The little A-frame at 617 Hicks St. is back in action. Jean's By the Sea, a compact seafood bar with a fish-shack mood, has quietly opened in Old West Durham, taking over the former Wimpy's Grill building with counter service, oysters and coastal cocktails. The team held a soft opening over the weekend, positioning the spot as a casual neighborhood hangout for lunch and evening meals.
According to The News & Observer, Jean's menu leans hard into Calabash-style fried baskets and handhelds. Diners will find platters of shrimp, oysters, catfish, scallops and seasonal catches starting at $18, shrimp rolls for $15 and a fried fish sandwich topped with North Carolina hoop cheese for $16. The paper also notes chilled raw "tackle boxes" priced from $27 to $74, plus a michelada that can come with an optional raw oyster "back" for those who like their beer with a side of bravado.
Menu and drinks
Owner Kate Elia built the menu around oysters and simple coastal plates, with warm comforts such as shrimp and grits and New England-style chowder rounding things out. As reported by Business Debut, the snug footprint seats roughly 30 guests inside and opens onto a large patio and lawn, giving the spot more breathing room than the indoor square footage suggests. Jean's own site lists the project as "Landing 2026," a cheeky nod to its nautical theme.
On the drinks side, cocktails lean into rum-based punches and smoky mezcal, keeping with the beach-town vibe. The beer list mixes Modelo on draft with selections from Southern craft breweries, so you can chase your oysters with either a laid-back lager or something a little more local.
Space and neighborhood
The A-frame at 617 Hicks St. has a long local history. For decades it housed Wimpy's Grill, a Durham staple that closed in 2019. ABC11 reported that Wimpy's shut down after 32 years when its owners retired, ending a long run of burgers and breakfast plates in the tiny space. The building itself is documented in Open Durham's local archive, a reminder that this little corner of Old West Durham has fans far beyond the immediate block.
The Jean's team has reworked the site for seafood and patio hangs, but they have kept the cozy, walk-up spirit that made Wimpy's familiar to generations of customers. It is still the kind of place you can stroll up to, grab a bite and linger within sight of the order window.
When to go
Per The News & Observer, Jean's is currently open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The counter-service setup is built for quick lunches, but the patio and lawn make it just as suitable for slower dinners once the sun starts to dip.
The team is still dialing in hours and menu rotation during the early weeks, so regulars should expect a few tweaks as the kitchen settles into a full schedule. For updates, Jean's has an email signup on its website along with a small landing page of build-out photos, so neighbors can watch the project evolve even between visits.
