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This is a sampling of stories from the Business Journal’s weekly Restaurant Roundup email. Subscribe at wilmingtonbiz.com.

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Bottle shop, bar opens in downtown Wilmington

The Hop Yard, a Raleigh-based bottle shop and bar, has opened a second location, at 108 Grace St. in Wilmington in the space previously occupied by Bombers Beverage Co.

Owners Susan Barnes and her husband, Christian Stoner, along with partner Lance Rogers, opened their first location in North Raleigh about six years ago.

Barnes and Stoner own property in Wilmington and have been contemplating opening a location here for some time. When Bombers became available last year, despite concerns over opening a new business during a global pandemic, the team decided to move forward with a second shop.

Barnes said she and her partners are trusting in the fact that they have a strong business model and the consistent growth and development Wilmington has experienced over the past several years.

The Hop Yard features 24 taps, with four reserved for wine. It currently has over 200 beers available in bottles and cans, and expects that to double in the coming weeks.

Barnes said she and her partners plan to have a wide range of styles available and to promote small, lesser-known breweries.

They also plan to bring in beer from breweries they have worked with in the Triangle and Rocky Mount areas, as well as local Wilmington breweries. There will be alcoholic kombucha, ciders and wine by the bottle, as well as non-alcoholic selections.

Seafood eatery brings a taste of Louisiana

Carolina Crab House opened its third location, at 341 South College Road in Wilmington in the University Commons Shopping Center.

Jerri Allen, director of operations, said the opening, which took place Dec. 31, had been delayed by about five months because of setbacks in construction and other issues stemming from the pandemic.

The group, which specializes in Cajun-style boiled seafood, opened their first location in North Charleston, South Carolina, in 2017 and, according to Allen, has experienced tremendous growth over the past three years.

A fourth location opened recently in Summerville, South Carolina, and a Fayetteville location is expected to open by the end of the year.

The menu consists of a wide range of fried and boiled seafood available in baskets and as combo platters. There are 10 Juicy Seafood Signature Combos served with corn and potatoes, as well as an option to create your own combo with a choice of one half pound of seafood, a piece of corn and potatoes.

Each of the boils comes with a choice of sauce: garlic butter, lemon pepper or Cajun, or for the adventurous, the house sauce, which is a combination of all three.

Guests can also choose their desired level of spice.

Pine Valley Market expands its prepared food

Pine Valley Market has been in the prepared foods and catering business for nearly 20 years, and co-owner Christi Ferretti reports that in 2020, the market’s prepared foods department saw a greater than 20% increase in sales.

Much of that can be attributed to the market’s regular frozen casseroles, but also an expanded menu that has included quiche, sausage gravy, cobblers and other comfort foods.

“Our frozen prepared meals are quality, scratch-made dishes that freeze well and can be baked from frozen or thawed for faster heating,” Ferretti said.

After a short break at the start of the new year for some remodeling and to strategize for 2021, Ferretti and her team are excited to begin offering a revolving list of fresh meals each day. A portion of the meals that normally go straight to the freezer each day will be packaged for the heat-and-eat case.

“This increases our daily selection and offers less time between the ride home and dinner on the table,” Ferretti said. “To make casseroles at home costs more money and also takes time, which is priceless to many.” -Jessica Maurer

| BUSINESS OF LIFE |

Co-op could help feed city’s Northside

BY TERESA MCLAMB

Downtown Wilmington is often referred to as a food desert, but the Northside in particular has been the focus of efforts to address food insecurity. An on-again, off-again 30-year conversation finally has traction with the Northside Food Co-op, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing a grocery cooperative to life within three years.

“Three years ago, I was at the table with others planning to bring a grocery store to this side of town,” said Northside native Cedric Harrison. “We were also thinking about how to make it equitable and not just a store that comes in and charges high prices.

“We wanted to build a store to serve the people who live there, to have a community presence and ownership, and also have a place where they can access healthy food options and education for more resources they need. A food co-op seemed to be the best route.”

Voted in as president of the nine-member board of directors, Harrison said he expects a pilot program to be up and running by the end of the year. The board also includes Jordyn Appel, Genna Wirth, Frankie Roberts, Joe Conway, Joe Finley, Keith Rhodes, Lauren Hurley and Scott Whisnant.

Born and raised in public housing on the Northside (which runs broadly from Market Street toward Castle Hayne Road and Water Street to about North 30th), Harrison moved away for a while but was drawn back to the city. He became involved with the Northside Health and Wellbeing Committee, which in 2018 did an extensive assessment of health and safety conditions in the area. Food insecurity and its effects on residents was among the troubling outcomes.

With community involvement from individuals to institutions such as New Hanover Regional Medical Center and UNCW, the study helped to guide the direction of the resulting nonprofit.

“We hope to increase life expectancy and help folks to make better choices of health decisions,” Harrison said of the decision that a food cooperative would bring badly needed resources to the community. Making nutritious food available is just part of the plan. A dietician will be available to residents on-site, he said. The co-op is envisioned as a centralized point for education and assistance supported by a multitude of community talents and resources.

Involved with the idea since 2003, Evan Folds consults with the group as a project manager. A trained biologist, Folds says his passion is to establish regenerative food systems. “[The co-op] cuts straight to the heart of that,” he said.

Since incorporating as a nonprofit in March, the board has completed its bylaws and is in dialogue with several organizations about support. The first patron share was sold in December. Lifetime membership is $100, and 189 shares had been sold by mid-January, Folds reported.

One of the greatest challenges to this early effort has been educating potential members on what a co-op is, Folds said.

“People think, ‘Oh, it’s a business that wants to be cooperative,’” he quipped. “Literally it’s a different style of business. Chapter 54, Subchapter 4 of North Carolina law covers it. It demands a board of directors and a one-person, one-share posture.”

Tidal Creek Food Co-op is the closest example in New Hanover County. Members pay $40 per year and get member-only pricing on some items, similar to a retail grocery’s loyalty rewards program. Tidal Creek’s genesis was in response to the desire for organic foods; Northside is more about access to fresh foods.

In Brunswick County, two of the largest employers are Brunswick Electric Membership Corp. and Atlantic Telephone Membership Corp., both several decades old. Electric coops, in particular, are common in the state. All operate on the premise of one share and one vote per member. No one can buy multiple shares.

“It is literally community owned,” Folds said.

He said he hopes to reach 300 members shortly to demonstrate to banks and investors that there is wide community support. He’s also in conversations with community leaders about the value the co-op can bring to residents and the municipal government.

“There’s a challenge of having people in underserved communities come to terms with ownership,” Folds noted.

A parallel concern is determining how to communicate with a segment of the population that may not have ready access to the internet.

For Harrison, one of the biggest challenges is to not overpromise and under-deliver.

“Our main goal is to make it where we don’t come in and take advantage of the community. We want to make prices affordable. We don’t want to tell people what to eat, but to provide them with options of things they can eat and more education about what to eat to increase life expectancy,” he said.

He said he hopes residents will invest in the idea.

While Harrison notes the final project will be two or three years in the making, the group has a temporary building at 11th and Princess streets from which a pilot will be launched.

He describes the pilot as being less fancy than the hoped-for permanent grocery, but operational.

“The pilot is us building the infrastructure and using that facility as a market study to go into the full term,” Harrison said. “We’re taking risks so we’re taking notes.”

PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER Food force: Frankie Roberts (from left), a member of the Northside Food Co-op Board of Directors, and Even Folds, project manager, are shown at Princess and 11th streets, potential site for a pilot community-owned cooperative grocery store.

It’s a Remarkable New Day.

NHRMC is now part of the Novant Health family.

The future is bright here in Southeastern North Carolina. The partnership of Novant Health and New Hanover Regional Medical Center means more convenient and affordable care for those who need it most. It also means even more access to the latest technology and clinical trials for earlier detection and faster recovery so you can live your best life. We may be in a pandemic, but we just got great news about our region’s healthcare. Now that’s a remarkable new day.

NovantHealth.org/NHRMC