the lease agreement. Essentially, the tenants have endured problems with its four A/C units and who is responsible in covering those expenses; Worrell believed the landlord was supposed to take care of as part of the lease agreement.
Six months ago, as they began renegotiating their next five-year lease, Worrell said they couldn’t come together and move forward. The restaurateurs considered costs and capacity to relocate, but decided against it.
“We have a vegetarian restaurant, so it’s not like, you know, we’re making a ton of money, but we found a way to make it work,” Worrell said, adding they’ve run a tight ship with roughly a dozen employees and experiencing success with its cooking classes.
She also confirmed they spent a lot of money upfront renovating The Green House to become an upscale modern experience, including natural wooden tables and accents, built by Coastal Live Edge’s Jon McDow. They repurposed fixtures from the old Moe’s space and included various shades of white as the color scheme. Smith Haynes out of Atlanta — behind the design of downtown’s Seabird — worked alongside architect Blair Goodrich and Delphi Construction.
The menu remained refined and “clean,” focused on chef-forward dishes created by the richness of nuts, seeds and beans, wholesome grains, and bright, flavorful vegetable. The goal was to show off the creativity of thoughtful vegan cuisine and avoid faux “meats” like Beyond Burger or seitan.
The Green House was open dinner and brunch, but also hosted special themed dinners for holidays, such as Halloween, and offered take out specials for Thanksgiving. Valentine’s Day is one of their busiest days of the year and has been booked out since Jan. 1, Worrell said.
Both Tiblier and Worrell also erected greenhouse towers on the premises to grow their own herbs, lettuces, mixed greens and more. The kitchen crew source from local farmers as much as possible and the restaurant launched one of the first non-alocholic bar programs in the Wilmington area, as a nationwide sober movement was gaining speed. This included the use of tinctures, shrubs and brands like Seed Lip that create non-alcoholic beverages to mimic spirits, such as gin or whiskey.
The gathered a devoted following in their infancy, Worrell said, and not only with diners in Wilmington, but with foodies from across the state.
“Some of our customers in Chapel Hill have already made reservations when they found out we were closing,” she said, noting many often attended the cooking classes The Green House became known for.
Its chef, Dexter Spencer, and other chefs in the area often would teach classes on global cuisine, fresh ingredients and how to bring the most flavor to every dish. This even led to UNCW’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute collaborating with The Green House; OLLI provides lifelong learning opportunities for adults 50 and up.
Worrell wants to continue the cooking school portion of the business, saying it’s a financially sustainable model; however, she wants to shift it into becoming a week-long retreat, yet still featuring varied chefs.
“And it’s not just for a pocket of Wilmington,” Worrell said, explaining again that people from out-of-town frequently sign up for the classes.
Living in a beach community, she realized day-long classes could evolve into something more. Thus, Worrell wants to launch the first retreat in May and envisions one taking place every few months.
“We can have a cooking school retreat anywhere,” she said, perhaps even hosting them internationally, such as in Barcelona, Spain. “And we already have a good team in place. Chefs definitely want to continue doing this because they know the model and while it is not new, it is an exploration of world cuisines. While some foundations may be plant-based, other cultures then add traditional proteins, so it’s open to everyone, really.”
Worrell said The Green House hosted around 23 sessions of cooking school to date, which has led to a compilation of recipes and instructions on how to prepare varied cuisines. She plans to release a “Best of the Green House” cookbook as well soon.
As far as The Green House chef, Worrell said Spencer already is making future plans. He was ready to step in and take over the current space to operate his own restaurant, but it also didn’t work out. Spencer is planning to buy the restaurant’s equipment and open a space elsewhere but where currently is unknown.
“I also want to help my chef do his thing,” Worrell said. “He is very ready.”
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