FROM THE SOUND TO THE TABLE: The Making of The Sounder

Rooted in memory, water, and community, The Sounder is more than Wilmington’s newest coastal restaurant—it’s a love letter to the Cape Fear way of life. Drawing its name from a family nickname and the storied history of Carolina’s sounds, the restaurant blends personal storytelling with regional tradition, inviting locals and visitors to gather. In this Q&A, founder and owner Grant Steadman shares how coastal heritage, chef-driven menus, and deep local partnerships come together to create an all-day destination that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly new. An easy place to eat, drink, and coast.

Owner Grant Steadman, The Sounder

The Sounder carries both personal and regional meaning for you. How did your mother-in-law’s nickname and the history of coastal Carolina shape the name and spirit of the restaurant?

Decades ago, my mother-in-law traveled frequently from rural North Carolina to the Wilmington area. Her neighbors dubbed her a “Sounder” since she was always flocking to the coast. Geographically, the Sounds of Coastal Carolina are jumping off points to the beaches. The early Cape Fear residents of these areas were the working class–mostly fishermen, farmers, and laborers–whose daily lives revolved around the water. Early trolley service ran from downtown Wilmington to Wrightsville

Beach, cutting through the sound, to bring day trippers to the beach. The Sounder pays homage to both of these roots, serving as a destination for all of us ‘sounders’ to spill into after our days of leisure or at the office, for a family dinner, for a night out, or when in town visiting.

Eat. Drink. Coast is a simple tagline with a lot packed into it. What does that coastal lifestyle look and feel like once guests sit down at the table?

We designed the restaurant to be an extension of coastal Carolina–pulling in a color palette of natural wood tones, crisp blues and cool grays, and pops of coral. Combined with a lot of natural light, our guests should feel calm, peaceful and happy at any seat in the restaurant. From there, every part of the guest journey should reinforce our “Eat. Drink. Coast. ”mantra–from diving into our approachable, yet creative

menu, enjoying a signature cocktail, beer, wine or non-alcoholic drink, and settling into an unhurried meal with friends or family. From there, we hope guests leave fully satisfied whether heading home or back out for more adventure.

You’ve partnered closely with executive chef Jason Burrows on the menu. What about his background and approach made him the right fit to help bring your vision for The Sounder to life?

Jason was a natural choice for the Executive Chef position based on his culinary background and the cultural fit. He is originally from Bar Harbor, Maine before moving to Wilmington, NC, so has spent his entire life by the water. While he appreciates southern and coastal cuisine, he’s also able to draw from both his Northeast roots and his broad culinary experience–cooking at restaurants from fine dining to barbecue joints–to craft a menu that’s both approachable and interesting. It’s the combination we were looking for when establishing The Sounder as a Coastal American restaurant that is a comfortable neighborhood spot with some menu items you don’t see everywhere else around town.

Local sourcing is clearly central to the concept, especially with seafood. How do partnerships with local fishermen, farmers, and Salt Street Oyster Company influence the way you think about the menu and seasonality?

Our menu is crafted around the highest quality ingredients we can source seasonally, always with a preference to source from local purveyors. Our debut menu includes a combination of year-round dishes, and those with ingredients we’ll likely swap out for Spring/Summer. Luckily, Executive Chef Jason Burrows is creative and loves the process of making new dishes based on what’s available, as well as knowing what our guests enjoy. As we settle into our first few months of business, we’ll get a really good sense of our guests’ palates and how adventurous they like to be when dining out. This will inform how our menus continue to evolve. Salt Street Oyster Company is expected to have its first harvest this Spring, and we can’t wait to share these new, locally grown oysters exclusively with our guests here and at Flying Machine Oyster Bar.

The building on Oleander has a long history as a community gathering spot. How did you balance honoring what people loved about the space while reimagining it as The Sounder?

Built in the early 90s, the original building was first home to Italian-American restaurant Eddie Romanelli’s which operated as a local favorite for nearly two decades. Members of my own family fondly remember what booth they were sitting in when they celebrated important events in their lives. After it closed, two other restaurants followed, but most of the nostalgia from the community seems to come from the original

Romanelli’s restaurant. The Sounder aims to reawaken a sense of familial and friend nostalgia in this space, starting with the cozy booths and a crowd-pleasing menu. Yet, this time, the newly-renovated restaurant will boast a fresh American menu and a photo-worthy interior design. We hope those who were regulars at Romanelli’s tuck back into their favorite booth at The Sounder because we kept the building footprint, and start creating new memories with us.

From daily lunch and dinner to weekend brunch and a late-night bar menu, The Sounder aims to be an all-day destination. How do you hope the restaurant fits into the rhythms of the Wilmington community.

Wilmington has a rapidly growing residential and business community and continues to be a popular tourist destination, so there’s a very broad customer base here and always demand for great food and drink concepts. Between daily dinner, weekday lunch, and our weekend brunch, we’re glad to be available to locals and visitors alike for nearly every dining occasion. Our daily dinner is terrific for families, friends, or dates. Weekday lunch offers a quiet and comfortable place for business lunches, groups, older residents, and families with young children not yet in school. And, our weekend brunch offers something for everyone.