Latitudes
Compass Pointe restaurant is the place to go for delicious food and friendly service. STORY by Kass Fincher Although the community of Compass Pointe is gated, the restaurant there is very much open to the general public. Stephanie Howard, manager of Latitudes, describes their desire to reach out to Leland residents. “We’d love to reach out beyond this community,” she says. “I’m sure there are parts of Leland that maybe don’t know about us yet. We’re a little off the beaten path, but when you go in the second entrance, it’s a straight shot to get here.”
Opening in June 2016, Latitudes is owned by Brunswick Food and Beverage, which also owns Blossoms at Magnolia Greens. The restaurant is located right on the golf course and offers favorites for golfers as well as a new dinner menu that rotates every two weeks. Hollis Favors, the restaurant’s chef, describes some of the golfers’ favorite menu items. “The ladies love the hummus appetizer; the guys love the pretzels and beer cheese,” he says. “The twin dogs and grilled veggie sandwich are favorites for lunch. But the fan favorite by far is the reuben sandwich.” Howard adds that they sold 1200 reubens last year; that’s a lot of corned beef! Open every day from 10:30 – 7:00, the restaurant receives tremendous support from residents of Compass Pointe, a community of about 700 homes. Only two-thirds of the homes are currently occupied full time, since many people have bought a home there but haven’t retired yet, or have yet to sell their current home. Howard herself lives in the community with her parents who retired there. Originally from northern Virginia, she came to Latitudes after a stint at the former Charlie MacGrooder’s in Leland. She is working on reaching out to the residents and others outside the Compass Pointe community to bring them into the restaurant more often. “We know it’s going to take time for the community to build,” she says. “We just want to bring in different opportunities – music, maybe more theme nights, certain types of themed dinners to draw in people.” Every other Sunday they offer a brunch from 10 a.m. til 2 p.m. It’s a buffet, augmented by an omelet station where you can order up your custom ingredients and watch it cook. And it wouldn’t be Sunday brunch without Bloody Mary and Mimosa specials! Every Thursday is trivia night, where most people arrive around 5:30, have dinner and stay for trivia that begins at 6:30. Live music is offered on the weekends – once per month in the spring and fall and twice per month in the summertime. Howard says they often bring in 150+ people when they have live music. The recently-introduced new menu is the work of Chef Favors. He has been with the restaurant for a couple of years and is redesigning the menu selections based on feedback they’ve received from customers. The dinner menu will rotate every two weeks, and will always include a beef, pork, chicken and seafood entree. Favors’ culinary training began under his father and grandfather, who were both chefs, and continued with some of the best chefs in the Wilmington area. His favorite cooking tradition is French cuisine, so look for that influence in his dinner entrees at Latitudes. In addition to the restaurant, the company operates a bar called Oasis at a nearby facility – the Grand Lanai – which is owned by the Compass Pointe HOA for private parties. The bar is open on weekends to the residents there and on Thursdays to the general public. That’s when they have Karaoke nights. We understand you don’t have to be able to sing to participate! It could be a fun evening – dinner at Latitudes and then Karaoke at Oasis. Try it out.
Latitudes Restaurant Compass Pointe South Wynd NE Leland, NC 910-770-7740 Open 10:30-7:00 daily
