Three Years and Growing Strong

Adorning the walls of Castle Street Kitchen this month is a mixture of both St. Patrick’s Day and Happy Birthday decorations. The combination is intentional as March 17, 2024, marks three years of business for Heather Rhodes’ Castle Street Kitchen.

“I sat with my best friend the other day and I said, ‘I can’t believe I’ve kept this place open for three years,’” Rhodes says with a laugh. “I mean, it’s tough, but I love it. I wouldn’t change anything. When I walk out from the kitchen and see a packed dining room, and everybody’s smiling? It’s worth it.”

Rhodes started out in the restaurant industry at around 15 years old.

“I wouldn’t say I grew up in the industry because it wasn’t a family thing, but my first job was at a Pizza Inn, and I haven’t stopped working since,” she said.

Prior to that first gig, Rhodes primarily learned how to cook from her mom. “And then I just kind of branched out,” she said. “I’m one of those cooks that I kind of just throw stuff in the pot and see what happens and it turns out pretty good. Sometimes, I’m even amazed, like, ‘How did I do that? How does that even taste good?’ I just love to play with food.”

That love for playing with food came to life in Rhodes’ supper club when she was still living in Raleigh. For two years, Rhodes and a group of friends would get together every Sunday and bring dishes of their making for the club to rotating houses. “We would talk trash to each other too,” she said. “‘Did you bake that pie crust? Did you make that from scratch?’ We got serious about it! That’s where the tomato pie came from.”

Both Rhodes and her heirloom tomato pie recipe moved from Raleigh to Wilmington in 2021. At the time she had her eyes on opening her own restaurant, but as the COVID-19 pandemic was still a factor in the industry, she wasn’t “aggressively looking.” When the property at 509 Castle St. opened up, she came to check it out and fell in love with it.

“It was a little overwhelming – sold the Raleigh house, moved to Wilmington and opened a restaurant,” she said. “It was quick but not impulsive. I had wanted to do this, I just didn’t know it was going to be in Wilmington because I had no intention of leaving Raleigh. But something brought me here, and I think that we’re meant to be in places when we’re supposed to be there. So, something brought me here and here I am.”

Since Rhodes’ industry experience was Raleigh-based, and her future restaurant plans were originally intended for that market, she mentions she has had to adapt a few things to Wilmington.

“It’s better than what I thought it was going to be,” she said. “I had this vision in my head of how things were going to go and how Friday night was going to look, but I was basing all that on another city’s restaurant scene. So, there needed to be some adapting on the fly, and that’s part of the job. We’ve been open for three years, and I’m still figuring this out!”

Rhodes’ efforts to adapt to the Wilmington scene have certainly paid off as she has a loyal regular base. “It’s like Cheers in here,” Rhodes said. “It’s all word of mouth too. More people get in here, and they like what I’m doing with the food and the welcoming atmosphere.”

Castle Street Kitchen’s food is American but with a little bit of a Latin twist (the turkey melt is served with a chili glaze and fried jalapenos; the Caesar salad includes a roasted corn relish, cotija cheese and tortilla strips). “It’s really just about what I eat,” Rhodes said. “It’s sort of comfort food with some Southern in it because I’m Southern. But then there’s that Latin flair because I like tacos. I want there to be a little bit of everything for everybody that comes in. I want groups to be able to come in, and it’s like, ‘OK you can get a burger; I can get a curry noodle bowl.’ I just want everybody to feel included here and for it to be an inclusive space with both the menu and the service.”

Castle Street, which has already evolved quite a bit over the last few years, is a continually growing part of Wilmington, with new restaurants and shops opening up both recently and on the horizon.

Rhodes mentions that for her and her team it’s important that with that growth they maintain “the neighborhood vibe” and stay a steady element amongst the change.

“I want everybody to feel safe here and have good food. That is my goal: serve good food, make people happy,” she said. “I like that everybody comes in here and feels comfortable, or they walk past and everybody waves. It’s good to be a constant. I think that’s how I keep the Castle Street vibe going. It’s growing, and I’m excited to be a part of that.”

Rhodes and her team will be participating in Feast’s upcoming Brunch Elevated event where they’ll be serving cherry pepper bombs (pork sausage, cream cheese, pickled cherry peppers and Valentina aioli on mini brioche buns). Rhodes was inspired to incorporate cherry peppers into a dish after having them on a pizza and wanting to play with the ingredient.