Popular NC seafood restaurant expands to a 4th location in the Triangle
A popular North Carolina seafood restaurant offering Calabash-style plates is expanding to its fourth location in the Triangle.
Cape Fear Seafood Co. will open this month in Cary, a town local franchise partners Eddie Elliott and Matthew Wivell have been eyeing for years.
The owners were close to signing a deal for a location at Waverly Place in 2020, but their plans changed when the pandemic started, Elliott told The News & Observer in a phone interview.
That would have been the second Triangle location, following the 2019 opening of the Raleigh location on Spring Forest Road. But the Waverly Place restaurant never came to fruition. Instead, Cape Fear — founded in Wilmington in 2008 — has expanded to Raleigh’s Village District (formerly Cameron Village) and Wake Forest.
Cape Fear Seafood Co. opening in Cary
But on Monday, May 19, Cape Fear Seafood Co. will finally arrive in Cary, at 1885 Lake Pine Drive, near U.S. Highway 64.
The seafood restaurant is moving into the former Brewster’s Pub space, which closed in October after 12 years. The pub was not given the option to renew its lease at the Lake Pine Drive location, according to an Instagram post.
Elliott said that he wasn’t initially sold on the Lake Pine Drive location because it is partly obstructed by a small hill. Once he recognized the benefits of nearby neighborhoods and ample parking, though, the location just “made sense.”
The renovated, 4,800-square-foot restaurant — which also features a patio and a fire pit — can seat about 150 in all.
Cape Fear Seafood Co. menu and hours
The Cary restaurant will have the same menu that’s available at the other Cape Fear locations.
One of the menu highlights is the Calabash-style fried seafood platter, which includes a customer’s choice of two options (shrimp, flounder, scallops, oysters or clam strips), lightly breaded and fried, served with fries, hush puppies and coleslaw.
Other popular choices at the Triangle locations are the fresh catch, available grilled, blackened or pan-seared, and shrimp and grits.
Besides seafood, Cape Fear offers pastas, steaks, salads and tacos.
Starting May 19, Cape Fear will be open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
