Wilmington’s food push
Wilmington restaurants are expanding and launching a monthly wine‑dinner series — chef Peter Sripan is adding global street‑food flavors to the local scene, with more wine events scheduled through the year (StarNews Online, March 27) (starnewsonline.com). The update frames the city as growing its pairing‑and‑event calendar for food lovers (starnewsonline.com).
Kapow Thai Street Food’s new footprint jumped from about 1,500 square feet to roughly 4,000 square feet and seating expanded from about 40 to 130 after the renovation, which added a full bar and a sushi counter. (aggieswire.usatoday.com) The updated Kapow sits in Lumina Commons at 1988 Eastwood Road, a site the coverage says positions the restaurant nearer Wrightsville Beach and increases its visibility to beach-area traffic. (starnewsonline.com) Owner-chef Peter Sripan first opened Kapow in March 2023 and is credited in local profiles with decades of kitchen experience and previous leadership roles at other regional restaurants. (portcitydaily.com) The expansion brought an expanded sushi program and new street‑food inspired dishes — menu additions cited include tuna carpaccio, a “Sassy Salmon” salad, a Tokyo Tower roll, curry puffs and a new “Crazy Noodle” dish. (newsbreak.com) Covey’s “Local Purveyors Wine Dinner” series is being hosted at 1610 Tiburon Drive and the restaurant staged a second dinner on March 18, 2026 that paired chef Austen Schindler’s menu with local suppliers including Äna Shellem of Shell’em Seafood Co. and Kevin Midkiff of Grapevine Distributors. (aggieswire.usatoday.com) Covey’s reservation listings show the restaurant is marketing multiple curated wine-pairing events (one recent Piedmont-region dinner was listed at $65 per person), reinforcing that the monthly pairing series will continue as a planned calendar offering. (exploretock.com)
