Ask anyone at Lighthouse Beer & Wine or on The Loop what opened in August and you'll hear about three places in the same breath. Jimmy's Inland. Cabana Bar and Grill. Red Cat Sushi. All three showed up within about two weeks of each other in mid-to-late August, which is the kind of clustering that makes a season feel busy.
Of the three, only one sits on the island.
Three Openings in Thirteen Days
The timeline is tight enough to lay out plainly.
- Cabana Bar and Grill opened August 17 at 1610 Pavilion Place, just across the drawbridge from the island, in the space that most recently held Sammy Sea's Coastal Kitchen and, before that, Waterman's Brewing. It comes from Kevin Keatts, the former UNCW and NC State men's basketball coach, and his business partner Clayton Gsell, who already run Yosake, Tempo 33, and the Husk downtown.
- Red Cat Sushi launched this year as a new second-floor addition inside Shark Bar & Kitchen, the existing restaurant steps from Johnny Mercer Pier on the island itself, open from 3 p.m. daily with a happy hour that runs 3 to 5.
- Jimmy's Inland held its grand opening August 30 at 3818 Wrightsville Avenue in Midtown Wilmington, in the former Coat of Arms Lounge space. It's the second location from Jimmy and Keaton Gilleece, who partnered with longtime Jimmy's Wrightsville Beach employee Jared Sales, with food from Chef Nick Chavez of King Neptune Restaurant at the opening celebration.
By geography, two of the three are off the island. The one on the island opened on the second floor of an existing restaurant.
Two of Three Openings Are Off the Island
The three openings landed on both sides of the bridge, each using an existing commercial space.
Wrightsville Beach has a fixed commercial footprint, and these openings show different ways businesses used existing spaces. Cabana Bar and Grill took over an existing restaurant shell at Pavilion Place and changed its concept, while Jimmy's Inland moved into a former bar in Midtown.
Cabana Bar and Grill also brings a Caribbean-inspired feel to its new space.
In a report by WECT, Clayton Gsell described the feel he was going for: "Our cocktails will make you feel like you are vacationing in the islands with their bold fresh flavors."
That's the sales pitch. The island's example takes a different form.
Red Cat Sushi Opens on a Second Floor on the Island
Red Cat Sushi is the opening on the island, where it occupies a second floor inside Shark Bar & Kitchen.
Shark Bar & Kitchen already occupied its footprint near Johnny Mercer Pier. Adding a sushi program meant building up, not out, layering a second-floor concept onto square footage that was already spoken for. It is one example of a restaurant adding a new concept within an existing island space.
The locations put diners on both sides of the bridge, a useful distinction when planning a night out.
What This Actually Means for a Night Out This Fall
None of this changes where you'd actually go on a given Friday, but it does change what you're walking into.
Jimmy's Wrightsville Beach itself hasn't gone anywhere. It's still the original, still running its Carolina Panthers Sunday watch tradition, still serving the Jimmy's Slushies that made it a fixture. Jimmy's Inland carries that identity a few miles inland, with its own pool tables, darts, and arcade, aimed at building its own neighborhood following in Midtown rather than competing for beach foot traffic.
Cabana Bar and Grill is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, with a menu built around jerk wings, coconut shrimp, steak churrasco, and mofongo, plus Mai Tais, Bahama Mamas, and Guava Mules. There's an indoor bar for watching a game and an outdoor patio with AstroTurf and cornhole, which puts it in direct contrast with the brewery-focused identity the same building held for years.
Red Cat Sushi adds another dining option on the island. A 3 to 5 p.m. happy hour on half-off sushi gives Wrightsville Beach a late-afternoon option it didn't have before Shark Bar's second floor existed.
If you're already tracking the rest of the season on the island, from the summer's standing weekly routines to what happens once the crowds thin out after Labor Day, this is one more layer worth adding to the map. These openings offer a snapshot of how new dining concepts are using existing spaces around Wrightsville Beach.
For buyers and owners, that pattern is part of the area's broader property conversation.
If you're weighing what any of this means for property near the island itself, from the businesses filling in around it to the value that comes with a fixed and limited footprint, that's exactly the kind of question Nick Phillips Group spends its time on. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
