The waterside town of Manteo, North Carolina, is a town of contrasts. In the 1930’s, a massive fire engulfed much of the downtown waterfront area. Other fires over the years have changed the landmarks of the town, forcing new buildings to be built alongside older ones. Floods have also taken their toll. Anytime a hurricane hits just in the wrong spot, or a hard northwest wind blows, the waterfront can find itself under several feet of water. Newer buildings were eventually built on stilts, but the older ones still rest close to the ground. Manteo’s history was shaped by fires and floods and a propensity to build anew, while hanging on to the past. It is for this reason that the town has grown so architecturally diverse and unique.

One such example of this Manteo building style was recently uncovered by Lisa and Marcelo Ortega, as they renovated their restaurant, Ortega’z Grill. As they tore down existing walls in the fall of 2007, remnants of past businesses began to be uncovered. Early on in the project, the walls of an old gas station were revealed, and caused quite a lot of interest as people from surrounding businesses would check on the progress numerous times a day. Many had no idea that Milton Midgett and Maywood Lee had run an ESSO station at that location in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

After the station was closed, Charles Fearing turned the building into Fernando’s Ale House in 1974. In keeping with Manteo tradition, he took boards from family barn that had been torn down and used them in his business. These boards will be used for at least a third time by the Ortega family in their restaurant.

The next business to inhabit the structure was the Green Dolphin Pub, which opened its doors in 1980. The Green Dolphin was a fixture in Manteo for twenty-seven years. It will be remembered for its hamburgers and she-crab soup, as well as the pool table and the bar where countless rounds were poured. Many regulars found comfort in the familiar and smoky interior where they passed the hours listening to music or just enjoying the conversation with the people around them. The pub was such a landmark in Manteo, that it was used as a set in an episode of Matlock, the Andy Griffith television drama in which he played a lawyer. The pub had to close for a while to clean up after the floods that swamped the low lying building and when it experienced a fire in the 1990’s. They built over the fire damage, which added yet another mark to the history of the building.

Each business kept a piece of the previous one, while adding something new. Lisa and Marcelo have kept that tradition alive by keeping the old gas station’s door frame and windows exposed, using the often recycled barn lumber in the ceiling, and retaining a mural of the Albatross Fleet on the southern wall. Also, they have had a new bar custom made for the restaurant, added more natural lighting, new bathrooms and a covered outdoor eating area. Ortega’z Grill has begun its own Manteo tradition in a building that encompasses 70 years of Manteo’s rich history.