Carraway's Celebrates Another Anniversary

They say location is the worst thing Carraway's Restaurant has going for it - and they say it's the best thing about it. Nestled in a courtyard behind other shops in Frenchman's Creek next to the Neuse Sports Shop on Hwy 70 Bypass East in Kinston, Carraway's serves as a culinary haven for local folks and weary travelers. Where else 70 miles from the coast can you feed the fish and feast on Norfolk style seafood? It's like taking a trip back in time to the waterfront of Charleston or Savannah.

Proprietor Bobby Carraway says several people told him his choice of location was bad and that he'd never see his first anniversary. This month, however, he is celebrating his second.

"They said the biggest drawback was that you could not see us from the highway," said Carraway. "One customer told me he had just driven all the way from New Bern looking for us and had wandered around 30 minutes before coming here. That customer said the beauty and hidden nature of our setting was both the worst and the best thing Carraway's had going for it. We get a lot of guests from New Bern, Goldsboro and Jacksonville."

Christmas party bookings have been phenomenal. Before last Christmas arrived, Carraway had already booked three Christmas parties for this year. He was still hosting Christmas parties in mid-January. By this October, he had already been booked solid with parties for this Christmas season - from Thanksgiving until New Years Day.

The menu includes a wide selection of steaks, chicken, pork and seafood, with a large part of those entrees being special creations of Bobby Carraway. "They have a lot of Charleston and Savannah influence," he said. "And we have seafood sautéed Norfolk style (in butter with a little wine)."

Carraway's buffet, which is available every day except Saturday, includes traditional eastern North Carolina style cooking - with less fat content for the pork lovers.

For reservations, see the ad on page 8 of Olde Kinston Gazette and call Carraway's daughter Angela at 252-523-8251. She's the third generation of the Carraway family involved in the restaurant business. Carraway's mother was even active in the operation of the restaurant until she retired this September.