Walking on Franklin Street recently, you may have noticed Carolina Brewery’s new look. Not only are there updated outdoor seating options and planters expertly designed by Katy Poitras at Katy Wood Landscape Design, but the brewery also added two huge rolling windows to the face of the restaurant and an outdoor bar for patrons to grab a seat right off the street.
And with a new look comes a new menu. This time, the 22-year-old mainstay is focusing in on what they know best: Carolina cuisine. “We spent a lot of time researching the food culture in our state,” says founder, owner and third-generation Tar Heel Robert Poitras. “[Selections range] from Calabash shrimp [and] barbecue to homemade pickles and banana pudding. You’ll see a real celebration of North Carolina foods on this menu.”
One such celebratory dish from the brewery’s from-scratch kitchen is the Carolina Cuban Sandwich made with Eastern Carolina pulled pork, house-made pickles, pimiento cheese, bacon and ham – all on a hoagie roll from Pittsboro’s The Bread Shop. Local meets casual in this crave-worthy Cuban, which pairs perfectly with a crisp Copperline Amber Ale. Grab one for lunch on a work day, after hours during trivia or right before hopping on the brewery’s free SkyBlue Express bus to a big game. Carolina Cuban Sandwich, $10.95; Copperline Amber Ale, $5.25.
