Drive about a hundred miles east from the Capital City cruising down US-264, and when you reach where the Tar River becomes the Pamilco, you’ll find yourself in Washington, North Carolina. Proudly declaring itself the Original Washington — the town was founded in 1776 and the first town to bear George Washington’s name — the once sleepy town has been re-energized in the past few years with a flurry of businesses, hotels, and restaurants taking root. Endowed with a picturesque waterfront, historic buildings, and friendly locals, the idyllic town is close enough to Wake County for a day trip but far enough away to feel like a getaway.
The Hackney, a passion project from first-time restaurateurs Susanne Hackney and Nick Sanders, became a key element of Downtown Washington’s revitalization. The restaurant and distillery embodies the duo’s uncompromising vision to deliver the pinnacle of dining experiences.
The Hackney’s renovated building first opened as a First National Bank in 1922.
“If we were going to put our heart and soul and our life savings into something, we wanted it to be the perfect dining experience,” Hackney said.
Spurred by a distillery course that Susanne bought Nick for his 50th birthday, the two decided to leave their corporate jobs in pursuit of creating a distillery and restaurant.
Inspired by other Eastern North Carolina towns with destination restaurants like Tarboro’s On the Square and Kinston’s Chef & the Farmer, Susanne Hackney believed that her hometown of Washington could become a gourmet retreat. During a visit to Washington’s downtown in 2016, a vacant former bank building caught her eye.
“As soon as I walked into the building that now houses The Hackney, I fell in love! It couldn’t be built today. It is beautiful with amazing features,” she said. “The beauty was under lots of horrible decades of bad decor, but it was there. I was hooked.”
Opened in 1922, the building at 192 W. Main Street lived many former lives, housing banks, office spaces, and radio stations over the decades. The building sat dormant for 11 years until The Hackney team purchased it in 2017.
Transforming the vacant space into The Hackey encompassed a year of planning and six months of renovation, but the endeavor yielded a grand setting with elegant features such as wall-length windows, sky-high ceilings, and crystal chandeliers. Original fixtures such as the flooring, ceiling moulding, and Tennessee marble provide a glimpse into the building’s history.
“We knew finding a great chef was critical for the restaurant, but we weren’t sure how that was going to happen in Washington,” Hackney said. The budding restaurateurs were steadfast on the notion of hiring a chef who saw The Hackney as something more than a notch in their resume.
“We wanted (a chef) that’s in it for the long term too and felt connected to the vision (for the restaurant), plus (the town of) Washington — to really have that same aspiration for James Beard or Michelin.”
Co-owner Nick Sanders with his dog, an English hunting lab named Maple.
“Magically, that (chef ) seemed to have landed in our lap,” Hackney said. They received Jamie Davis’ résumé from an acquaintance and hired him as executive chef when The Hackney opened its doors in 2019. This January, Davis was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast.
A restaurant lifer, Davis started as a dishwasher at 16. He worked his way up through kitchen jobs, eventually joining the Army as a cook and attending culinary school after his military service.
Finding inspiration from the neighboring coastal waters, Chef Davis showcases his passion for seafood within The Hackney’s menu, which changes daily based upon availability of locally sourced ingredients. He breaks down the fish in-house, serving up exceptional dishes like grilled swordfish with chicken jus and herb oil.
“Our catfish is really something that people absolutely love,” Hackney noted, referring to filets dredged in local Tidewater Grain Co. rice flour and perfectly fried.
Elevating a comfort food classic, Davis pairs fried catfish or local shrimp with NC stone-ground grits and complex flavors from lobster broth, smoked trout roe, and more.
The distillery side of The Hackney was in the works long before the restaurant. After completing his distilling course, Sanders purchased a still, and he and Hackney set out to develop the recipe and branding for their craft gin brand.
“We focused on gin because it was a combination of botanicals,” Hackney said. “We worked on figuring out what botanicals to use, going from batch one to 100 and doing focus groups.”
Through trial and error, they developed their flagship spirit, 1000 Piers Coastal Carolina Gin, with botanicals from fresh citrus, lemongrass, kaffir lime, and more. The distillery offers tours, tastings, and bottle sales.
Restaurant patrons can opt for a tasting or select a gin-based cocktail like the Salt of the Earth with salt, lime, and cucumber. The Washington Sunset introduces homemade cherry cordial for a fruity option named after the golden hour splendor of the surrounding town.
The next time the road calls you to explore beyond the confines of Wake County, follow the river east to Washington for a stop at The Hackney. It’s worth the drive.
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