Alicia Mitchell, owner of The Kitchen Sink restaurant in Wilmington’s Brooklyn Arts District, said she’s facing a series of challenges with her business. As a result, the coming weeks are crucial to keeping the restaurant open.
“We are struggling, like so many small businesses,” she said in a social media post. “We simply need more people coming through our doors.”
The plea wasn’t easy to make, she said, “but I’m not ready to give up.”
Mitchell opened The Kitchen Sink at 622 N. Fourth St. in 2021 after success selling products like jarred soup mixes at local farmers markets. She serves a variety of sandwiches, salads, and her popular soups – which can be ordered as flights.
“Please come have lunch or dinner with us. Please bring a friend. Please order a party platter. Host your next event with us… Every little bit matters,” she said in her post.
Mitchell said she has poured everything into the restaurant, and that a series of financial hurdles hit at essentially the same time. Plus, she said that she’s among other business owners who have noticed that business is ticking down.
As a result, she reached out to a North Carolina nonprofit to help her reorganize the business loans and expenses.
“But it takes a while for that to come through,” she said.
And in the interim, she needs the community’s support. And she's already getting positive and encouraging feedback.
"I've just been overwhelmed from the messages," she said.
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Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at aballard@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: This downtown Wilmington restaurant is struggling. How you can save it
