A seafood restaurant in downtown Pittsboro is closing after nearly a decade in business.
Located in an old post office off West Salisbury Street, Postal Fish Company will serve its final meals Saturday, Oct. 11, after eight years, the restaurant shared on its website and social media.
“This decision didn’t come lightly,” the restaurant wrote on its website. “This space has been more than just a restaurant. It’s been a home, a canvas and a gathering place filled with laughter, hard work, late nights and unforgettable experiences.”
Running a small business, especially a restaurant, has been getting more and more difficult, Postal Fish Company owner Bill Hartley told The News & Observer in a phone interview.
Now, Hartley is focusing his attention on the JDub’s Food Truck. He opened JDub’s in 2024 at The Plant, a Pittsboro venue with multiple food and drink vendors. The restaurant serving classic New Orleans po’boys closed earlier this year because Hartley struggled to run two businesses simultaneously and find help for JDub’s, he said.
With a food truck, Hartley will have less overhead and a reduced reliance on staff. He expects to pick up the truck soon. And with an inspection scheduled for late October, he’s shooting for an early November opening for the food truck.
Its location will change, but Hartley said he hopes to park the food truck in Southern Pines and Pittsboro. Updates will be shared on the food truck’s website and social media accounts.
What is replacing Postal Fish Company?
Moving into the Postal Fish space at 75 W. Salisbury St. will be the nonprofit The Quiltmaker Cafe.
“They’re just good people doing good things,” Hartley said of the nonprofit, which has served thousands of pay-what-you-can meals at about four dozen community events since 2022.
The organization considered many locations in Pittsboro in its search for a brick-and-mortar, co-founder and executive director Jennie Knowlton told The N&O in a phone interview.
But The Quiltmaker Cafe has connections to Postal Fish. It has hosted the annual Quiltmaker Community Thanksgiving for the past several years, and Hartley previously served on the board of the nonprofit.
Having a permanent location will allow The Quiltmaker Cafe to hire a chef to prepare meals, rather than purchasing food from a caterer. It will also enable the nonprofit to stick to a consistent schedule, serving meals five days a week, Knowlton said.
The Quiltmaker Cafe will serve a mix of comfort dishes and healthy foods. There are no prices for meals. Instead, guests are asked to volunteer their time or donate money, produce or eggs.
Between indoor and outdoor seating options, around 60-80 people will be able to eat at The Quiltmaker Cafe.
The nonprofit is hoping to open the cafe before the end of the year, Knowlton said. There is no set date because the nonprofit is still raising funds to hire a chef and cover other costs.
But regardless of when The Quiltmaker Cafe opens its permanent location, it will host its Thanksgiving meal at the Salisbury Street site as usual.
Seafood restaurant in Pittsboro
Founded by chefs James Clark and Bill Hartley in 2017, the restaurant offers a daily changing menu highlighting fish and shellfish harvested from the South Atlantic.
The chefs met in Myrtle Beach, working at the Grande Dunes resort, The News & Observer previously reported. They both took jobs at The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, where Clark was executive chef and Hartley was executive sous chef. Hartley became sole owner of the restaurant in 2020.
Former N&O dining critic Greg Cox raved about Postal Fish Company’s daily-changing menu, offering both familiar and less-common seafood, all fresh and “expertly prepared.”
The restaurant’s seafood breader, along with the fryer, is gluten free, and diners can find many gluten-free choices on the menu.