Seafood blows into Southport

Southport’s long-famous salubrious breezes swirl a fried seafood aroma around Frying Pan, the town’s newest restaurant.

Frying Pan features a grand, window-lined dining room flanked by an open kitchen where lively cooks fill boiling oil with battered fish, shrimp, oysters and soft-shell crabs.

While munching those offerings as well as salads, crab cakes, coconut shrimp and homemade sweet potato biscuits, patrons look out over Cape Fear River to lighthouses at Oak Island and Bald Head Island. Raised windows carry salt air into the dining room, its tall ceiling and white trim lending to the bright, outdoor feel.

Casual Frying Pan was developed by the owners of Southport’s popular Yacht Basin Provision Co., which is next door to the new restaurant, 319 West Bay St.

Paul Swenson and Maria Tilling in 1993 opened Yacht Basin Provision Co., 130 Yacht Basin Drive. The waterfront seafood dive is a must-stop for boaters, tourists and locals seeking easy burgers and seafood in a no-frills, ultra-laid-back setting.

For Frying Pan, Swenson and Tilling partnered with developer Mark Brisson, creating the mondo beach-house scene where shorts and flip flops are welcome.

Frying Pan opens daily at 4 p.m. and serves until crowds dwindle. Appetizer prices range from $4.99 to $9.99; salads, $6.99 to $7.99; and entrees, $8.99 to $19.99. Wine, beer and a kids menu are available.