When Abbye McGee began hosting Sunday dinners, she did it out of a need for community and togetherness. Each Sunday, the crowd grew.

McGee notes that at one time she hosted upwards of 75 people. At the time, she had no chef or restaurant experience; her recipes and cooking skills were learned from her grandmother. Yet people enjoyed the dinner and the food McGee prepared, often asking for recipes. Thus began her food blog, Salt & Charm, and eventually her eponymous catering company.

During this time, McGee gained a background in the food service industry working for various businesses throughout Wilmington, and she found herself as a private chef. Word of mouth spread, clients grew and she started Salt & Charm in 2020.

“During COVID, our ability to go into homes was halted, so we rented a commissary kitchen in Burgaw and were able to service more families. That part of the business exploded, and so we opened the brick and mortar to explore that need,” McGee said. “I realized there was a hole in the market and there were not enough caterers, so we began adding that into our services, and that part of the business exploded. Now we’re in that high-service catering world, which is now about 60-70% of our business.”

In their brick-and-mortar space in the Cargo District, McGee has 15 full-time employees, including an executive chef and operations director, alongside 30 part-time event staff. For her, what sets Salt & Charm apart is the uniqueness of their offerings, with an approach for delivering a luxury level of service with a side of Southern hospitality.

This begins with training her staff to extend a high level of service on-site. Also accompanied by a diverse, varied business model where private chef and meal prep services keep them busy once wedding and event season slows down.

“We have a very full calendar for in-home services, with five chefs who do that service. It’s a weekly service for homes across the area,” she explained. “We create new menus off of preferences, dietary needs, and there is also our large-scale meal prep from the Salt & Charm kitchen with a new menu every week.”

Salt & Charm’s personal chef service involves every detail from menu planning, grocery shopping, cooking, packaging and clean-up. Each week, a curated menu is sent to clients, wherein they can select dishes and make customizations. Salt & Cham also offers a separate meal prep service from a customized weekly menu with family-style meals delivered each Sunday.

McGee said her day-to-day now mostly revolves around the administration side. She stays busy as co-owner of The Ibis Coffee and Cocktails and The Starling Bar, which she started with her longtime friend Matt Ray.

“We always joked about going into business together,” McGee said. “He learned to photograph food while I was learning to make food. There was an empty lot across the parking lot from Salt & Charm; the owner asked if I would like it. I called Matt and said, ‘Hey, do you want to open a bar?’ That was about a year after we opened the kitchen, and within about three years, I opened three businesses.”

McGee said support from Wilmington’s small business community has been invaluable. She also participated in SCORE, a free nationwide mentorship program for small business entrepreneurs.

“The SCORE mentorship program gave me the confidence. I don’t know if I would’ve taken the chance without that; it was a huge help,” she said. “The small business community here is pretty cool. It’s very great and supportive. The Cargo District has so many great small business owners – we can talk about things and challenges. I feel like it’s been great for me.”

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