Great sandwiches and new to-dos at Wilmington area restaurants

Anyone who doesn’t believe in the magic of sandwiches never had some of the excellent fried chicken from Linwood “Booty” Davis, served simply between two slices of white bread in the wee hours of a night in downtown Wilmington. Who knows how many of those sandwiches Davis served in the four-plus dec

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Anyone who doesn’t believe in the magic of sandwiches never had some of the excellent fried chicken from Linwood “Booty” Davis, served simply between two slices of white bread in the wee hours of a night in downtown Wilmington. Who knows how many of those sandwiches Davis served in the four-plus decades he operated Booty’s Soul Food on Castle Street in Wilmington. But, for sure, he offered joy and community along with the chicken and pork chops, and other soul food favorites.

Davis recently passed away. And while we can no longer enjoy his food, there are other sandwiches in the area to try. Read more of this week’s food news here.

The Chopped Cheese is one of the signature sandwiches at Sunny Day Sandwich Shoppe which opened August 2026 in Wilmington, N.C.

Good eats

Food for the soul: People are remembering this Wilmington restaurateur for his funny, kind and community-minded nature

-- and his food. Now, another entrepreneur has taken over the space and is trying to carry on the tradition.

It’s a good day: Speaking of sandwiches in downtown Wilmington, there's a new spot serving up outrageous creations, both hot and cold. Here are the details.

A recent dinner at the Milford Event Space in Wilmington, N.C. included a meal from Circle Pit BBQ, including pulled pork, meatballs, chicken parmesan, veggies and bulgogi egg rolls.

What's new

Whodunnit: There's a new event space in downtown Wilmington, which launched with a catered murder mystery dinner. Look for more events like this ahead and check out the details here.

On the calendar: Wilmington is home to the reigning Chef of the Year. Mauricio Huarcaya of Gusto Peruano won the 2025 Chef Showdown, hosted by the N.C. Restaurant & Lodging Association. For this year's event, four Wilmington area competitors are seeing if they, too, can win top honors. Tickets for the Grand Finale event are no sale. It takes place Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. at American Tobacco Campus in Durham.