Downtown Salisbury just turned up the heat. Chicory Restaurant and The Bake Shop at Chicory have officially reopened at 127 N. Main Street, cutting the ribbon last Tuesday and bringing New Orleans-inspired plates, custom mocktails and a petite bakery back to the city center. The family-run spot promises seated dinners and desserts baked to order, while also leaning into community training and inclusive hiring. City officials and chamber representatives were on hand for the celebration, marking chef-owner Jasmine Mohamed’s return to the downtown dining scene.
According to the Salisbury Post, Rowan Chamber President Elaine Spalding said she was “so very excited” about the ribbon-cutting, while Mayor Tamara Sheffield promised that “a little bit of French Quarter flair is coming to Salisbury.” The outlet notes that Mohamed is both head chef and proprietor, and that Chicory is very much a family affair - son Marcus will manage daily operations and son Alex will greet guests at the door. Mohamed told the paper she “has healed and rested and is coming back,” with the reopening framed around inclusive community connection and plans to help graduates of local recovery programs build culinary careers.
Bakery by Day, Creole Kitchen by Night
By daylight, The Bake Shop at Chicory will serve as a counter-service spot for lunch and made-to-order desserts, before the space shifts into an evening restaurant with seated service and custom mocktails, according to the county tourism listing. As described by Visit Rowan County, the bake shop is pitched as “fresh, flavorful” and geared toward the lunch crowd, with a clear emphasis on sweets finished to order.
Menu, Hours and Accessibility
The reopening rollout highlights a lineup of New Orleans-style dishes, including seafood gumbo, pot pie, smoked salmon avocado toast, etouffée and shrimp & grits. Diners can also expect crawfish hushpuppies, okra frits and a bread-pudding soufflé, the Salisbury Post reports. The restaurant has also signed on to participate in the downtown Salisbury social district.
Evening hours are set for Tuesday through Thursday from 4:30 to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to 9 p.m. The bake shop will handle lunch and brunch with a schedule of Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., plus Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Chicory states that the operation will be pork-free, halal- and kosher-friendly and “dry by choice.”
What This Means for Main Street
The business directory for the Rowan Chamber lists Chicory & The Bake Shop @ Chicory at 127 North Main Street and includes a local phone number, confirming its place squarely in the heart of downtown. That directory entry situates Chicory among Main Street’s independent cafes and restaurants and highlights the steady churn of openings that aim to broaden Salisbury’s dining mix.
For now, the bake shop will shoulder daytime traffic while the restaurant ramps up its dinner service, and Mohamed’s team says they plan to lean on family recipes and local hires as they grow. If the first week is any indication, Main Street has a fresh new landing spot for gumbo and made-to-order sweets.
