Ocracoke Island Trading Co.
- 486 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-7233
Men’s and women’s casual clothing is a highlight here. There are T-shirts galore, many name-dropped with “Ocracoke Island,” in sizes ranging from small to size 3X. Sportswear, dresses, shorts and hats are also offered, as are gift and souvenir items.
Ocracoke Island Woodworks
- 158 Ocean View Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-7001
The furniture sold by Ocracoke Island Woodworks is handcrafted on the island from white cedar. Benches, Adirondack chairs and rockers, swings, table sets and many more pieces of classic outdoor furniture are available.
Ocracoke Photo
- 201 British Cemetery Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-7000
What better way to preserve your memories of Ocracoke Island than with photos? Professional photographer and photojournalist Mary Haggerty will take beach portraits of your family or capture wedding images and any other special occasion. You can bring memory cards or any other media and print your photos in just seconds as well as burn them on a CD using their Sony Picture Station. She also offers custom framing, handmade photo albums, local photographs and home décor. While you’re there browse the photo gallery showing Haggerty’s current work, or shop for frames, albums or custom photo jewelry to showcase your images.
Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum Gift Shop
- 49 Water Plant Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-7375
Located inside the OPS museum, this is a good place for those interested in music by island artists, and it also stocks a nice selection of books relating to Ocracoke, many by local authors. The souvenirs, which include stuff for kids, are affordable, and all proceeds benefit the nonprofit organization. Visit their online shop for those “must have” items you wish you had purchased when you were here.
Ocracoke Restoration
- 341 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-2669
A new look and location awaits you at Ocracoke Restoration now found at the corner of Howard Street and Fig Tree Lane on Silver Lake. Owners Tom and Carol Pahl have lovingly restored an original 1930s Ocracoke cottage and have moved their antique stained glass and estate jewelry shop into the space. What’s changed? You’ll find a larger selection of their most popular items: antique stained glass and hundreds of affordable quality vintage and estate jewelry items. Vintage jewelry is Carol’s passion. They offer a wide variety of styles from 1800s Victorian to 1960s whimsy including costume, gold and silver estate pieces.
Ocracoke Seafood
- 294 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-5601
Daily our fishermen unload their catch at the harborside docks of Ocracoke Seafood Company, Ocracoke’s only fish house. Adjacent to the docks you will find their market, so look here for the fresh catch of the day plus other North Carolina seafood like shrimp, crabs, tuna, flounder, oysters and clams. Steamed shrimp and raw bar items are sold as well as spices, herbs and condiments for preparing a great meal. It’s more than a seafood market; it is also the home of the non-profit Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Association whose mission is to preserve their cultural heritage as well as to protect and ensure the future of our local working fishermen. Be sure to visit the Watermen’s Exhibit at the Community Square dock where the boat trips to Portsmouth Island depart.
Ocracoke Station
- 990 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-4031
This local gas station and convenience store has a great deli (see Restaurants). Hot coffee, beer, wine, ice, soft drinks, candy and snack items, many necessities and groceries are also available as are beach supplies and souvenirs.
Ocracoke Variety Store and True Value Hardware
- 950 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-4911
The Variety Store is a grocery store where you’ll find produce, meats, beer and wine and almost all of your grocery needs. It’s also the place for T-shirts, beach supplies, ice, household items, over-the-counter medicines, gifts and magazines. The front foyer has a bulletin board and racks containing all sorts of local announcements and advertisements. Local menus are posted to the left of the front entrance on a glass-covered bulletin board. Or visit www.outerbanksthisweek.com for up to the minute restaurant specials and community activities and events.
Over the Moon
- 64 British Cemetery Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-3555
This is a fun store, one you’ll want to visit again and again. The gifts and crafts are distinctive. Over the Moon carries several lines of pottery, handbags, blown glass, recycled art, playful home accessories and a good selection of jewelry. The whimsical and inspiring Brian Andreas Story People prints and sculptures are sold here.
Pamlico Gifts
- 486 Lighthouse Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-6561
This shop is an Ocracoke original that’s worth seeking out for the primitive paintings by the genial owner, Elizabeth Parsons. Her artwork is also available on mugs, glasses and T- shirts. CDs of music by her husband, Roy Parsons, are also on sale. Sadly, Roy died in 2007. Ask her about growing up and life on Ocracoke. The shop stocks shark’s teeth, stained glass, toys and souvenirs. It’s a block toward the water from the lighthouse; follow the path from the road back to the shop.
Pirate’s Chest
- 11 Back Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-4992
We love this old-fashioned, mom-and-pop souvenir shop (not the kind of tacky chain souvenir stores you see in bigger beach areas). In the parking lot is an old boat full of shells. The variety of merchandise is astounding: T-shirts, shells, gold jewelry, toys and inexpensive trinkets for kids, books, flotsam and jetsam, collectibles and more.
Secret Garden Gallery
- 72 Back Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-2598
Secret Garden offers a stunning and graceful collection of art, representing a number of North Carolina artists, including owner Barbara Hardy’s handcrafted silver jewelry and original drawings and collages by Bob Ray. Paintings and watercolors, photography and pottery are just some of the intriguing items found here. They often have gallery openings for featured artists during the summer months.
Sunflower Center
- 170 Back Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 921-0188
Plan to spend a good chunk of time at the Sunflower Center. The first level is primarily for their large collection of handcrafted jewelry, stained glass, fused glass and woodcraft. Upstairs you’ll find a wide selection of canvasses by local and locally connected artists in a variety of mediums. A special feature of the Sunflower Center is a small herbal pharmacy where one can find homeopathic and herbal treatments as well as a great assortment of vitamins and minerals. Look for the brick garden arches out front.
Teach’s Hole
- 935 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-1718
Enjoy learning about Blackbeard the pirate at this pirate-themed shop and museum. You’ll find all the pirate-related things you can think of, including flags, jewelry, T-shirts, maps, books, costumes, toys and all the supplies you’ll need to host a pirate-themed party! There’s also an exhibit (see Attractions) that’s educational for swashbucklers young and old.
The Community Store
- Community Square Shops, 294 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-9956
This harborfront store, in operation since 1918, is a traditional gathering place and a grocery filled with basic items and some organic, vegetarian products not found elsewhere on the island. They also stock beer and fine wines, local jams and jellies as well as drinks, snacks, household goods, pharmaceuticals and film. Although the focus is on the traditional, one can now purchase lottery tickets or rent a golf cart at the Community Store. And if you need some movie entertainment for the night, you can rent DVDs here too. Gas is available for boats on the dock. Be sure to stop by to sit on the front porch, visit with islanders and catch a beautiful sunset over Silver Lake.
The Fudge and Yogurt Shop
- 294 Irvin Garrish Highway, Community Square Shops
- Ocracoke
Confections and refreshments abound at the Fudge and Yogurt shop. Homemade fudge, frozen yogurt, old-fashioned hard candies, fountain drinks, sundaes, floats and milkshakes can all be enjoyed from the porch while watching the bustle around the harbor.
The Gathering Place
- 587 B Irvin Garrish Highway, Spencer's Market
- Ocracoke
- 252) 928-7180
This inviting shop offers a fine selection of nautical decor, gifts, art and jewelry. For the gentlemen, they feature an elegant line of distinctive handcrafted folding knives and accessories.
The Glass Bead
- 587 Irvin Garrish Highway, Spencer's Market
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-2838
Create your own jewelry at this unique, family-oriented shop. There are thousands of beads for creating necklaces, bracelets, earrings or any other type of bead wear you fancy. For the newcomer to beads, you can take a lesson anytime you’re in the shop. It’s fun and relaxing. This is one of six bead shops on the Outer Banks, and it’s open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, from April through October.
The Pagoda
- 216 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
- (252) 902-5058
Located across from the Anchorage Inn, this new shop really does look like a pagoda, which means house of sacred objects. Owner Ryan hopes to fulfill that ideal with his selection of fine cigars and unique collection of tobacco accessories, home made candles, soaps, glass jewelry and of course, T-shirts. With the waterside location on the harbor, Ryan plans on a smoking deck and wants to cultivate the culture that surrounds fine cigars. This promises to be a class act, so check it out!
The Sunglass Shop “We Fit You Under The Sun”
- 585 Irvin Garrish Highway, Spencer's Market
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-9000
The Sunglass Shop on Ocracoke is the home of more than 2,500 pairs of premium factory-priced sunglasses. In fact, they are now the largest sunglass shop in North Carolina. They feature Maui Jim, Costa Del Mar, Native, Ray Ban, Suncloud, WileyX and other leading brands. Fun and funky is their motto, so expect a wide variety of choices for the whole family including children. The owners are factory trained to provide the best fit at affordable prices.
The Vegetable Man
- 800 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
Most Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the summer a gentleman from the mainland unloads a truckload of in-season produce near the East Carolina Bank. Besides the fresh fruit and vegetables, you can find local honey, pies, cookies, jams, preserves and other goodies. Many items are kept in coolers; ask if you don’t see something you’re looking for.
Tree Top Studio
- 402 Back Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-9997
Down a meandering sandy lane, Tree Top Studio features only the work of local artists. The gallery is filled with paintings in a variety of mediums, some photography and jewelry as well. It is also a professional picture framing shop catering to many local artists. Look for the big “Open” flag on Back Road. During the summer, they also sell some of the organic produce from their garden.
True Value Hardware
- 950 Irvin Garrish Highway
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-4288
Attached to the Variety Store, our local hardware store has all the utilitarian items that you are unable to locate elsewhere on Ocracoke.
Village Craftsmen
- 170 Howard Street
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-5541
Walking to Village Craftsmen is almost as much fun as visiting the store. It’s down at the end of shady, historic Howard Street, about a block from the harbor. This gallery, run by island natives since 1970, features exquisite traditional and contemporary crafts. You’ll find musical instruments, CDs featuring local and visiting folk musicians, pottery, cards, books, photographs, jewelry, paintings and a lot more.
Village Diva
- 37 Back Road
- Ocracoke
- (252) 928-2828
Women will find much to love in this store, which offers alluring, elegant, comfortable clothing in linen and organic/green natural fabrics made by companies such as Free People and Flax. They also sell sun hats, jewelry, fine handbags and shoes and a selection of home accessories, art, bath products and yard ornaments.
