Town of Wrightsville Beach planning staff will recommend that the town’s planning board approve a proposed restaurant that would bring a floating dock and outdoor seating to the West Salisbury Street location that was once a convenience store.
The Wrightsville Beach Planning Board will review the proposal for a restaurant at the former “Scotchman” location at 100 West Salisbury St. when it meets on Tuesday, March 6 at 6:00 p.m. at the town hall council chambers.
The proposal submitted to the planning board seeks a conditional use permit for converting the existing building into a restaurant with an outdoor, detached shade structure to be used as a seating area, as well as installing a pier connected to a floating dock with nine boat slips, and install one transient dock in Kenan Creek.
Documents released Wednesday by the town cite WB Watermen, LLC as the developer, which N.C. Secretary of State records show Reggie Barnes as the registered agent. However, the town documents listed Eric Jabaley as the agent for the owners in the project.Barnes started Eastern Skateboard Supply in 1985 and owns several buildings around Wrightsville Beach. He was also inducted into the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History Watermen Hall of Fame in October 2017.
While town staff said several conditions must be met, it otherwise recommended that the town’s planning board approve the request for the conditional use permit.
Two recent attempts to develop the land were rejected by the town’s board of aldermen.
While the documents show developers estimated $130,000 in upgrades, the preliminary designs submitted to the town showed the building’s exterior would retain its size and shape.
The restaurant would seat 17 inside the building and require 21 parking spaces.
The building was built around 1971 as a convenience store, but has been vacant for several years. In 2014, the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen denied a permit for a mixed use development over concerns about parking, and in 2015 the board rejected a request to rezone the property.
