hey there! we’re so glad you’re here.

Carteret Curated is hosted by Mary Cheatham King Real Estate (MCKRE), a team of women who love so many things about living in Carteret County. On Instagram, our Carteret Curated account allows us to share our favorite finds from small businesses and organizations all along the Crystal Coast and to shine a light on the people who make our community special.

We love it when clients ask our opinion about where they should go out for dinner or take their kids on a rainy afternoon. For years we thought about how to create a resource that would help folks looking for insider advice AND our local hard-working business owners. Enter the Carteret Curated People’s Choice Awards – an annual campaign where our community gets the chance to nominate and celebrate their favorite small businesses within a variety of categories.

In 2023, the People’s Choice Awards garnered thousands of nominations and votes, all from folks who live in or love Carteret County. Hundreds upon hundreds of businesses were nominated and we are thrilled to be able to share every single one in the pages to follow.

Whether you keep it on your coffee table or download it to your phone, we hope this year’s People’s Choice Guide, will make 2023 the best year yet for your adventures in Carteret County!

here’s the breakdown:2023

Voting Dates

April 10th – April 24th

Community members voted for their favorite local business within 44 categories.

Favorites Announced

April 27th

The businesses with the most votes were named the ‘favorite’ within each category.

THROUGHOUT THE GUIDE

= Voted 2023 Local Favorite = Voted 2023 Top 3 Local Favorite Flip

For the inside scoop on new businesses, shopping, tasting, experiencing and giving back in Carteret County, follow along with us!

@carteret.curated

On The Cover

This year’s featured cover photo was captured by our friend Kali Moeck (@kalimoeckphotography). Kali is a local photographer who strives to capture the people and places that are special to you and showcase them in a way that creates a still frame of real life moments. Following an open submission from local photographers, our Carteret Curated community voted Kali’s photo of her son strolling along the beach for this year’s cover! Kali says, “seeing him with his little sandy feet framed by that perfect sunset is a beautiful reminder of how thankful I am to live on the Crystal Coast!”

Be sure to visit pg. 25 for an entire list of local photographers!