There’s still more to see and do in Rose Hill, N.C.

Welcome back to Rose Hill in Duplin County, N.C. The place was named for an abundance of wild roses that grew along the hillsides that were noticed when the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad came through in 1840.

A railway depot was located here to serve the region’s tar, turpentine and timber industries. Soon thereafter, a general store, hotel, church and a few homes sprung up. A post office at Rose Hill was established in 1872, and farmers started bringing crops and produce to the railroad platform, most notably strawberries. 

“In those days, about a third of North Carolina’s tart, red berries shipped through Rose Hill,” reported Bryan Mims, a contributor to BusinessNC magazine.

 

Townspeople pay tribute to a different type of fruit nowadays. Acres and acres of muscadine grapes go into the making of assorted sweet wines that are produced at the famous Duplin Winery.

 

The Bistro at Duplin Winery in Rose Hill enhances the visitation experience. The eatery is open six days a week for lunch, serving culinary fare perfectly paired with a favorite Duplin wine. Chef Bert Fussell offers an array of choices for your palate.

 

Sample several as you savor his luncheon entrée specials. Just the other day, he featured crispy fried chicken and decadent waffles, drenched in warm maple syrup. A glass of sparkling “Summertime Strut” sounded nice.

 

Each September, Duplin Winery welcomes the public to attend its annual Grape Stomp Festival. The event is billed as an afternoon of fun with live music, wine and food. Purchase a ticket to take a turn at stomping grapes. VIP hospitality tents with additional amenities are available but sell out quickly. 

Overall, Duplin Winery is doing well. The company has recently expanded operations into the tourism hot spots of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Panama City, Fla. Could we interest them in a Bogue Sound vineyard as well? Imagine a muscadine and watermelon flavored wine. 

Back in Rose Hill, visitors can enjoy a traditional down-home breakfast, lunch or dinner. Just follow North Carolina’s celebrated food expert Bob Garner to the legendary Rose Hill Restaurant.

 

Garner is a television personality and restaurant reviewer with a magnetic personality. Since 1994, he’s been getting paid to “eat his way across North Carolina”…again and again.

 

Donald and Ruth Buckner opened the Rose Hill Restaurant in 1957, specializing in pit-cooked barbecue pork and chicken. Over time, the restaurant expanded from 36 seats to 400, with the addition of several dining room extensions running off the “main house.” 

The place resembles a museum; it’s walls are decorated with historical photographs of Rose Hill. The pictures document the county’s first school bus, the old Overbrook Hotel and even the old railroad produce platform. 

Fuzzy Buckner, son of the founders, runs the restaurant now. He has learned to expect a visit from Garner between May and July, when blueberries are in season and the Rose Hill Restaurant is serving up its signature dessert, lemon-blueberry pie.

 

The last time Garner dined at the Rose Hill Restaurant, he ordered the jumbo fried seafood platter (flounder, oysters, shrimp and scallops) with a crab cake, slaw, fries and hush puppies. 

Then, he enjoyed a slab of country ham with sides of beets and potato salad. Garner topped off the main courses with a heaping plate of chopped pork barbecue. 

Garner was joined at the table by Charlie Albertson, a retired state legislator from Duplin County. A country musician on the side, Albertson raved about his plate of Rose Hill Restaurant’s fried chicken – “as good as you’ll find anywhere.”