85
SUMMERT I M E F U N
GUARANTEED DELICIOUS
W E D E L I V E R
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
“Ideally, on most days when you’ve
got the breeze coming off the water,
you wouldn’t need to run the HVAC
units or even turn the lights on,”
Miller says. “You open the garage
doors, you roll up these vinyl cover-ings,
and the natural breeze keeps
it cool, it keeps the bugs away.
There’s plenty of sunlight stream-ing
in though the big openings and
windows in the cupola. Ideally, that’s
how the building would function for
most of the year.”
The proximity to the water influ-enced
the choice of salt-friendly
building materials — pressure-treated
wood, fiber cement siding, hurricane-impact
coastal windows.
“We wanted something that was
low maintenance but would stand
the abuse of being out in semi-salty
air,” Webb says. “It’s not quite as bad
as it is on the ocean, but there is a
lot of salt intrusion up through the
river.”
The design team could have opted
for an opulent building with lots of
creative touches, but they are com-fortable
with the decision to instead
emphasize the natural riverfront
setting.
“It can be easy to fall into the trap
of throwing every detail in the book
at a project,” Miller says. “One of
the things about this building is it’s
kind of understated and very simple,
but the details are very purposeful.
We were trying to be authentic to
Wilmington and not try to repli-cate
another city or another piece of
architecture.”
Before or after their meal, patrons
can enjoy the natural setting by stroll-ing
along the boardwalk and walking
out onto the pier in this pristine sec-tion
of the river.
Barbecue on the menu and mist on the
river combined to give the restaurant
its name. Much of the electrical conduit
and sprinkler piping was left exposed
in the dining and porch areas, keeping
with the character of the building while
providing visual interest throughout.
351-26 S COLLEGE RD • WILMING TON, NC 28403
MYHONEYBAKEDSTORE.COM • 910 452-0085
Come see how
we do things
Breaking the bondages of homelessness and poverty by responsibly sowing
Godly love and material resources. First Fruit is a one-stop-shop for the
poor offering medical care, psychiatric counseling, meals, clothes, showers,
boxes of food, transitional housing for 12 single women, and jobs.
Rick and Lee Anna Stoker
2750 Vance St., Wilmington, NC 28412
OFFICE HOURS: M-F 9 am–2 pm
910-794-9656