WILMINGTON—Regarded as a largely service-industry town, Wilmington has served up several restaurant success stories.
After all, it did incubate the greatest basketball player of all time.
Born out of Wilmington, these restaurants have been duplicated in the Cape Fear region and beyond. Below are food and drink franchises that have been reproduced the most and have the highest number of locations.
Clean Eatz: 34
Since 2011, Clean Eatz has been offering fresh options for its health-conscious customers. Clean Eatz offers packaged meal plans and blossomed in synch with fitness training trends that have swept the country in recent years.
With 11 franchise locations in North Carolina and 9 in South Carolina, Clean Eatz has plans to expand to more than 50 franchise locations.
Port City Java: 28
It’s no surprise that Port City Java would be a top contender in this list. Its first location opened in 1995 in downtown Wilmington. Steve Schnitzler would frequent the original location and eventually came to work for the original owners. Schnitzler is crediting with franchizing the brand and expanding it to as far as Washington, D.C.
In total, Port City Java has a total of over 28 franchise locations according to its website. From its downtown brick and mortar to its D.C. venture, the local coffee chain has traveled over 360 miles from its hometown glory.
Port City Java is set to open a new drive-thru location on Masonboro Loop in 2018, which would bring the franchise to a grand total of 29 locations.
Charlie Graingers: 11
In 1939 Charlie and Anne Grainger opened up Peacock Alley on Queen Street in downtown Wilmington. Louis North demolished the original business and structure in 2012 and named the new business after the site’s original owner.
With 11 locations in the southeast, Charlie Graingers is expanding and has sold out its existing franchise territories. The chain will host a maximum total of 350 new restaurants in the country in the coming years according to its website.
P.T.’s Olde Fashioned Grille: 7
With its famous lemon pepper fries and old fashioned burgers, P.T.’s has been grilling American classics since 1995 in its original location on Fountain Drive.
P.T.’s Olde Fashioned Grille now hosts 7 locations; 8 if you count its food truck.
The burger joint has expanded as far as Goldsboro, N.C., 95 miles from its cornerstone location on Fountain Drive.
Fuzzy Peach: 5
A group of UNCW graduates joined in on the frozen yogurt trend in Racine Commons early on, in a deal in which U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt acquired 17 of its franchises in 2012 for nearly $1 million. Now, there are 5 Fuzzy Peach’s left, 4 being in North Carolina.
The parent company owns and operates U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt, with 31 locations in the United States and Cherry Berry, with 52 locations.
Fuzzy Peach’s original owners Rocco Quaranto and Wells Struble went on to start Tama Tea, which recently expanded its menu items and changed its name to Tama Cafe.
Honorable Mentions
Other notable, successful franchises or restaurant models with several locations born out of Wilmington include:
- Michaelangelos Pizza & Subs: 7
- Flaming Amy’s: 4
- Islands Fresh Mex Grill: 4
- Trolly Stop Hot Dogs: 4
- Slice of Life: 3
- El Cerro Grande: 3
- Peño Mediterranean Grill: 3
- Live.Eat.Surf Restaurants: 7, including 2 K-38 Baja Grills, 2 KBuenos, 1 Tower 7, 1 CRUZ, 1 Cafe Del Mar.
Related stories
Check out the menu, beer options for Steam, opening downtown this weekend
The Roadhouse, big-sister restaurant of Dixie Grill, set to open Wednesday
Fathom and Farm grand opening today, featuring meat, seafood and vegan options
Carolina Smokehouse brings western BBQ to the Carolina Beach Boardwalk
(Update: This article has been updated to include Clean Eatz)
Johanna Ferebee can be reached at johanna@localvoicemedia.com or @j__ferebee on Twitter
