Manna owner William Mellon is the 2026 Michelin Guide American South Sommelier Award winner. Manna and Salita Pizza are both now in the guide.

William Mellon, the owner of manna in downtown Wilmington, has won the Michelin Guide’s 2026 American South Sommelier Award. The guide named him in an article published Oct. 21 with its 2026 selection for the region.

Two Wilmington restaurants are also now in the guide itself. Michelin’s inspectors published listings for manna and for Salita Pizza in the Cargo District the same day, according to the guide’s North Carolina restaurant pages. They are the only Wilmington restaurants among the 58 North Carolina listings.

Neither has a star or a Bib Gourmand. Both are in the guide’s selection of recommended restaurants, the places its inspectors chose to include.

The award

The Sommelier Award is one of the special awards the guide gives alongside its stars. This year’s American South award is presented in partnership with Franciacorta, the Italian sparkling wine region, according to Michelin.

Michelin’s article sets out what Mellon built at manna, which opened in 2010:

  • a wine list of about 800 bottles, up from about 70 when the restaurant opened
  • some 8,000 bottles in the basement cellar
  • a by-the-glass list that reaches into Greece, Lebanon, Georgia and Turkey
  • weekly wine classes for guests in the restaurant’s early years

Mellon came to wine after serving in the Army and working in restaurants, then as a wine distributor. Five years after he took that distributor job, he opened manna.

“This restaurant was always going to be about food and wine and taking care of people,” he told the Michelin Guide.

His favorite pairing right now is the restaurant’s oysters, which the kitchen tops with sorbet or granita, with a bottle of Melon de Bourgogne or grower Champagne. “I’ve seen more than a few people who don’t eat oysters (raw or otherwise) change their position after eating one of ours,” he said.

What the inspectors wrote

The guide’s listing for manna says the restaurant “has been doing its own thing since 2010.” It credits chef Carson Jewell’s menu, which changes often and draws on local farms and North Carolina ingredients. Michelin rates it $$$, a special-occasion price, and files it under American cuisine.

The listing for Salita Pizza describes a walk-up pizzeria with communal outdoor seating “and an appropriately casual spirit.” It credits chef Jim Diecchio’s approach to sourcing. Michelin rates it $, its lowest price band, and tags it “eat like a local.”

Manna’s own website now calls it “a Michelin Selected Restaurant.” The restaurant says it has held a AAA Four Diamond rating every year since 2015.

What it means for you

  • Manna is at 123 Princess St. The kitchen is open 5 to 9 p.m. and the bar from 5 p.m.; it is closed Sunday and Monday, according to its website. Reservations are by phone at 910-763-5252 or through its Tock page.
  • Salita Pizza is a walk-up window at 615 S. 16th St., Suite 130, in the Cargo District, with communal seating outside. Hours and the rest of the city’s pizza are on our where to get pizza in Wilmington list.
  • More places to eat: our where to eat in Wilmington page links every list we keep, from barbecue to brunch.