• Though occupied for several centuries, Kill Devil Hills became an official town in 1953 when it received its municipal charter
  • Kill Devil Hills is just 5.5 square miles in area, .04 of which is water
  • The town has an average elevation of just 7' feet above sea level
  • Kill Devil Hills is one of the most populated Outer Banks towns with more than 6,700 year-round residents. In the summer months, this population swells to 40,000 or more.
  • Kill Devil Hills borders the Atlantic to the east and the Albemarle Sound to the west
  • The town is also bordered to the west by Colington, a "town within a town" which has primarily year-round residential homes.
  • Nags Head is located south of Kill Devil Hills, and Kitty Hawk is located to the north. The borders between these three towns are almost invisible, as the towns blend into each other with no pause between businesses or residential communities.
  • The majority of chain stores and businesses are found along the 4-lane Beach Bypass, or US Highway 158, which runs through the length of the town.
  • The Beach Road, or NC Highway 12, is the other main route through Kill Devil Hills. It's found along the oceanfront and is also known as Virginia Dare Trail.
  • Kill Devil Hills is most famous as being the "Birthplace of Flight," as the tall soundside dunes are where the Wright Brothers first launched their 1903 glider.
  • While other beach towns "close up shop" for the winter months, Kill Devil Hill's businesses generally stay open year-round to cater to tourists and locals alike.

 

Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar

Welcome to the home of the happy oyster where for over 40 years the oyster has been our world. The Outer Banks only authentic oyster bar is the place to enjoy sensational fare from the sea washed down with your favorite brew or cocktail. We serve by the peck, pound, and dozen, raw or steamed to perfection. Kicked back casual, down to earth friendly staff, and reasonable prices make Awful Arthur’s Oyster Bar the all-time favorite of locals and travelers alike.

The idea wasn’t to set out and establish a new concept restaurant on the Outer Banks, but that’s exactly what Awful Arthur’s owner Jo Whitehead and her late husband, Jay, accomplished more than 35 years ago when they opened the area’s first authentic oyster bar.

 

Awful Arthur’s opened in May 1984 on the Outer Banks. “We embraced the concept of an authentic copper top bar with the idea of it being a major drawing card and it still is,” explains Whitehead. “I get oysters wherever they are local. We follow the warm waters.” 

 

Just across from the ocean, in Kill Devil Hills, oyster season is year-round at Awful Arthur’s. Diners can take a seat at the copper-topped bar to observe the staff shucking oysters, served raw or steamed, along with shrimp, crab legs and clams all steamed to perfection. 

 

It’s not just the raw bar that’s earned Awful Arthur’s both local and national recognition, including being named one of America’s greatest oyster bars by Coastal Living magazine. The restaurant is a seafood-lover’s paradise, offering the freshest catches available.

American Pie

Discover the best homemade ice cream and authentic made-from-scratch New York Style pizza the Outer Banks has to offer at American Pie in Kill Devil Hills. An Outer Banks favorite for lunch, dinner or a delicious scoop of scrumptious ice cream after a day at the beach.

 

It was 1978 when Eddie and Lou Miller first opened Miller’s Seafood and Steakhouse. As a teenager, their son Brian spent his summers working in the restaurant, getting familiar with the family business. After college, Brian and his wife Beth came back to Kill Devil Hills and began working together at Miller’s. Brian and Beth officially purchased the restaurant from Eddie and Lou in 2007. A few years later they opened American Pie together, and both restaurants now carry on the Miller family tradition of quality, excellence and hospitality.

 

“I learned everything about the restaurant business from my parents,” Miller says. “They ran the business together for all those years, and now my wife and I are doing the same. “Throughout the summer, we’re feeding around 2,000 people a day in our two restaurants. It’s a challenge we embrace every season, and we get a lot of fulfillment from making it all work.”

 

The Millers focus on two main specialties: high quality foods and unparalleled service. Seafood at Miller’s is fresh and locally caught, and they serve high-quality Angus beef, fresh pastas and homemade desserts. At American Pie, guests enjoy hand-tossed pizzas and homemade ice cream.

 

“We put a lot of time and effort into ensuring the products we bring in are top-notch,” Miller says. “Our customers know that when they visit our restaurants, they’ll be getting the quality and consistency they’ve come to know and love.”

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