THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996                 TAG: 9607280116
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA  
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   57 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** The Two Sisters Restaurant plans to serve only breakfast and lunch when it opens next month. A story Sunday incorrectly said the restaurant would be open for dinner. Correction published Tuesday, July 30, 1996 on page B3 of the North Carolina Edition of THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT. ***************************************************************** 2 SISTERS GIVE DUCHESS OF DARE A NEW NAME, ANOTHER TASTE OF LIFE

A well-known Roanoke Island restaurant building known as much for its gossip as its grub will reopen its doors.

Best known as The Duchess of Dare, the eatery is scheduled to re-open Aug. 15 under the name Two Sisters.

Regardless of the name, the building has long provided a gathering place for folks from all walks of life, including county politicians, educators, coaches and business people.

Sisters Nancy Wentz and Betsy Whitcraft are Manteo's newest restaurateurs.

``My sister and I have wanted to open a business together for as long as I can remember,'' Whitcraft said. ``We came here on vacation, and saw the place, and it looked like something we could really sink our teeth into.''

Wentz and Whitcraft grew up in Augusta, Ky., a town near the Ohio border best known as the hometown of singer Rosemary Clooney and her nephew, TV heartthrob George Clooney. This is not the sisters' first crack at the restaurant business; they ran St. Elmo's in Carolina Beach.

Initially, Two Sisters will serve only lunch and dinner, with a menu geared to homestyle cooking.

``We want to get that down very well before we expand to dinner,'' Whitcraft said. ``We're going to serve good home cooking - fried chicken, beef stew, greens in season. There are enough fancy-dancy restaurants. We just want to serve good food in a clean place that will put a smile on your face. It's as simple as that, and as complicated as that.''

The restaurant will also serve sweetened, as well as unsweetened tea.

``We figured we're in the South, so we should serve sweetened tea,'' Whitcraft said.

Doris Walker initially opened the Budleigh Street establishment near the downtown waterfront in 1947 as Walker's Diner. The name was later changed to The Duchess of Dare, and Walker became known as the Duchess.

After Walker retired because of ill health, her daughter ran the restaurant until it was sold in 1995. Carol Ann Angelos, owner of the popular beach eatery The Jolly Roger, owned the restaurant until it closed in April because of sagging business.

``We want to be a place that people can count on,'' Whitcraft said. ``We want to make people happy.'' by CNB