Most restaurants brag about their history with a framed newspaper clipping from 1987 and a chalkboard sign that says “Est. Since Forever.”
The German Cafe in Wilmington, North Carolina doesn’t need any of that, because the building it lives in has been standing since the 1860s and the walls do all the talking.
Let’s start with the location, because it sets the stage for everything else.
The German Cafe is part of the Cotton Exchange, a historic complex of buildings along the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington…