Great Restaurants on Pleasure Island

Pleasure Island has some serious food! The following is a sampling of just a handful of the wonderful places to eat on Pleasure Island.

Wake N Bake Donuts - For donuts beyond your wildest dreams.

Deck House - Enjoy tip-top service and locally caught seafood in a historic building.

El Cazador - This restaurant was honored as Best Local Restaurant in 2011 accompanied by the Customer Satisfaction Award in 2012.

Gibby's Dock & Dine - Dock your boat for free and catch the sunset at this "beach casual" restaurant.

Ida Thai Cuisine - Feast on authentic herbal Thai dishes along with an original Thai beer.

Island Hots - This hot dog hot spot offers nothing less than top-quality dogs, including vegetarian. 

Michelangelo's Pizza - The epitome of homemade, Michelangelo's makes their dough fresh daily. 

Ocean Grill & Tiki Bar - Grab a tropical cocktail at the Tiki Bar or enjoy panoramic views in Ocean Grill's upstairs dining room.

Shuckin' Shack Oyster Bar - Have a good shuckin' time at the restaurant recently named of of Coastal Living's Favorite Seafood Dives. 

Surf House - This unique restaurant knows exactly where all their food and other ingredients derive from, all the way down to the farmers who provide the beef for your cheeseburger. 

You can find even more great places to eat on Pleasure Island by Clicking Here.

Shuckin' Shack Oyster Bar - 5 New Franchise Locations in the Works

Shuckin' Shack owners Cook & Piccinin

Shuckin’ Shack owners Sean Cook and Matt Piccinin opened their flagship oyster bar on Carolina Beach in the fall of 2007, offering steamed seafood with a full bar, and a casual, family friendly atmosphere to the locals and visitors of the beach. Becoming a favorite seafood restaurant and a good Shuckin’ time, Cook and Piccinin decided to recreate the concept in downtown Wilmington in 2012. One year later, with two successful locations in eastern North Carolina, the two have teamed up with veteran restaurant franchise developer, Greg George, to expand the Shuckin’ Shack concept.

The Shuckin’ shack team has turned the concept into a turn-key franchise opportunity complete with site selection, design and layout, construction, marketing, and training to ensure success. One month into Franchise development, the team has 5 new location agreements planned for the coming year - three in Charlotte and two locations in the Carolina Beach neighboring areas of Surf City / Topsail Island and Mayfaire / Porter’s Neck.

“The Shuckin’ Shack is a unique franchise opportunity because of the niche oyster bar concept as well as a great name.”, said George.

Investors and six year patrons of the Shuckin’ Shack, Eric Weller, Gary Weller, Wade Newman, and Phil Newman have plans in place to open at least one of the Charlotte area locations by the end of 2014.

Investor Gary Weller said, “I kept telling myself for years I would never get into the restaurant business, but if I did, it would definitely be a Shuckin’ Shack!”

Owners Sean Cook and Matt Piccinin are very excited for their first expansion to be in the biggest city in North Carolina.

“Expanding to Charlotte is a natural for us and will greatly enhance the Shuckin’ Shack brand by having multiple locations in the area. We’re excited about working with our new partners and looking forward to helping them get their first location by years end.”

Retired military Jason Simas and his wife Bev are excited to own a Shuckin’ Shack oyster bar and will be moving from Newport News, VA to Topsail Island early 2015; Chris Cashwell, also retired military is moving to Carolina Beach from Albuquerque, NM this month to select his location.

Owners Cook and Piccinin are excited about the quick expansion and look forward to each location’s future success.

www.theshuckinshack.com

Plan Your 2012 Beach Vacation at Carolina Beach or Kure Beach

Whether you're digging out from under a few inches of snow or enjoying an unseasonably warm winter, it's hard not to dream about relaxing or playing on beautiful North Carolina beaches on a balmy summer day. Now is the perfect time to plan your summer beach vacation on Pleasure Island!

There is no shortage of ways to spend an enjoyable weekend, week, or longer visit to our fun and picturesque island. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Accommodations
Choose from an ocean front room at the Carolina Beach Courtyard Marriott, a condo rental just steps from the beach, or rent a house or duplex with room for the whole family. There is even camping available in the Carolina Beach State Park or on the North End at Freeman Park.

Where to Eat

There are lots of great restaurants to choose from on Pleasure Island. You can't leave without trying a Britt's Donut or two (or three.) Other local favorites include Havana's, The Surf House, Harbor Masters, Michael's Seafood (don't miss their champion seafood chowder), and Uncle Vinny's. (But this is just the start - there are far too many great places to mention them all here!)

If you'd like to cook at your home away from home during your stay stock up on fresh produce, locally made goodies, and a great selection of wine and beer at The Veggie Wagon. Skip the trip to the grocery store and have Coastline Shoppers deliver the rest of the staples you'll need for your vacation.

If you'd like a little live music with your dinner, or your after dinner drink, check out Ocean Grill & Tiki Bar (the bands play on a pier right at the edge of the ocean!), Seawitch Cafe & Tiki Bar, Tangerine Caribbean Grill, and The Last Resort (North Carolina's smallest bar...but they can make a little room for you!)

What to Do

Here's where the options get just about limitless. Head to the beach to walk on the sand, swim, surf, look for shells, stand up paddleboard, or just relax. Visit popular attractions such as the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher or the Fort Fisher Historic Site (an important piece of Civil War and WWII history.) Enjoy a round of golf at one of several fine courses just minutes from the island. Shop for gifts or a little something for yourself at the unique shops and boutiques on Pleasure Island. Go fishing from one of the piers, in the surf, or on a charter boat.

Whatever you choose to do you're sure to have a beach vacation to remember on Pleasure Island! For help planning your trip give us a call at the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce at 910-458-8434.

Courtyard Marriott at Carolina Beach Serving Up Special Summertime Buffets

In conjunction with our fabulous Pleasure Island Fireworks display on Thursday nights, the Seaside Grill at the Courtyard Marriott is proud to offer the All American Buffet featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, salad bar, baked ziti, baked beans, coleslaw, pasta and potato salad, chili, meatballs over pasta and chefs’ dessert selection.

Then on Fridays, enjoy the Island’s only Seafood Buffet featuring fried shrimp, fried scallops, fish of the day, chicken fingers, clam strips, french fries, hush puppies, coleslaw, potato salad and chef’s selection of dessert.

Both buffets are $12.95/adults, $6.95/children and kids 5 and under are free and are available from 5:00-9:00 p.m.

For more information, please visit www.CourtyardCarolinaBeach.com.

Beach Dogs T-Shirts Now Available

You've eaten their famous fresh cut french fries, now show your continued support with the Official Beach Dogs t-shirts!

Owner Bill Reaves is selling the shirts at the Beach Dogs Restaurant, 304 North Lake Park Blvd.