Vivian Howard’s new restaurant in Wilmington opens

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Fans of Vivian Howard and Ben Knight’s famous restaurant in Kinston, Chef & the Farmer, have a new place to frequent for dinner in the Port City.

It’s called Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria and it’ll be serving up Neapolitan-style pies and other Italian specialties.

Howard and Knight chose Jim Diecchio to be the head chef for the restaurant.

All involved say they’re excited to bring a new and unique dining experience to Wilmington.

“Ben and I wanted to open a new restaurant and we wanted to do it in eastern North Carolina, first and foremost. We wanted to do it in a place where we wanted to spend more time and Wilmington is a great town, it’s growing and it’s on the coast. It’s kind of a no brainer,” said Howard.

“It’s a good time for this area that we can kinda bring something new, maybe something a little different from what people are used to. I think there’s a lot of other restaurants around here doing really good food so it’s a good chance to be a part of that,” said Diecchio.

You can find Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria on Greenfield Street across from South Front Apartments.

It’ll be open Tuesday through Sunday.