Food Obsessions

BY Jenna Jones

Published October 28, 2008


Here on WB Trolley Stop hot dogs rank high on the list of “Must-have-right-now-this-minute-give-it-to-me” foods. An Original Ice Cream Stand blended shake is on that list. So are Oreos Ben & Jerrys Cherry Garcia frozen Milky Way bars jelly beans and you get the point. Food obsessions happen everywhere including here at the beach. Need proof? Here it is: Ten Wrightsville Beach people and the foods they cant live without.


Eric Gephart



Eric Gephart (pictured on opposite page) owner and chef of WBs Buoy 32 has had an egg obsession for quite some time.


“Omelets would be mine for sure ” says Gephart. “There are about 40 different types of omelets not even talking about the stuff that goes inside them but just the styles and ways to cook them. Its kind of one of the toughest things to cook too to master and it has been an obsession of mine for a long time.” Originally from Hillsboro Gephart attended UNCW and says that his favorite omelet these days is a French omelet filled with goat cheese and wild mushrooms.


Dave Baker



“Mine is the low-fat chicken salad from Roberts (Grocery) ” says Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue director Dave Baker. “Ive tried to stay away from it until this year and then this year its just annihilated me I love the stuff.” Baker pairs the low-fat version of the famous chicken salad with bagel chips to create an ideal lunch for his intense and active lifestyle which includes keeping locals and visitors safe in the surf.


Bob Simpson



For WB Town Manager Bob Simpson a good hamburger just cant be beat. “What it all boils down to having been everywhere and done everything and eaten all kinds of exotic stuff is that I really like a good hamburger. A good burger with everything you can load on them beats them all.” Simpson who retired as a colonel from the United States Air Force recalls: “One time I had to deploy to Egypt for a month and lived in a tent. We deployed back to the states and we had to stop en route in Italy. It was Thanksgiving. We went to the dining hall and instead of having Thanksgiving turkey we all ordered hamburgers.”



Brandon Luck



“New York-style pizza “ says WBs Brandon Luck. “Pepperoni with parmesan cheese on top and I dip it in ranch dressing I dip the whole thing each bite.” Luck moved to Wrightsville Beach this past July and is the executive producer of The Jailhouse an independent film depicting true events that occurred in the old jailhouse located in Burgaw.


Linda Brown



Linda Brown president of the Harbor Island Garden Club for the second year co-chair of the North Carolina Holiday Flotilla for the second year and working directly through the garden club with the merchants association to develop the Wrightsville Beach master plan for the downtown area has a “favorite thing in the whole wide world to eat ” a special treat that keeps her going: Chocolate peanut butter South Beach meal bars. “I love them; I live off them ” says Brown. “Theyre high in protein and fiber and they only have 210 calories.”


Brooks Perry



“HT Trader chocolate chip and toffee cookies I have to have one every single night before I go to bed while watching SportsCenter. Cant sleep if I dont ” says Brooks Perry longtime WB resident and mens apparel buyer and manager for Surf City Surf Shop.


What happens if there are none to be found at bedtime? Perry makes the late night trip to the obliging 24-hour Harris Teeter. “I have totally realized at 11:30 p.m. that I dont have one and I am out the door ” Perry says.


Nancy Faye Craig



“When I was a little girl my dad and I used to go shopping once a month and he always bought me chocolate candy ” says Nancy Faye Craig active member of multiple WB causes including the Flotilla committee and the Historic Landmark Commission. “That goes back to when I was just learning to walk and talk.” Craig says she has loved “anything chocolate” for as long as she can remember but her favorite to this day is: “Still just a plain old Hershey chocolate bar.”


Travis Deitz



When quizzed about his food obsession Web and video designer Travis Deitz answered quickly: hot wings. Drinks however were another matter: “What about coffee does that count? I cant live without it; that has to mean something.” Deitz is a frequent flier at Cafe Del Mar and usually drinks three to five cups of joe daily: hot or cold whatever. “It could be 90 degrees outside and I would still drink it ” says Deitz.


Stephen Whalen



“I love a good cheeseburger thats one of my favorites ” says Wrightsville Beach Mayor Stephen Whalen who makes it clear that although all the tasty treats of WB evoke memories for residents and visitors alike an encounter with the world famous Trolley Stop can be especially memorable. “The Trolley Stop has a wonderful hot dog the American dog is usually what I get. The first day when I first visited Wrightsville Beach this goes back to 1987 I ate a Trolley Stop hot dog.”


LJ Woodard



“Being the mom that I am and usually on the go and being from Southern California my foundation is Mexican food. It is like my basis ” says LJ Woodard Wrightsville Beach Elementary School PTA member and director of the Performance Club. “The quesadilla thats my staple. Avocado tomato or chicken on top or sour cream I just mix it up a little bit depending on what we have in the house. The kids love a quesadilla and I just make it more grown up with spinach or tomatoes or oh gosh whatever it takes.”