The Cotton Gin

Nice small menu of sandwiches and salads. Enjoyed the chicken, spinach, and squash salads with cheese crackers. Relaxed with coffees. Freshly baked cookies. Tasted wine here. Whites before we ate. Reds afterward. Very nice.

Room upon room upon room… Clothes, hats, bags, pillows, kitchen utensils, garden statues, candles, wall art… I could keep going. If you find yourself lucky enough to vacation in the Outer Banks, check out the Cotton Gin. There are a few locations, I visited the Jarvisburg location. This one has a café and wine as well as hang gliding next door. The morning we left the Outer Banks I didn’t think we’d be able to stop, I’m so happy that we were able to.

This is your typical gift shop, beach fare, girly type of shop so while the other reviews touch on that, I want to note that this place is not very accessible for those with mobility issues. It was really disappointing to see that is was handicapped accessible only to realize that about ¹⁄₃ of the store is accessible to people who can’t do stairs. My mom is somewhat unsteady on her feet and walks with a cane. She avoids stairs at all possible and this place has stairs all around… it truly is the only way to experience the store. Soooo… if you plan on bringing someone here who isn’t able to go up and down stairs with confidence, please know that they are likely to only experience just a bit of the store.

Ahoy there matey!
This is the go to place for everything beachy, coastal & nautical. I usually stop here on my way to the OBX. The exterior has a red barn feel and is quite inviting. The inside is vast but well organized. They sell everything from bedding to bird houses. Upstairs feature Christmas items, while the main floor features more housewares. I literally want one of everything if it wasn’t so $$$$. One of the best features is the «Wine Cellar». This level features local Carolina wines and every drinking accessory known to mankind. I love that they offer wine tasting by your own wine aficionado. Taste before you buy, okay with me! Next time your around these parts, stop by a peruse for awhile… Come back now ya hear!

This is such a fun stop en route to the Outer Banks. We have purchased some treasured Christmas ornaments from the permanent displays here and generally had fun sifting through the rooms and rooms of consumer goods. This is American roadside culture in its most developed incarnation. It’s not a style thing. It’s about the experience. Open your mind and have a good time exploring this place.

Oh, the Cotton Gin. So many reasons to love you. You are huge yet charming, with more cluttered rooms of STUFF than I thought possible. This stuff includes: tons of Christmas decorations, kitchen items, beachy decorations, towels and bedding, Vera Bradley bags, mens and womens clothing, souveneirs, sandals, sunglasses, jewelry, garden stuff, and a wine cellar with free tastings! There is way more than that, but that’s a sampling. Set aside at least an hour and get lost inside!

Pops and I stopped here on our day trip. He muttered something about how my sister loves it here and always has to stop… scented candles and brick-​a-​brack… women love it… stuck for hours…
With that kind of a build up, of course we had to stop. This place is like a Winchester Mystery House, with room connecting to room connecting to room. But the rooms are filled with Christmas dolls and tea towels and Americana galore. I was horrified (it’s just not my style, OK?) until I saw a «Pirate Nook» listed on the map. We went right there, grabbed some booty, and got the heck out. Pops was impressed. «That’s it, then?» I even got a grin out of him.