Eat
Island dining is compact and casual: a handful of kitchens, one serious grocery store, and no chain anything. Hours shift with the seasons, so check before you cart across the island with your heart set on pizza.
On Maritime Way
Mid-island, around the Maritime Market: the island's grocery store, the cafe and wood-fired pizza kitchen under its roof, a wine bar, and a summer ice cream window.
GroceryFeatured
Maritime Market
The island's only full grocery store: fresh local seafood, a deli with fresh pasta and house-made salads, wine and craft beer, family meals to go, and two kitchens under one roof.
Maritime Forest
Eat & drink
Bald Head Bottle
A wine shop and bar on Maritime Way: bottles to take home, wines by the glass and flights, draft beer and cocktails, snacks, and weekly tastings, with kids and pets welcome.
On the island
Eat & drink
Copper's Wood-Fired Kitchen
Wood-fired pizza at the Maritime Market: hand-formed sourdough pies from a 900-degree oven, from a Queen Margherita to the honey-drizzled Honeycup, ordered at the market's side porch window.
Maritime Forest
Eat & drink
Sweet Bay Cafe
The breakfast and lunch counter inside the Maritime Market: biscuits and breakfast plates in the morning, then smash burgers, a sweet tea fried chicken sandwich, and a daily hot bar at lunch.
Maritime Forest
Eat & drink
Nye's Cream Sandwiches & Scoops
A summer walk-up ice cream window at the Forest Pavilion beside the Maritime Market: scoops, soft serve, shakes, and ice cream sandwiches. Closed for the 2026 season.
Maritime Forest
Eat & drink
Side Wok
A seasonal walk-up window for Asian takeout beside the Maritime Market, known for pad Thai, lo mein, stir-fries, and dumplings. It did not open for the 2026 season.
Maritime Forest
At the marina
Steps from the ferry landing in Harbour Village: a harborside pub, pizza and cocktails, coffee and ice cream, and a convenience store for the things you forgot.
Grocery
Dockmaster Convenience Store
The convenience store at the marina, steps from the ferry landing: snacks, drinks, ice, a few grocery staples, and marine supplies for boaters.
Marina
Eat & drink
Jules' Salty Grub & Island Pub
A harborside pub at the entrance to the marina: Calabash-style seafood baskets, burgers and po'boys, a summer sushi bar, and a pet-friendly deck facing the ferries.
Marina
Eat & drink
Sandpiper Coffee & Ice Cream
Coffee, espresso drinks, smoothies, pastries, grab-and-go breakfast, and Tar Heel Creamery ice cream, steps from the ferry landing at the marina.
Marina
Eat & drink
Will O' The Wisp
The marina's pizza and cocktail bar: build-your-own or signature pies in 9 or 18 inches, salads, hoagies, wine, frozen drinks, and island-named cocktails.
Marina
In Stoked Village
The plaza on Merchants Row, home to the island's sit-down Mexican kitchen and bar.
Around the island
A restaurant and a coffee shop in the old police station on Edward Teach Extension, and a snack counter out at the Conservancy.
Eat & drink
Jailhouse Provisions
A full-service restaurant and bar in the island's old police station: crab dip and poke nachos, seafood baskets, big salads, burgers and crab cake sandwiches, and island cocktails.
On the island
Eat & drink
Midway Coffee
A mid-island coffee shop on Edward Teach Extension: espresso and iced drinks, acai bowls, avocado and salmon toasts, breakfast tacos, smoothies, shakes, and ice cream, with a shaded patio.
On the island
Eat & drink
Mike's Bites
A seasonal snack counter on the Conservancy campus, in the old Cape Fear Light generator building: hot dogs, sandwiches, and Italian ice near the island's east end.
On the island
Quick answers
- Is there a grocery store on Bald Head Island?
- Yes. Maritime Market on Maritime Way is the island's only full grocery store, with a deli, fresh seafood, wine, and craft beer, and it's open year-round on seasonal hours. The Dockmaster Convenience Store at the marina covers snacks, ice, and a few basics.
- Maritime MarketDockmaster store
- Can I have groceries delivered before I arrive?
- BHI Delivery shops the Maritime Market for you and stocks your rental, with at least 48 hours' notice and a delivery fee plus a service charge. It is closed for the 2026 season, so plan on a market run instead.
- BHI Delivery
- Where can I get pizza?
- Copper's Wood-Fired Kitchen bakes sourdough pies at the Maritime Market, ordered from its side porch window, and Will O' The Wisp makes 9- and 18-inch pizzas at the marina. Both cut back to a few evenings a week in the fall.
- Copper'sWill O' The Wisp
- Where can I get coffee?
- Midway Coffee is mid-island on Edward Teach Extension, and Sandpiper Coffee & Ice Cream sits at the marina, steps from the ferry. Both open at 8am.
- Midway CoffeeSandpiper
- Can I buy beer, wine, or liquor on the island?
- Beer and wine are sold at the Maritime Market and at Bald Head Bottle, a wine shop and bar on Maritime Way. There's no ABC store, but the Cape Fear Distillery shop in the same building sells its own spirits.
- Bald Head BottleCape Fear Distillery
- Are restaurants open in the off-season?
- Most stay open but cut their days and hours after Labor Day, and a few summer spots close entirely. Every listing here shows its current posted hours; call ahead before a special trip.
Know an island kitchen we're missing? Tell us and we'll add it, free.