Bean There Café Opens its Doors in the Cargo District
Bean There Café
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Bean There Café 〰️
In the modern world, finding food with clean-label ingredients can be as challenging as finding a parking spot in the middle of a hot summer’s day on Wrightsville Beach.
However, as of May 2026, that search just got a little easier - with Bean There Café now open in the Cargo District, crafting meals with high-quality ingredients at reasonable prices.
Mural on the exterior of the café.
Chris Hollingsworth has seen it all when it comes to the food service industry. He has worked in kitchens since he was 16 years old, and if there’s a food you can think of, more likely than not he has made it.
Achieving chef status in his 20s, Chris was quickly able to climb his way to the heights of the culinary industry. However, along the way he recognized some key challenges in the world of food service, and eventually decided the industry needed some serious change.
“Restaurants are not typically a mellow place to work. You work very long hours in typically a tough environment. I decided I wanted to open a place to change that side of the industry.”
The speakeasy style interior.
Fast forward to 2023, and the humble beginnings of Bean There Café began to take shape. After working to secure a space in the Cargo District for six months, Chris and his wife finally got to work in building out the space completely from scratch.
By design, the buildout was kept secret for an eventual grand reveal.
Bags of coffee are available at the café - called “The Delilah Blend”, after Chris’ daughter.
The identity of the menu is a reflection of Chris’s ambitions for change in the culinary world - dishes with clean-label ingredients, listed at a fair price for customers, while operating on slimmer margins to provide a better environment and pay for his staff.
“If I don’t understand an ingredient as a chef, or have to be a scientist to know what an ingredient is, then it doesn’t belong in our food. Simple ingredients always make the best food.”
The snug, sophisticated, and cozy interior is intentionally designed to be the perfect place to grab a coffee or a bite to eat. It’s just like a speakeasy, minus the cigar smoke.
“I can’t take credit for the design, that was all my wife. She did everything.”
The “Best Breakfast Burrito in Wilmington”, with the “Honey Bee Latte”.
Chris wants Bean There Café to be a place for the local community to meet, eat, and enjoy. And for those that can’t hang out, grab-and-go orders are made easy with the counter service layout.
After three years of planning and decades of preparation in the culinary world, Chris opened the doors to Bean There Café in May of 2026. He says the community response so far has been incredible, and on top of the consistent flow of customers, a local run club in the area has already decided to make the café their weekly home as well. He also plans on hosting an art show benefiting charity at the shop soon.
As far as food goes, the menu has something for everyone. “The Best Breakfast Burrito in Wilmington” certainly lives up to the name, along with turkey, ham and BLT sandwiches. The pastry fridge will also without a doubt catch your eye when you order, stocked with pies, macaroons, and other rotating items.
The coffee at Bean There Café is roasted locally, and the name (The Delilah Blend) pays tribute to Chris’ 10-month-old daughter. Syrups are made in house, of course with clean-label ingredients - and you can taste the difference.
