Iconic Wrightsville Beach Hot Dog Spot Adds Morning Service with Coffee Stop

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH – As manager Michelle Rice closed the Coffee Stop at 10:30 a.m. on the day it opened on Saturday, June 12, she said a line had already started forming near the door. The operation changed the Americanos’ shifts to the Cape Fear, Battleship and Surfer dog push at Trolly Stop.

The iconic hot dog store opened in 1976 and serves lunch every day, as well as dinner and even late at night on weekends. Now he’s adding the morning hours to the mix, as The Coffee Stop opens the panel at 6.30am seven days a week. Located one block from the beach, next to Wings, the small, unassuming red, yellow, and beige building now has a window with no elevator, welcoming guests for a morning boost.

“There’s a lot of foot traffic there,” Rice said of the 94 Lumina Ave address.

Trolly Stop serves a few hundred patrons a day – surfers heading for the waves, tourists grabbing an early spot on the shore, or sportsmen making a pit stop on their trip around the loop. Rice said that during Coffee Stop’s opening weekend, it added about 100 more customers.

Owner Rusty Carter – who took over the Wrightsville and Chapel Hill businesses five years ago – has decided now is the time to expand Stop’s branding. “Several coffee shops had closed in downtown Wrightsville Beach during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said, “and Trolly Stop had hours available to serve the public. “

Although its commercial offerings have expanded, the building area has not increased. The Trolly Stop space is still limited; the Coffee Stop occupies 65 of the restaurant’s 500 square feet. It only took light electrical and plumbing construction to get up and running, according to Rice.

The Coffee Stop menu is kept simple: Americanos, fresh cappuccinos and lattes made from an Astra espresso machine. The store also serves filter coffee – including decaffeinated – and sells red eyes, cold infusions, and hot chocolate.

“Our current roast is a blend of organic dark roast from Peru and organic Ethiopia,” said Rice, “and an organic Colombian blend of medium roast.”

The General Manager always chooses between two local roasters to supply the main blends of The Coffee Stop. Still, the company chose Ono Kona coffee from Arianna Farms of Holualoa, Hawaii, as the premium mug.

“We’re very excited about this,” Rice said. “It’s 100% Kona coffee – truly premium, straight from the Big Island of Hawaii.”

While java is the star of the stop, the Sunrise Dog – smoked sausage on a steamed bun, with or without cheese – will also be sold. Rice has been silent on whether more breakfast items will be added in the future. For now, she said the idea was to keep it simple and “provide a food option specifically for people to grab a quick bite” when they hit the beach or work.

Coffee Stop and Trolly Stop are also committed to reducing their environmental footprint. It is in partnership with A new land project – founded by surf photographer Peter King and Carter, who are also CEOs of Atlantic Packaging – to help prevent plastics from ending up in the ocean.

“We use environmentally friendly products,” said Rice, “not only recyclable, but we want compostable bamboo straws and paper products.”

The Coffee Stop opens daily from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and menu prices range from $ 2.25 to $ 4.25. The Trolly Stop opens for lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. On Fridays and Saturdays, its hours are extended from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.

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