Walk east from downtown on Castle Street past the historic core, cross 15th, and the streetscape changes. Painted shipping containers replace clapboard. Walk-up windows replace foyers. A cupcake bakery, a poke shop, a barbecue counter, and an empanada stall share a courtyard the size of a suburban cul-de-sac. Two summers ago most of this was a plan on a developer's clipboard. Right now it's the densest concentration of small, independently owned food and retail businesses in Wilmington.
If you already live here, the question isn't whether the Cargo District is worth a visit. It's which corner is worth your Saturday afternoon this week, and what the sale in the Soda Pop District next door means for how quickly the container-neighborhood model spreads west toward the historic streets.
The number that reframes the whole neighborhood
Developer Leslie Smith is quoted in the Greater Wilmington Business Journal saying the district now houses
