Persimmons Waterfront Restaurant

Opened in August of 2010, Persimmons is a locally-owned waterfront restaurant located on the shores of the Neuse River in New Bern, NC. We feature an elegant yet casual atmosphere and three distinct dining venues: our downstairs great room, our private upstairs dining room, and our picturesque outdoor waterfront dining area. Persimmons focuses on modern cuisine made from locally-sourced ingredients by our award-winning chef and hosting a variety of special events with waterfront dining, fresh food, and the friendliest service around.

In addition to using local, sustainable ingredients in our food, we also designed our building with sustainability in mind. Our heating and air conditioning is done with an efficient geothermal system, our lighting fixtures are energy efficient, we installed waterless urinals low-flow bathroom fixtures, and we also maintain a recycling program. In fact, much of our restaurant building, including our tables and hostess stand, is made of recycled or reclaimed materials. Our goal is to be as responsible as possible and make a positive impact on our community around us.

The most-asked question here at Persimmons is “what is the origin of our name?” When our building was originally constructed, we dredged the adjacent marina and found several submerged logs that likely date back to a nineteenth-century lumber mill and turpentine distillery which used to be on the site. One of the logs that was found was a persimmon tree. We took the persimmon log down the street to Bill Nelson of Precision Molding, who milled the wood, which was used to create what is now our host stand found at the entrance of the restaurant. Persimmon trees are found in North America and Asia and are one of the only fruits native to Eastern North Carolina. The Roman name for persimmon means “fruit of the Gods.” We also found an enormous log of liquid amber, also known as red gum, which Bill Nelson fashioned into all of our table tops in the restaurant.