In an odd effort, I've been trying to get a hot dog in every county in North Carolina. Tyrrell County was a challenge and we were lucky to find Alligator River Marina. Luckily the grill in the gas station serves hot dogs and this location is *just* across the county line. We ordered two hot dogs and a box of potato wedges. The women who took our order wasn't overly kind but efficient. We took a seat in one of the booths in the dining area behind the convenience store section of the building. There are several booths and tables that look out over the marina. We picked up the bag of food when it was ready. The dogs were bigger than we were expecting with good flavor and loaded with toppings. Equally as good were the wedges. Well seasoned and really hot. The perfect blend of small crispy ones and soft thick-boys. Really good. While the service and the ambiance were fine, the food pulled up this review. Thanks for letting me check off Tyrrell County! read more

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Chicken salad is homemade and yummy. Burgers are really good. Fried okra!!!! Bluebell ice cream cones read more

Always a great stop on the way to OBX. Hand patted burgers... we usually call in to go and it's ready in about 12 minutes read more

Alligator River Marina Short Second - August 2025 - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, North Carolina

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Amazing BLT's and great service. Will be coming back here to get food on our rides into OBX! There's not many places to stop on the way in that will have good quality food. read more

I'm currently kayaking from RI to FL, a long expedition, and this was a fantastic stop. They had everything I needed, worked with me, and everyone I met who worked here had a great attitude and enthusiasm. My burger was great, the bathroom/showers are clean and up to date, and for being in the middle of nowhere it's a fantastic stop. 10/10 would visit again (probably not by kayak again ) read more

Nice little Marina with fuel and gas. Their convenience store/office has fried chicken, homemade potato salad that were both good! Friendly and helpful staff in both the Marina and store. read more

Alligator River Marina Short Second - Replica of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, North Carolina

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I live this place. Homey and friendly. People go way out of their way and genuinely appreciate the business read more

Alligator River Marina Short Second - We were holed up for a storm - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, North Carolina

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Good fast grill food. Glenn and Jill and always happy to see customer. Jill is always happy to prepare me a great breakfast plate with fresh eggs and hot grits!! read more

Alligator River Marina Short Second - a view of a dock - Grocery Near Me - Columbia, North Carolina

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This place can barely be called a marina. If it wasn't for the power hook ups I wouldn't have known it by anything other then a gas station near the water. When we called to him we could barely understand him, all we wanted to know is if we could eat there. I took a guess when he answered me. When we got inside it was a typical gas station-no amenities for boaters. Which is funny *sarcasm* because they are right off the ICW. The food was ok but the woman taking our order was miserable. Everything was dirty and when we got our silverware it was rusty. I hadn't said anything at this point as it was cold and I was glad to be served a meal. $35 later for some food and drinks we head back to our boat. My husband plugged us in so I could have hot water for my shower. If they had showers I wouldn't have needed that. Although if they did they probably would have been dirty. We were contemplating staying the night at this point. Anyway, the guy comes out and barks at us for it. If we had just stopped in and not gotten anything I might understand. But a half hour of 30 amp power isn't going to make his business go under. If it wasn't for the fact that this was the only place we would have never stopped. And we know now to skip it next time. read more

Absolutely amazing food and the most friendly people behind the counter. So worth pulling off the road and walking in the front door. Shrimp burger and onion rings were to die for. Thanks Miss Anna. We will be back. read more

We have come to this marina probably about 4 times over the years of traveling up and down the ICW. It is a convenient stop between Belhaven and Coinjock and is an Albemarle Loop Gateway Marina. It was a very busy stop here today with probably 10 boats arriving between 2 and 4 pm. Ian, the dockhand, was very friendly and welcoming while tying up all the boats for the evening by himself. Girls in the Short Second (gas, grocery, and restaurant) checked us in very efficiently and told us about their hours and when orders needed to be placed before closing. Clarissa and her co-worker were also super friendly assisting others with hand scooped ice cream. I went back up and ordered dinner for the two of us to go. Varied menu, I thought inexpensive. Husband had cheesesteak for $6.00, I had fried chicken combo for $5.00 with slaw and ff's. The chicken is touted as the best in Tyrrell County, and it was right up there. I have read some kind of bad reviews of this place. They have recently been purchased and I think the new owners are trying very hard to turn it around. We agreed that it gets better each time we visit. It is no frills but a great value. Please give them a try.... read more

We had read reviews that suggested new ownership and decided to give it a try. As we approached the marina, we were directed to the face dock by the woman on the radio. While approaching the face dock we saw a man gesturing us away. He informed us that he was the dock master and that the woman on the radio had no say in the matter of where we would stay. With attitude like that, we left! That was a nasty encounter and we don't need anything like that... read more

We welcome everyone! We have changed hands in the past 6 months. We have upgraded everything. The bathrooms have been redone and our lounge has all new appliances including a large flat screen TV for your viewing pleasure. Our hours are 6am-6pm, but the grill closes at 5:30pm. We are a pet friendly establishment now. We're sorry for any inconveniences in the past but we are welcoming you to revisit and experience the new Alligator River Marina. read more

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Good lunch and great hospitality. Staff friendly and helpful. Had a flat tire nearby and they went above and beyond.

If I could give zero stars I would have. The only good thing was the shower. The "restaurant " was a couple of tables in a gas station. They told us they closed at 6 but when we went for dinner at 5 they were already closed. Expensive too. Would never stop again. read more

This is a great, no frills marina pretty much in the middle of nowhere with easy access from the ICW. The property is very clean and well maintained, and the emlpoyees are extremely helpful and full of good local stories (ask the dockmaster about the 'bear hunter'). Facilities include a TV room with WiFi, fuel, pumpout, 50A, water and a Shell Gas station convenience store / restaurant. Don't stop here without eating some home cooked fried chicken or hamburger steak smothered in gravy and onions! Then, starting at 5am, the girls will cook you up the best artery-sealing country fried ham egg and cheese biscuit you've ever had! read more

This shitty place has a lovely ad in the ICW cruising guide and it's the last place to get gas before crossing the Albemarle Sound so we had to stop. It was 5:45pm so we made reservations. The first thing I noticed was the NO DOGS ALLOWED IN THIS AREA signs every 10 feet all over the 2 acre grassy areas!!!!! Then a small sign RIGHT BY THE HIGHWAY is the dog play area. I mean 6 ft from traffic!!! Then the frosting on the cake, the flyer they give you with all the rules states that your dog must be on a leash at all times except in the dog play area...... Think they hope it gets hit by a car?? Well I'm a dog lover so from that point on I decided to Yelp them. In addition the lady answering the radio when we asked for direction was very rude and sounded put out! The ad states it opens at 5 am but no it 6, and that statement about Captain Charlie's seaside cafe( or however it goes) is just 3 booths shoved in the gas station/ snack shop.... No wonder our boat is the only one here.... The showers were horrible!! She take better care of her lawn than the restroom/shower area. read more

This place is one of the few places to buy food in the area, on my way back to kernersville with my girlfriend we stopped to get something to eat, my girlfriend is gluten intolerant, she can not eat anything with gluten in it or she will have a really bad allergic reaction. She explained this to the staff and asked them if they could make several items on the menu without breanding them each time she was told no, they would not alter anything on their menu to make it safe, because of this she left and had to go over 60 miles without anything to eat. The staff was insensitive and uncaring, we even went so far as to offer to provide gluten free bread (we had some in the vehicle) and pay full price for it and yet they still refused. the day was 07/10/15 read more