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Best of Kitty Hawk; search or filter for all 5
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA
A Croatan Highway storefront built around the work of regional artists, selling glass art, upcycled woodwork, resin pieces, and hand-painted ornaments made by Outer Banks makers. The shop also runs its own resin-art classes for visitors who want to bring a piece home from the workbench rather than the shelf.
Best for Local artist-made glass, wood, and resin work
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA
H.H. Ambrose opened this furniture business in Elizabeth City, North Carolina in 1946 after giving up life as a traveling preacher. His son Marion and Marion's wife Betty opened the Kitty Hawk store in 1984 and the Coinjock store in 1988. Their sons West and Barry Ambrose run all three today. The stores sell furniture and home decor with in-house design help, and a wheaten terrier named Moxie is the mascot.
Best for Furniture and mattresses with design help
Ambrose Furniture began in 1946, when H.H. Ambrose gave up life as a traveling preacher to open a furniture store in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The values he had preached about became the working philosophy of the business. The company says they remain in place more than 75 years later. In 1984 his son Marion and Marion's wife Betty opened the Kitty Hawk store on the Outer Banks. In 1988 they added the largest of the three stores at Coinjock in Currituck County. The stores now belong to Marion and Betty's sons, West and Barry Ambrose. Barry grew up in the business, napping in the front window as a toddler to promote mattress sales. He graduated from East Carolina University in 1983 with a degree in theatre arts, and he credits that training for the way the stores look. West started work at thirteen and helped build the current Elizabeth City location. He now handles operations from Coinjock. The company sells furniture and home decor in styles it groups as coastal or traditional. Modern rooms and rustic rooms are shown alongside. Its design staff work with customers on whole rooms, including the rental homes that fill the Outer Banks. Testimonials on its site come from second-home owners who have used the firm since the 1990s. A soft-coated wheaten terrier named Moxie serves as the official mascot. She greets shoppers at the Kitty Hawk store at 5125 North Croatan Highway, where Barry Ambrose is usually found.
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA
Big Buck's has churned its own homemade ice cream since Belinda opened the first shop in Corolla's TimBuck II center in 1994; the woman-owned, family-supported business has since grown to Kitty Hawk, Manteo and Duck. Each location pairs fresh-daily, super-premium ice cream with handmade Belgian chocolates and espresso drinks. Ice cream cakes and frozen lemonade round out a menu built for walk-up cones rather than a supermarket freezer aisle.
Best for Handmade Belgian chocolates and espresso drinks
Big Buck's traces back to 1994, when Belinda opened the first shop in the then-new TimBuck II shopping center in Corolla, North Carolina. The business has stayed woman-owned and family-supported through more than three decades of growth, expanding from that single Corolla counter to additional locations in Kitty Hawk, Manteo and Duck; the Kitty Hawk shop sits in the Buccaneer's Walk Shopping Center on the Outer Banks' main commercial strip. Each location makes its ice cream fresh daily on-site, using fresh milk, cream and sugar pasteurized into a dense, super-premium base rather than buying in a wholesale mix -- the same from-scratch approach across every store rather than a central commissary. The menu pairs that homemade ice cream with handmade Belgian chocolates and espresso drinks, plus ice cream cakes and frozen lemonade for takeaway. It suits beach-town visitors looking for a walk-up cone or sundae rather than a sit-down dessert restaurant, with the chocolate and espresso counter giving it more range than a typical seasonal ice cream stand. Three decades of continuous operation under the same family ownership is unusual for a beach-town seasonal business, and it shows in the multi-location footprint the original Corolla shop has since built.
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA
Locally owned since 2011, this Croatan Highway spot pairs a wine-and-tap-house restaurant with a retail market stocking more than two thousand wines, hundreds of craft beers, and cheeses cut to order at the counter. The market side also carries gourmet pantry goods, glassware, and locally made accompaniments for building a cheese board at home.
Best for Wine, craft beer, and artisanal cheese to take home
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA
This Croatan Highway tackle shop has outfitted Outer Banks anglers for four decades, stocking rods, reels, and live bait alongside outdoor apparel and boating gear. Its staff-written surf and inshore fishing reports have made the counter a regular stop for locals checking conditions before heading to the water.
Best for Rods, tackle, and local fishing know-how
Neighbourhood walks
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