For 25 years, SmacNally’s Waterfront Bar & Grill in Ocracoke has been serving fresh seafood and burgers. Now the owners are planning to expand the brand for the first time, in Brunswick County.
Scott McNally announced they will take over the recently closed LouLous Waterfront Restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway at 1045 B-Var Road SW in Supply.
“It’s time,” McNally said. “We’ve invested a lot in this brand and it’s time to grow.”
McNally has decades of experience in the restaurant business and, along with his partners Tom Burruss, Matt Bacheler and Persell Morgan, has more than 120 years of hospitality experience between them. One caveat is that they wanted to continue the tradition of a waterfront restaurant close to local seafood, and the Holden Beach area was ideal for that.
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“At SmacNally’s, we work with fishermen and have a fish cleaning counter right at the end of our dock. From there, they bring the fish directly to our restaurant. It’s usually only a few hours to the ocean.”
That dock-to-kitchen model is something they hope to continue in Holden Beach. If that’s not possible, they still plan to partner with local markets to get the freshest seafood, he said.
LouLous restaurant opened in the fall of 2020 in the former Betty’s Waterfront Restaurant. The space offers indoor and outdoor dining, a bar area and boat docks. McNally said they hope to open SmacNally’s in May.
“Or sooner, if possible,” he said.
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Allison Ballard is the food and hospitality reporter for StarNews. Reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: SmacNally’s Restaurant in Ocracoke plans to open in Holden Beach
