Highly Anticipated ‘Hello, Sailor’ Eatery Opens Sunday

CORNELIUS, NC -- Two years ago, Chef Joe Kindred and his wife Katy opened up their namesake restaurant Kindred and put Davidson on the national food scene. In that time, Kindred has garnered serious recognition, which earned Joe acknowledgement as a semifinalist for a James Beard award. Today, their highly anticipated sequel, Hello, Sailor, opens in Cornelius, bringing their flair for delicious food in a sophisticated setting to the shoreline of Lake Norman.

But this ain’t your parents’ fish camp.

Hello, Sailor is housed in what was the Rusty Rudder, a long-time fixture on the waterfront known for its own dock ready to accept hungry boaters. The Kindreds spent more than $1 million to renovate the waterfront facility, and it shows. The space is open, inviting, and simple in its sophistication, from its mid-century diner feel to the wall of windows overlooking the water. The color palate of peach and green is repeated throughout, all a subtle nod to Palm Springs and the spirit of an oasis, which was the design inspiration.

For foodies, however, Hello Sailor promises to be an oasis for the tastebuds.

The menu has plenty of range, from old salt oysters with a fernet mignonette, and poke style hamachi, to half-inch thick fried bologna sandwiches and shrimp and duck gumbo. Also on the menu are ribs, salt and pepper catfish in a gribiche sauce and hushpuppies that are light as donut holes with a smear of yuzu kosho-honey butter.

A visit would not be complete without a fun libation from the bar, such as one of their signature drinks: an Aperol spritz, a cherry lemon sundrop Negoni slushie or their Barracuda Bill’s “psuedo pils” in a girthy 32-ounce can made just for them by NoDa’s Free Range Brewing.

Hello, Sailor is already one of the most highly anticipated openings this year in the U.S., according to Eater.

For the hungry in the Charlotte metro region, however, the wait is over. Hello, Sailor opens Sunday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m.

All photos by Patch Editor Kimberly Johnson