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RESTAURANT ROUNDUP

BUSINESS OF LIFE

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

MeMa’s in Burgaw aims to save development project

Myra and James McDuffie, owners of MeMa’s Chick’n’ & Ribs in Burgaw, celebrated the official launch of their fundraising campaign in partnership with Genesis Block and Folla Capital, and Hipp Architecture & Development, the week of March 8.

The event, hosted by Genesis Block, kicked off a community funding campaign for the multi-million dollar development of The Creek Shopping Center, which will be on N.C. 53 in Pender County.

The center’s first building will house MeMa’s new location, planned to include three event spaces, an outdoor dining area, a commissary kitchen and manufacturing facility for the company’s signature barbecue sauce, and a retail store featuring MeMa’s and other locally made products.

The McDuffies purchased the land upon which the center will be developed in 2019 and secured funding for the first phase of the shopping center’s development in early 2020, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the bank that had approved their loan eventually withdrew $800,000 in funding.

Following a referral from Gloria Monroe of the Small Business and Technology Development Center at UNCW, the McDuffies reached out to Genesis Block, a Wilmington-based nonprofit founded by Girard and Tracey Newkirk that provides business development services for minority-owned businesses.

“We attended an open house at Genesis Block and discussed with Girard and Tracey how a partnership might work,” Myra McDuffie said. “We’re very grateful because without their help we might be at a standstill or may have lost the land all together.”

SeaWitch Cafe brings back brunch service

The SeaWitch Cafe & Tiki Bar in Carolina Beach is gearing up for the summer season and relaunching Sunday brunch service after a 2020 hiatus.

Owners Jenni Pietch and Alex Gilewicz had to scale back on pretty much everything last year in light of the pandemic. Brunch service was cut, the menu was pared down to avoid waste and there was a shift toward meals designed for carryout, something the restaurant had never focused on previously.

But now brunch is once again being served on Sundays with live music and $5 bloody marys and mimosas.

The menu features several traditional breakfast and brunch items such as pancakes, biscuits and gravy, a crab benedict and breakfast quesadillas and sandwiches.

The SeaWitch is located at 227 Carolina Beach Avenue N.

Mediterranean restaurant launches new menu items

Bahaa Ibrahim recently celebrated the first anniversary of his eatery, Sofra Modern Mediterranean, with the launch of some new menu items and expanded catering offerings.

Ibrahim admits that opening the week that everything was shutting down last March and trying to get his restaurant up and going during COVID-19 has been a challenge he never anticipated.

“We’ve had some good days and some not so good,” Ibrahim said. “There were some days I didn’t think I was going to be here a year later, but I’m glad I’m still here.”

Sofra carries a wide range of Mediterranean specialties including kabobs, beef and lamb kofta, chicken and beef shawarma, falafel, stuffed grape leaves and several types of salads such as tabbouleh, lentil, chickpea and a traditional Greek salad.

“We’re always rotating in new salads,” Ibrahim said. “We recently started serving a Moroccan eggplant salad that has some flavors similar to baba ghanouj. We have a grape salad and a new beet salad coming out as well.”

While Sofra has been serving up hearty soups throughout the winter, they will soon shift to cold soups such as gazpacho and a chilled cucumber soup. There are also two new flavored hummus options – cilantro jalapeno and chili garlic, as well as karkade, a hibiscus iced tea flavored with lemon, ginger and cloves and served in a mason jar.

Sofra Modern Mediterranean is located at 5709 Oleander Drive. -Jessica Maurer

| BUSINESS OF LIFE |

Worn by COVID, clothing firms pick up

BY JENNY CALLISON

During a year of going almost nowhere, most people in the Cape Fear region found their clothing could be simple and informal. Galas went online; special events were canceled; Zoom meetings required attendees to look good only from the waist up.

The combo depressed the market for two industries: formal wear and dry cleaning.

After hanging on for months with little demand for wedding, prom and party attire, Cape Fear Formal Wear owners Jason Sellars and Chuck Ogiba sold the business last month to one of their suppliers, George Hanna. Hanna, who owns Bernard’s Formalwear in Durham, saw opportunity despite the downturn.

“We at Bernard’s were the main suppliers for Jason,” Hanna said. “He used our warehouse. We’re sad to see him go but think Wilmington has great potential for us. I am a North Carolina native and used to come to the beach growing up.”

Bernard’s has used a variety of strategies to survive the near-lack of business during the past year, according to Hanna.

“We did what we could with reduced, micro- and streamed weddings,” he said. “We relied on those to keep us going. We tried everything we could to make ourselves available, but we had to shut down for several months. When we came back, we came back with reduced hours and required customers to make appointments rather than walk in.”

The business also tried to control its expenses, and obtained both a Paycheck Protection Program loan and an SBA Economic Disaster Loan, which allowed it to keep paying its staff.

Spring is typically wedding and prom season, but last spring was a bust, Hanna said.

“People were shocked at how aggressive COVID was. We shut down for a couple of months. But [over the past year] people have learned how to have events safely. There are more socially distanced events, more events with masks, so people can still celebrate while staying safe.”

With the proliferation of outdoor events, Hanna said his businesses were marketing to that trend.

“It’s definitely been a challenging year but we’re coming through it, and we see recovery on the horizon,” Hanna said.

Also looking at a brightening future is Theresa DiBernardo. The owner of The Dressing Room in Wilmington says that business is definitely picking up, although she has continued to sell wedding gowns and bridal party dresses through the pandemic.

“Weddings were still happening, but they were smaller,” DiBernardo said, adding that that reality may have played into her shop’s niche.

“All the dresses in my shop are below $1,000; the average is between $200 and $600,” she said. “So, with smaller weddings, brides don’t really want to spend as much on a dress, maybe.”

And the phone is starting to ring more often at Cape Fear Formal Wear and Bernard’s.

“Summer’s looking good; fall is starting to look good as well,” Hanna said. “Even for late spring, like May and June, we’re getting some orders. Tuxedo and suit rentals are usually more toward the end of people’s to-do list, so we’ll see a lot more fall reservations coming this summer. I’ve talked to some event spaces and they are optimistic about summer and fall; they are already starting to fill up.”

For dry cleaning establishments also, the return of formal occasions would drive an uptick in their business, as would the return of white-collar workers to their offices, leaving their sweatpants at home. Before the pandemic, dry cleaning was already seeing a decline because of a trend toward more casual attire in the workplace and the advent of easy-care fabrics.

Bloomberg reported Nov. 25 that, of the roughly 30,000 dry cleaning companies in the U.S. before the pandemic, one in six had declared bankruptcy.

Hangers Williams Dry Cleaners, which formerly maintained seven locations in New Hanover County, is down to three, according to co-owner Lori Williams, who’s currently managing operations along with her brother-in-law.

“Some customers who use us on a regular basis and could afford it started bringing in household [linens] for cleaning. They kept us alive,” Williams said. “We kept our pickup and delivery service, although that dwindled. We cut our hours way back and reduced our production to once a week. One of our stores that did church business saw that dwindle to nothing.”

The family-owned business, in Wilmington since 1941, also received a PPP loan last spring; Williams said in late March she was still considering applying for a second draw loan.

“I was hesitant about doing it at all, but you do what you have to do,” she said.

Things are looking up. Williams sees an increase in walk-in customers and in route pickups. The volume of work is on the rise.

“We do all the high school JROTC uniforms, and with the film activity picking up, we’re doing their wardrobe and their linens. We just got an order for cleaning jump suits from the Department of Corrections.”

At this point, however, Hangers Williams doesn’t plan to reopen its closed locations, Williams said. “We’ve sold those four buildings, but we could eventually reopen in different facilities in those areas. We hope things will continue to improve.”

PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER Suiting up: George Hanna recently bought Cape Fear Formal Wear. Hanna, who owns Bernard’s Formalwear in Durham, says he is seeing demand increasing as more events and weddings come back online.

THE NEW NEW NORMAL

One take on COVID-19’s impact is it will accelerate existing trends by 10 years. For the first Power Breakfast of 2021, we’ll look at this on the local level from several angles as well as equity efforts underway in our region since the George Floyd-related protests. The Power Breakfast will include four TED-style talks and one panel discussion…

CHARLES BONEY ON THE FUTURE OF BUILDING

The architect and principal at LS3P will talk about how more than a year of virtual meetings, classrooms and doctor visits will change the way we design and build new facilities.

LISA LEATH ON SHIFTING WILMINGTON’S TRADITIONAL WAYS

Leath, an HR professional, will talk about how Wilmington employers can become more agile and forward-thinking as talent seeks remote or hybrid workplaces. HOLLY CHILDS ON TRANSFORMING OUR DOWNTOWN

The new leader of Wilmington Downtown, Inc. will talk about new initiatives underway to both attract and retain a diverse, dynamic and well-educated workforce. CHARLES FOUST ON LEADING THE WAY IN THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

The Superintendent of New Hanover County Schools will talk about his vision for boosting reading levels, academic achievement and graduation rates.

HUNTLEY GARRIOTT, BILL SAFFO AND LINDA THOMPSON ON RISING TOGETHER

Live Oak Bank’s President, Wilmington’s Mayor and New Hanover County’s Chief Diversity & Equity Officer will talk about local efforts since the George Floyd-related protests.

Watch the Power Breakfast live at 8 a.m. on April 13

WATCH LIVE ON · The Business Journal’s Facebook page · GTV8 (Spectrum channel 8) · The City of Wilmington’s website · The City of Wilmington’s YouTube page

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Due to COVID-19 restrictions, in-person attendance will be limited to sponsors, but the Power Breakfast will also be broadcast so the entire community can tune in. To learn about becoming a Power Breakfast sponsor, contact Maggi Apel at (910) 343-8600 x203 or mapel@wilmingtonbiz.com.