Surf City’s south end is getting a new place to eat, drink, and hang out by the water.
Coconut Cove, a new restaurant and live music spot at 418 Roland Avenue, announced that it will officially open this Thursday after soft openings earlier this week. The restaurant says it will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., bringing a full menu, coastal cocktails, dockside seating, and live music to a familiar Surf City address.
For many locals, the location itself is part of the story. The building was previously home to a Hardee’s at 418 Roland Avenue, a recognizable fast-food stop near the heart of Surf City. That space has now been transformed into something much more local: a bright, pink-and-teal waterfront restaurant with deck seating, a bar-forward coastal menu, and the kind of “come by boat, car, or on foot” energy that fits Surf City better than another chain concept.
A new look for a familiar Surf City spot
Coconut Cove’s branding leans into the beach town mood: teal lettering, pink accents, coconut graphics, palm imagery, and the tagline “Chill. Sip. Savor.”
Recent construction and interior photos shared by the restaurant show a major visual reset of the property, with a refreshed exterior, a large deck space, bright signage, pink stools, white counters, wood ceiling details, and a more open coastal feel. It does not look like a quick repaint. It looks like a full repositioning of the site.
That matters in Surf City, where restaurant spaces are not just places to eat. They become part of the rhythm of beach weekends, bridge traffic, post-beach dinners, boat days, family visits, and live music nights.
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What’s on the menu
Coconut Cove’s menu is broader than a simple seafood shack. It includes appetizers, salads, sandwiches, entrees, sides, a kids menu, and a drinks program built around tropical cocktails and frozen drinks.
The lunch and dinner menus look similar at a glance, but the dinner menu shifts into a fuller evening format with entrees served later in the day. Coconut Cove’s website describes the food as built around “fresh island bites,” local oysters, coastal cocktails, and fresh catch items.
A few early menu highlights include:
- Conch fritters
- Sticky tide wings
- Shrimp ceviche
- Chicken quesadilla
- Cove calamari
- Market tuna roll
- Coconut shrimp
- Raw oysters
- Roasted beet and arugula salad
- Baja fish tacos
- Shrimp pesto flatbread
- Crispy chicken sandwich
- Battered fish sandwich
- Hawaiian shrimp wrap
- Island rice bowl
- Blackened catch
- Coconut chicken
The menu also includes kid-friendly options like buttered linguine, linguine alfredo, chicken tenders and fries, fish and chips, and cheese quesadillas.
That gives Coconut Cove a useful lane: casual enough for families and beach-day meals, but with enough cocktails, seafood, and music to work as an evening stop too.
Drinks are part of the draw
The drinks section is not an afterthought. Coconut Cove is clearly positioning the bar as a major part of the experience.
The cocktail list includes beach-friendly names and flavors, with options like:
- Daiquiri
- Sunset tea
- Coco lemonade
- Cottontail
- Oasis
- Jet City
- Coconut Cove
- Bite
- Mellow Yellow
- M.I. Fizz
- Sandy Boo-Boo
The restaurant’s website also calls out frozen painkillers, tropical cocktails, and bold cocktail options as part of the Coconut Cove identity.
This is one of the places where the new concept feels very different from the old use of the building. It is not just food service. It is trying to create a hangout.
Live music on the deck
Coconut Cove is also leaning into live music early.
The restaurant’s live music page promotes “music on the water” and describes a lineup built around local songwriters, beach bands, and weekend performances. The site says the deck can hold about 120 people on a good night, and the calendar already shows multiple upcoming acts listed for late May and early June.
Upcoming names shown on the music calendar include Mike Rooney, Jacob Chatham, Gina Pellicier, Mojo, Paige King Johnson, Rod Jones, Joey Blackburn, Matt Letchworth, Keith Boone, Shane Meacom, Rich LaRocca, Pratt and Paule, Ryan Chad Show, Three Chord Coy, Bootie & the Hofish, Kyle Lewis, Alley Kat & The Strays, and Michael Deluca.
That lineup matters because Surf City already has a strong local live music scene, and Coconut Cove is entering that mix with a deck-forward setup right near the water.
Getting there by car, foot, or boat
Coconut Cove’s visit page places it at the south end of Roland Avenue, “right on the water,” and says dock seating is first-come, first-served. The restaurant encourages visitors to “come on by,” whether arriving after a beach day, walking over from nearby rentals, or pulling up from the water.
The restaurant is located at:
Coconut Cove
418 Roland Avenue
Surf City, NC 28445
(910) 752-6780
Because dock seating and boat access are likely to be big questions for locals and visitors, it’s worth noting that dock seating appears to be part of the plan, but boat-access details may be worth confirming directly with the restaurant before making a special trip by water.
Why this opening stands out
New restaurants open across the Topsail area every year, but this one is a little different because of the location and the changeover.
A national fast-food restaurant at a prominent Surf City address has been turned into a more locally flavored waterfront destination with seafood, cocktails, deck seating, live music, and a beach-town visual identity. That is the kind of shift people notice, especially in a town where residents and visitors are always looking for places that feel connected to the coast rather than copied from somewhere else.
The Town of Surf City’s current site plan page still lists Coconut Cove at 418 Roland Avenue as “Under Construction,” but the restaurant’s own announcement says soft openings have taken place and the official opening is set for Thursday.
Quick details
- Restaurant: Coconut Cove
- Address: 418 Roland Avenue, Surf City, NC 28445
- Phone: (910) 752-6780
- Hours: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Website: CoconutCoveSurfCity.com
- Facebook: Coconut Cove on Facebook
- Instagram: @coconutcovesurfcity
- What to expect: Waterfront dining, coastal cocktails, seafood, kids menu, dock seating, live music, and a large outdoor deck.
Coconut Cove officially opens this Thursday, giving Surf City a new waterfront spot just in time for the summer season.
