Where the locals eat: Craving seafood? Give Salty Shores a try

This story was published in the summer issue of Wilsonian.

If you’re looking for a spot in Wilson that has perfectly golden shrimp, flounder that doesn’t disappoint and consistently crispy catfish, look no further than Salty Shores Calabash Style Seafood.

Salty Shores Owner Angela Garris started the restaurant as a leap of faith during COVID-19.

“I noticed there wasn’t any seafood restaurants here,” Garris said. “I had a catering trailer, and we did so well in Bailey that I wanted to look for a place here.”

Garris has a long history of frying fish and crafting crab cakes. She married into the Captain Stanley’s Seafood family, a restaurant that specializes in fish. When she moved back to Wilson, she opened her own seafood truck, and the rest is history.

“I’m very thankful,” Garris said. “It’s actually gone very well. It’s picking up every day still. People love the taste. I have a lot of good customers. Everything I have sells.”

Debbie Robbins and her husband, Ralph, are two of those customers. When they need to get away, they have their date nights at Salty Shores.

“We really enjoy eating there,” Robbins said. “The food is always fresh and prepared just the way we order it. The service is great and the people are very, very friendly. Angie does a great job. If you’re in the mood for seafood that’s place to go in Wilson.”

When crafting the daily menu, Garris said it came down to what she knew.

“I did some of what Stanley’s did,” Garris said. “I added to the menu. We have Cajun shrimp, bone-in fish — I just threw in different things. I learned how to make my own crab cakes. I just threw in different things until I finally got it the way I wanted them to taste.”

The restaurant, open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday and 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, has daily specials that include hamburger steak with gravy, herring, pan trout, red snapper and crab legs. She said serving such specialized items fills a void in the community.

“I lived at the coast for a while,” Garris said. “There’s not very many seafood places anymore except at the coast. You don’t really see something like this around anymore.”

Garris said what sets her food apart from other local seafood spots is the breading. The Calabash style, named after a small community near Ocean Isle, is unique from other styles of frying fish.

“It’s lightly breaded,” Garris said. “You’re getting the full taste of your seafood and not a light breading. It’s a different style of cooking.”

Salty Shores Calabash Style Seafood is located at 1120 Tilghman Road N.

The post Where the locals eat: Craving seafood? Give Salty Shores a try first appeared on Restoration NewsMedia .