LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

RECYCLE REDUCE , REUSE,

f you’re of a certain age, watching the third season of Stranger Things brought back all your mall memories. To create the fictional mall set from the mid-1980s, when the series takes place, the production team built storefronts ranging from Orange Julius to Sam Goody – remember those? Yes, kids, you used to have to get in a car and drive somewhere to buy music.

Workers built the ubiquitous mall in an actual, still-open one in the Atlanta suburbs. Today, however, Gwinnett Place Mall is an example of what’s happened to many of those Reagan-era shopping and hang-out destinations: a nearly empty shell with rows of vacant stores and anemic foot traffic.

There are books, shows and websites dedicated to documenting closed malls featuring apocalyptic-like images of once-bustling food courts and escalators.

But what determines whether these developments descend into dead mall status or not?

Wilmington has seen the same shifts in shopping habits and retailer closures as the rest of the country. But Independence Mall, opened in 1979, has a reprieve for now with its redevelopment plan by Brookfield Properties, which bought the center about two years ago.

Construction is underway in the area that once housed Sears – the struggling retailer closed the Independence Mall store in 2018. Plans are to incorporate lifestyle center elements such as exteriorfacing stores and a grocery store.

Assuming the redevelopment takes place as planned, it won’t look like the mall of our youth, but it also won’t be 1 million square feet of dead space on one of Wilmington’s busiest corridors. (For more insight on these commercial retail space trends, turn to “Talking Shop” on page 22.) Reuse also is being discussed across town where I

a one-time shopping center on South College Road could be on its third life.

Market Place Mall was built in 1989. Its shelf life was extended when New Hanover County’s government bought and renovated it for its offices in 2002, reflecting a national trend around then of adaptive reuse for aging retail spaces that turned them into DMV offices, schools and more.

Now, citing the building’s expensive maintenance and inefficient layout, county officials are working with an outside team to turn the 15 acres into a mixed-use development that includes government offices and private commercial and residential space.

Wilmington still has its share of vacant buildings as markers of the retail industry’s struggles – think Toys “R” Us on Oleander Drive and Kmart on South College. But like any industry undergoing disruption, the key will be transforming and figuring out the next evolution.

Even Orange Julius found a way to hang on; it’s now a fruit smoothie.

VICKY JANOWSKI, EDITOR vjanowski@wilmingtonbiz.com

E R I N COSTA

ERIN COSTA is a Wilmington-based photographer whose work has been featured in publications including WILMA, the Greater Wilmington Business Journal, Rangefinder Magazine and more. A self-proclaimed travel junkie, she specializes in travel, portraits, intimate weddings and editorial work. In this issue, she photographed Pine Valley Market chef/owner Christi Ferretti on PAGE 40.

KEVIN KLEITCHES

KEVIN KLEITCHES is a portrait and commercial photographer and personal branding consultant based in Wilmington. His work can be seen at kevintitusphoto.com. Kleitches photographed several of those representing Leland’s growth for “Welcome to Boom Town” (PAGE 19).

J E S S I C A MAURER

JESSICA MAURER is a chef and writer with degrees from Hartwick College and The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Her column, Restaurant Roundup, appears each week in the Greater Wilmington Business Journal and she is a regular contributor to WILMA and Wilmington Magazine. Maurer talks with Christi Ferretti, of Pine Valley Market, about her career and ties to the area in “Community Chef” on PAGE 40.

C E C E NUNN

CECE NUNN has been writing and editing for more than 20 years, currently working as the assistant editor and real estate reporter for the Greater Wilmington Business Journal. She lives in Wilmington with her husband and two daughters. In addition to editing on this issue, she also details changes to the retail landscape in “Talking Shop” (PAGE 22).

2020 REAL ESTATE ISSUE – $4.95

P u b l i s h e r Rob Kaiser rkaiser@wilmingtonbiz.com

P r e s i d e n t Robert Preville rpreville@wilmingtonbiz.com

A s s o c i t e P u b l i s h e r Judy Budd jbudd@wilmingtonbiz.com

E d i t o r Vicky Janowski vjanowski@wilmingtonbiz.com

A s s i s t n t E d i t o r Cece Nunn cnunn@wilmingtonbiz.com

Re o r t e r s Johanna Cano jcano@wilmingtonbiz.com Christina Haley O'Neal chaley@wilmingtonbiz.com

V P o f S l e s /B u s i n e s s D e e l o m e n t Melissa Pressley mpressley@wilmingtonbiz.com

S e n i o r A c c o u n t E x e c u t i e Craig Snow csnow@wilmingtonbiz.com

A c c o u n t E x e c u t i e s Meghan Adams madams@wilmingtonbiz.com Ali Buckley abuckley@wilmingtonbiz.com Brittney Keen bkeen@wilmingtonbiz.com

B u s i n e s s M n g e r Nancy Proper nproper@wilmingtonbiz.com

E e n t s D i r e c t o r Maggi Apel mapel@wilmingtonbiz.com

E e n t s /D i g i t l A s s i s t n t Elizabeth Stelzenmuller estelz@wilmingtonbiz.com

D e s i g n & M e d i C o o r d i n t o r Molly Jacques production@wilmingtonbiz.com

C o n t e n t M r k e t i n g C o o r d i n t o r Morgan Mattox mmattox@wilmingtonbiz.com

C o n t r i b u t i n g D e s i g n e r Suzi Drake art@wilmingtonbiz.com

C o n t r i b u t i n g P h o t o g r h e r s Erin Costa, Melissa Hebert, Kevin Kleitches, Michael Cline Spencer

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B i zB i t e s

SOUND OFF | BEHIND THE NUMBERS | THE DIGEST

| C-SUITE CONVO

ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRITS End of Days Distillery is housed in a WWII-era Quonset hut where copperbellied stills concoct rum, vodka, gin and whiskey. Shane and Beth Faulkner opened the 4,800-square-foot distillery in February. The new Castle Street establishment houses a full cocktail bar, lounge, tasting room and event space. “We’ve been able to restore the building and make it a functional, as well as an artful, space,” said Oliver Earney, End of Days’ special events coordinator and lounge manager.

photo by MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER