Greater Wilmington Business Journal - Sept. 4 Issue by Greater Wilmington Business Journal / WILMA magazine

Sweet start

Bakery fills dessert niche Page 19

September 4 - 7, 2020 Vol. 21, No. 17

$2.00

wilmingtonbiz.com

WEB EXCLUSIVE Retail roundup

Checking on shopping centers wilmingtonbiz.com

WOMEN IN BUSINESS SPECIAL FOCUS

PAGE

HOME GROWN: Annah Norris creates homebuilding firm

PATIENT EXEC: PPD’s Rhonda Henry finds solutions BY THE NUMBERS: Clients count on Tammika Brown

Index Health Care ........................................4-5 The List .................................................. 6 Banking & Finance ................................ 7 Real Estate ............................................ 8 Economic Development.................. 12-13 In Profile...............................................14 Business of Life.............................. 18-19

SUBSCRIBE NOW SUBSCRIBE TO THE BUSINESS JOURNAL NOW AT WilmingtonBiz.com/subscribe Your subscription includes: • Unlimited access to stories on WilmingtonBiz.com • Bimonthly Business Journals, quarterly WilmingtonBiz Magazine and the 2021 Book on Business mailed to your office or home in January • At least 20 extra IQ points with your added business knowledge!

ILLUSTRATION BY MARK WEBER

WHERE WILL THE MONEY FLOW?

QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT HOW HOSPITAL WINDFALL MIGHT BE USED, WHO CONTROLS IT

BY VICKY JANOWSKI

s details are being finalized on the expected contract to sell New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health, another major issue could be decided next month. Where will the money from the sale go? How will it be spent? Who will be in charge of it? Those are the nearly $2 billion questions. Unless things drastically change in the coming weeks, a majority of New Hanover County commissioners and hospital trustees are expected to approve selling the county-owned hospital to the

Winston-Salem-based, not-for-profit health system when it’s time to vote on the deal’s definitive agreement. In July, county commissioners and hospital trustees voted to allow negotiations on a legally binding agreement with Novant, which also owns the hospital in Brunswick County as well as physician practices there. The move came after a year of discussion about potentially selling NHRMC and the zeroing in on Novant from six partnership proposals submitted from health systems interested in New Hanover Regional. The July vote approved a nonbinding letter of intent, the latest

See FLOW, page 10

Page 2

September 4 - 17, 2020

wilmingtonbiz.com

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

Imagine better C A R E

T H R O U G H

I N N O V A T I O N

We know that harnessing the power of technology, data, artificial intelligence and the boundless creativity of a remarkable team can transform patient care. This partnership will offer innovations that will revolutionize healthcare in southeastern North Carolina, including: • Leveraging tools to quickly diagnose, treat and improve outcomes for stroke, breast cancer and heart failure patients • More access to care with video visits and evisits, home care devices and access to your health record from anywhere • Engaging patients in our technology and innovation process with more than 7,500 people routinely providing input and helping to pilot technology

Discover what our innovation can do for you Visit NovantHealth.org/imaginebetter

ECA622121a

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

September 4 - 17, 2020

Page 3

| FROM WILMINGTONBIZ.COM | This is a sampling of stories from the Business Journal’s Daily Update. Subscribe at wilmingtonbiz.com.

Planned facility would aid in creation of jobs (Aug. 27) Live Oak Bank Chairman and CEO Chip Mahan said plans are in the works to create a downtown Wilmington building for the purpose of creating jobs and growing businesses. In a video interview posted online with Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo, the discussion between Mahan and Saffo turned toward economic pathways to addressing recent social justice issues. Mahan’s Wilmington-headquartered Live Oak (Nasdaq: LOB) is one of the largest SBA lenders in the U.S. The project would involve a building or campus in the general area of downtown Wilmington that would include Live Oak officials and others, Mahan said. Mahan elaborated on the plan for the building, saying, “We’re going to build a building, and we’re going to house it with people that know and understand how to operate business-

es, how to finance businesses either on the equity side or the debt side.” -Cece Nunn

New Hanover offers to assist with childcare (Aug. 19) New Hanover County residents who have child care needs caused or increased by the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for financial aid. The county announced recently it has allocated $1.3 million for child care and housing assistance. The pool of money comes from the N.C. General Assembly, which in May appropriated $300 million to a coronavirus relief effort. Families must meet three criteria to qualify for the COVID-19 Child Care Assistance Program: Their children must be between 3 and 12, they must prove that their child care needs result from COVID-19 measures, and their household income must fall within 300% of the federal poverty level.

Broadband contracts go to local firms (Aug. 20) Two area broadband providers have received contracts to expand

high-speed internet service to five rural counties in Eastern North Carolina, N.C. Governor Roy Cooper’s office announced in August. Wilmington-based CloudWyze Inc. and Shallotte-based Atlantic Telephone Membership Corp. (ATMC) are among the recipients of more than $12 million in GREAT (Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology) grants from the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Broadband Infrastructure Office. Cloudwyze was awarded grants totaling more than $3 million to expand broadband access in Edgecombe, Martin and Nash counties. The company, however, will need to provide a match of slightly more than $3 million in cash and in-kind resources for the three projects. Through a 2018 $2 million contract with the Nash County Board of Commissioners, Cloudwyze has already provided some fixed wireless access in the county by installing equipment on four towers. That work is almost complete, according to company CEO Shaun Olsen. - Jenny Callison

TOP-READ STORIES ONLINE Here are the most popular stories for August 21 - 30 from the Business Journal’s website. 1. Oak Island motel changes hands 2. After months of closure, Planet Fitness now among area's open gyms 3. Live Oak chief: Downtown project could help create jobs, boost businesses 4. Event business owners buy Brooklyn Arts Center property 5. Hoping for the next phase 6. O2 Fitness plan to reopen facilities hits a wall 7. Checking in on Wilmington retail centers 8. Local museums fear closure 9. Gyms differ on approaches to opening facilities 10. A home office with a beach view To read more, go to wilmingtonbiz.com

FIRST TIME DEVELOPER OFFERING

Premier Homesites

46 HOMESITES FOR SALE, AVERAGING $237K & .77 ACRES PER SITE

in Landfall

Visit Landfall.PrestonDev.com or call (919) 481-3000

Page 4

September 4 - 17, 2020

wilmingtonbiz.com

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

| HEALTH CARE |

Service offers medical care flexibility

JANOWSKI

practice-branded joint operating models around the U.S. and is in 11 markets, according to the firm. Together, Agilon and Wilmington Health are responsible for all of the costs assisted with the patients assigned to the practice under the program, Wilmington Health CEO Jeff James said. “We get a percentage of the premium dollar,” he said. “We’re not technically an insurance company, but it does shift the burden to us. “It provides significant flexibility in caring for our patients,” James added. “There’s multiple new programs that we could take advantage of as well as redesigning some of our relationships with some of the other providers that work with us.” For participants, it means each patient is attached to a personal physician who leads a team of providers that follows the person’s care in a coordinated way, instead of treating a patient’s needs as they come up. It’s a similar approach to how accountable care organizations developed in which the federal govern-

ment gives participating providers incentives for improving overall health measures while containing costs through coordinated care. But unlike with ACOs (both Wilmington Health and NHRMC have them), in which it can be difficult to know whether providers will hit the benchmarks to receive shared savings money back, “this model, we know what the resources are,” said David Schultz, Anchor's medical director. “In this model, the physicians have a 360-degree view of the health care of a patient,” Schultz said. “Those are kind of the ways from a physician point of view that we can provide really good care to patients, and that ends up being a good financial model for us.” He said it gives more control to physicians. “That’s the interesting thing about it to me, is that it gives physicians a whole bunch of ability to do things for our patients that we couldn’t do in fee-for-service,” Schultz said, “where we kind of feel knocked

around by insurance companies.” While Wilmington Health launched the program earlier this year, James said they spent much of that time getting the infrastructure in place. “We really expect the first year of growth to be next year – 2021 – and this year to be more of an operationalization of our plan,” he said. They anticipate having about 6,000 patients enrolled by the end of this year and close to 10,000 patients next year, Schultz said. To fall under Anchor Senior Care Advantage, patients have to be enrolled in a participating Medicare Advantage plan and sign up to pick one of Wilmington Health’s primary care physicians to oversee their care. The Medicare Advantage insurer also could assign patients to the program. James said they partnered with Agilon after seeing the work it was doing with independent physician groups in other parts of the country. “We were able to look at the successes that they were having in modeling our own program,” he said.

WHY JOIN T H E C H A M B E R? E N GAG E . I N F LU E N C E . I M PAC T. T h e Wi l m i n g t o n C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e b r i n g s y o u i n n o v a t i v e m e m b e r b e n e f i t s a n d p r o g r a m s t h a t c a n m a ke t h e m o s t o f y o u r m a r ke t i n g d o l l a r a n d p r o v i d e m e a s u r a b l e r e t u r n s . We ’ r e h e r e t o h e l p y o u e n g a g e , i n f l u e n c e , a n d m a ke a n i m p a c t u s i n g d y n a m i c p r o g r a m s , s e r v i c e s , a n d i n i t i a t i v e s d e s i g n e d with your busines success in mind.

ADVOCACY BE IN THE KNOW

CREDIBLITY

NETWORKING

VISIBILITY

MARKETING

DISCOUNTS EDUCATION

w w w.w i l m i n g t o n c h a m b e r.o r g

ilmington Health is taking a step outside of the traditional provider role of treating patients and being reimbursed by insurance companies or the government for those visits. The group this VICKY year launched a service that puts them closer to the payer end. Wilmington Health’s Anchor Senior Care Advantage is administered by the physician group partnership. The value-based program focuses on Medicare Advantage patients, with the benefits Medicare patients look for when they sign up for additional coverage through an insurer, but with coordinated care offered by Wilmington Health. The physician group is working on it with California-based Agilon Health, which has set up similar

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

September 4 - 17, 2020

Page 5

| HEALTH CARE | “What it does is it takes the core competencies that we’ve been working on for a decade now very successfully, and sort of provides some professional guidance in this one area, which is Medicare Advantage.” Limitations because of the coronavirus hampered more in-person market events to explain the new program to area seniors, though the group has online information sessions about Medicare coming up through its website. They also are planning to publish a 2021 calendar stemming from a 60 Strong Ambassadors contest that Anchor Senior Care Advantage held recently to spotlight local seniors picked for their achievements and impact on the region. To see the winners go to anchorseniorcareadvantage.com/contest.

NHRMC moves to limited visitation On Aug. 25, New Hanover Regional Medical Center eased some of its visitor restrictions that have been in place since March when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted extra precautions. NHRMC is now allowing hospi-

talized patients to have one person over the age of 18 to visit the patient between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The designated person is the only permitted visitor during the patient’s stay, said officials, adding that anyone who is over the age of 65, pregnant or immunocompromised is discouraged from visiting. Visitors are screened at designated entrances, and anyone with symptoms associated with COVID-19 cannot enter. Visitors are required to wear a mask, wash their hands often and practice social distancing by staying 6 feet away from others. Specific areas, such as Betty H. Cameron Women’s & Children’s Hospital and emergency departments, have their own visiting procedures and protocols. Pender Memorial Hospital continues to not allow visitation right now, except in special circumstances, officials said.

Practice launches in-office cataract surgery Surgical Eye Care recently expanded its services to offer office-based cataract surgery. Surgeon Dax Hawkins performed that procedure this summer for

the first time for the practice, in an in-office procedure room outfitted for advanced cataract surgery. “We knew we had to do something to help patients receive the sight restoring surgery they need, especially when our usual outpatient surgery centers have cut available surgery slots in half as a result of the COVID-19 crisis,” Hawkins said in a news release. Surgical Eye Care addressed new COVID-19 safety needs through office upgrades, installing three additional air filtration systems that purify the air with a UV-type C light, an ozone generator and an ion generator, the release stated. Each room in the practice also has a UV-C light that helps purify the room. “We appreciate all the hard work that has gone into allowing Surgical Eye Care to be able to offer the latest concept in advanced cataract surgery performed in a safe atmosphere,” said surgeon Alan Brown in the release.

Delaney partners up on health outreach Delaney Radiology recently announced that is partnering with

the educational initiative What’s Normal? What’s Not? to provide free breast health education. Joy Wade, local certified selfbreast exam instructor and founder of What’s Normal? What’s Not?, is working with Delaney to expand the initiative of personal health advocacy, according to a news release. “I have worked personally with Joy for years, and her passion for Women’s Health is contagious,” Adam Braithwaite, director of breast imaging at Delaney Radiology, said in the release. “She is a force in the community, and I am excited to team up with her in promoting free breast health education. It is crucial to be your own self advocate when it comes to your health.” The joint effort includes workshops on Delaney’s social media and a relaunch of in-person with COVID-19 precautions. “The collaboration between What’s Normal? What’s Not? and Delaney Radiology will be an asset to our community,” Wade said. “At just one location, the community can receive life-saving information and self-breast exam instruction at a nationally accredited Breast Imaging Center of Excellence."

Page 6

September 4 - 17, 2020

wilmingtonbiz.com

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

| THE LIST |

Banks

Ranked by amount of in-market deposits RANK

BANK

LOCAL ADDRESS PHONE WEBSITE 1741 Tiburon Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 790-5867 www.liveoakbank.com 101 N. Third St. Wilmington, NC 28401 815-2700 www.bbt.com

NO. OF LOCAL FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

TOP LOCAL OFFICIAL YEAR LOCALLY FOUNDED

459

James "Chip" Mahan Chairman and CEO 2008

$166.4 billion

200

Charlie Mattox Market President 1984

IN-MARKET SHARE

IN-MARKET DEPOSITS

OUT-OF-MARKET DEPOSITS NO. OF LOCAL OFFICES

33.04%

$3.7 billion

17.68%

$2.0 billion

Live Oak Bank*

BB&T**

Wells Fargo

300 N. Third St. Wilmington, NC 28401 342-2040 www.wellsfargo.com

10.19%

$1.2 billion

$1.3 trillion

190

Thomas Cline Regional Bank Manager 2008

First Citizens

315 Market Street Wilmington, NC 28401 792-6650 www.firstcitizens.com

9.20%

$1.0 billion

$31.7 billion

Ben Woodruff Area Vice President 1960

Bank of America

3305 Oleander Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 (888) 852-5000 www.bankofamerica.com

7.17%

$811.5 million

$1.4 trillion

130

Derek Cohen Market President 1934

201 Market St. Wilmington, NC 28401 343-0181 localfirstbank.com

3.99%

$451.5 million

$4.4 billion

140

J. Bradford Mickle Dawn Carter Regional President Area Executive 2008 Spence Broadhurst Regional President, Eastern North Carolina 2017

First Bank

First National Bank

1508 Military Cutoff Road, Suite 100 Wilmington, NC 28403 (800) 555-5455 www.fnb-online.com

3.65%

$413.1 million

$23.6 billion

N/A

PNC Bank

1404 Commonwealth Drive, Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 256-1309 www.pnc.com

3.55%

$401.7 million

$269.0 billion

Chris George Region Manager 1990

SunTrust Bank**

6818 Parker Farm Drive Wilmington, NC 28405 839-6400 www.suntrustbank.com

2.77%

$313.6 million

$162.2 billion

Sandra Spiers Senior Vice President, Middle Market Banker 2005

South State Bank

1117 Military Cutoff Road Wilmington, NC 28405 509-2000 www.southstatebank.com

2.60%

$294.2 million

$11.6 billion

Jay Lasater Wilmington Region President 2007

CresCom Bank***

115 N. Third St. Wilmington, NC 28401 726-1521 www.bankwithunited.com

1.75%

$198.2 million

$2.6 billion

TD Bank

802 S. College Road Wilmington, NC 28403 792-0131 www.tdbank.com

1.35%

$153.1 million

$258.4 billion

North State Bank

1411 Commonwealth Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 509-0400 www.northstatebank.com

1.07%

$121.0 million

$714.7 million

Sabrina Sells Market President and Senior VP 2006

Bank OZK

1105 Military Cutoff Road Wilmington, NC 28405 509-5757 www.bankozarks.com

0.93%

$105.5 million

$18.1 billion

Cathy Williams Branch Manager 2007

Select Bank & Trust

1001 Military Cutoff Road, Suite 100 Wilmington, NC 28405 679-4570 www.selectbank.com

0.41%

$46.0 million

$1.0 billion

W. Keith Betts, Chief Banking Officer John Franck, Region Executive 2015

Southern Bank and Trust

6752 Rock Spring Road Wilmington, NC 28405 256-3657 https://www.southernbank.com/

0.17%

$18.9 million

$2.4 billion

Paul McCombie Cape Fear Market Executive 2016

Dogwood State Bank

1131 C Military Cutoff Road Wilmington, NC 28405 239-9548 www.dogwoodstatebank.com

0.16%

$18.6 million

$235.2 million

Mark Johnson Sr. VP/New Hanover County Market Executive 2015

Aquesta Bank

901 Military Cutoff Road Wilmington, NC 28405 782-3830 www.aquesta.com

0.16%

$17.6 million

$357.9 million

Rick Hunt City Executive Senior Vice President 2014

Woodforest National Bank

1112 New Point Blvd. Leland, NC 28451 371-3482 www.woodforest.com

0.07%

$7.6 million

$5.8 billion

N/A

Charles Pelfrey Assistant VP and Regional Manager 2007

Union Bank

1427 Military Cutoff Road, Suite 210 Wilmington, NC 28403 509-7477 www.unionbanknc.com

0.05%

$5.7 million

$638.3 million

Jon Joyner Market Executive 2014

FSNB, NA

5226 Sigmon Road Wilmington, NC 28403 392-4775 www.fsnb.com

0.04%

$4.2 million

$304.4 million

Derek Delahunty Regional Manager 2001

Marshall Cooper J.L. Bunch SVP | Market President Wilmington Exec./Senior VPs 2014 Kate Horney Larry Nicholson Retail Market Manager Commercial Market Manager 1985

List is based on voluntary responses to a Business Journal survey and information from the FDIC’s annual report, which shows deposit totals as of June 30, 2019. *Live Oak operates digitally, lending money and providing deposit services to customers nationwide. But those deposits are shown as “in-market” because the bank has only one location – in Wilmington. **BB&T and SunTrust merged in December to form Truist; numbers reflect pre-merger data.***CresCom merged in May 2020 with United Bank. Numbers reflect pre-merger data.

Want to be considered for The List? Request an industry survey by emailing lists@wilmingtonbiz.com. The Business Journal will feature the following lists in upcoming publications: Catering Companies • Advertising & PR Firms

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

September 4 - 17, 2020

Page 7

| BANKING & FINANCE |

Experts offer small business tips

mall businesses affected by the COVID-19-related economic downturn have much to think about for the remainder of this calendar year. So say several local professionals who work with JENNY them. “For businesses that are not doing well, one of the things they need to keep up with is their income and expenses for the year,” said Tammika Brown, owner of Tammika Brown Accounting and Tax Services in Wrightsville Beach (Find a profile of Brown on page 17). “That is always important, but even more so this year. Organization is going to be very important.” Not only should struggling small businesses become informed on ways to reduce their tax liability for 2020, but those companies who received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans through the Small Business Brown Administration and want all or part of the loan to be forgiven must document how they spent the money. And the deadline for applying for loan forgiveness is Oct. 31, Brown said. Over the past several months, Brown worked with quite a few of her clients to secure PPP loans, collaborating with a representative of Live Oak Bank to ensure the applications were submitted correctly. Now, she said, Live Oak Bank has built an online platform to help PPP borrowers apply to the SBA for loan forgiveness. To comply with the rules for loan forgiveness, at least 75% of a PPP loan must be spent on payroll, Brown noted. The other 25% can be spent on mortgage, lease or rent payments and utilities. She cautioned that if a small business PPP loan is forgiven, the owner can’t write off those expenses on his or her tax return. Having the right documentation for PPP forgiveness is essential, said Corey Zurbuch, a small business and real estate attorney who is of counsel

CALLISON

with the Wilmington firm of Rountree Losee LLP. “That means bank statements, payroll records, receipts for rent, mortgage, utilities, any payroll tax filings with the IRS; any state wage records,” he said. “Any docuZurbuch mentation you have that shows [your company’s] average number of fulltime equivalents (FTEs) last year as opposed to this year. The purpose of the loan was to keep those numbers the same, to keep businesses from laying off employees. The closer you are to having that the same number, the more likely you are to have your loan forgiven.” The SBA will offer some “safe harbor” consideration to forgiveness applicants, Zurbuch added. “The program contemplates that you won’t be able to hire everybody back. That could be because some employees were making more on unemployment with the added federal benefit, or not wanting more hours when they were offered, or needing to stay home to home-school children,” Zurbuch said. “Be sure you keep records of offering employees their jobs back. Firings for cause [records] will be important if you have them. Keep anything that shows you couldn’t open due to federal regulations, the state Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; if [those regulations] impacted you in a way you can document, this can help you have your loan forgiven.” Brown has a few more tax tips for small businesses affected by the downturn. One concerns contracts they might have counted on that fell through. “Let’s say you had some [contractual] business lined up and you were counting on those funds, and that contract was canceled. Keep that information and tell your tax professional, because it could lower your taxes,” she said. Section 2302 of the CARES Act outlines provisions that allow employers to defer the deposit and payment of the employer’s share of Social Security taxes and allow self-employed individuals to defer payment of certain self-employment taxes. The deferral provision period began March 27 and extends through Dec. 31, Brown said.

Business losses, she added, can be carried forward for a number of years on tax returns to reduce tax liabilities. The CARES Act also allows a business owner to reduce former years’ liabilities. “If you had a net operating loss arising in tax years after December 2017 and before January 1, 2021, that loss can be carried back five tax years by amending previous tax returns. It can also be carried forward,” Brown said. Brown also pointed to a change in the amount of taxable income that can be offset by an operating loss. “In the past, a business owner was only able to take 80% of taxable income as a loss. Now, because of COVID, net operating losses can be used to offset 100% of taxable income.” Another small business expert advises owners it’s not enough to document the past: they need to plan for the immediate future. “Nobody has written the book on this particular Coleman kind of economic downturn,” said Jerry Coleman, director of the Small Business Center at Cape Fear Community College. “There is new ground every day.” This past few months, the SBC has offered free programs on marketing and money matters to help local small businesses become more resilient and sustainable in the future. Now, with only a few months left in the calendar year, Coleman said small businesses should assess the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on them and to develop plans to take them through the end of the year. “They should ask themselves what are they doing to be innovative and to bring business in,” he said. “And they need to be aware of the latest legislation.” The SBC has used some of its R3 (Reboot, Recover, Rebuild) funding from the state to provide in-depth counseling and support to business owners. That support often included connecting owners with experts in their particular industry or financial advisers and marketing professionals. Needs could be as simple as improving a company’s search engine optimization or helping a restaurant convert to a delivery and curbside

pickup model. “The ‘what’ is often easy. It’s the ‘how’ that’s hard, but there are lots of free resources to help,” Coleman said.

CresCom conversion completed in August The signs are up, and the computers are talking to each other. As of early August, CresCom Bank is officially part of Washington, D.C.based United Bank. The merger process began last November, when United Bankshares Inc., the parent company of United Bank, and Carolina Financial Corp., the parent company of Charleston, South Carolina-based CresCom Bank, announced a definitive merger agreement. Thxe combined organization has about $25 billion in assets and ranks in the top 35 largest banks in the U.S. based on market capitalization, according to a release in May, when the legal transaction closed. The combined company operates 230 offices in West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the nation’s capital. Seven of those offices are in the Wilmington market; two are in Wilmington itself. “Much of what was CresCom will remain intact,” said Wilmington Market President Marshall Cooper. “Jerry Rexroad, our former CEO, is a director, executive vice president and chairman of United’s Carolinas region. The entire senior executive team of CresCom remains in meaningful roles with United Bank. [United] acquired us to achieve market diversification: we operate in eight to 10 of the most dynamic markets in the Southeast.” Because its merger with United Bank brings more resources and greater scale to the former CresCom, the communities it serves in the Wilmington market will see a greater investment in the community and continued local decision-making, Cooper said. “United Bank has a focus on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), and we’ll be involved in philanthropy and banking partnerships,” he said. The CRA is a federal law enacted in 1977 to encourage depository institutions to meet the credit needs of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

Page 8

September 4 - 17, 2020

wilmingtonbiz.com

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

SPECIAL FOCUS: WOMEN IN BUSINESS

REAL ESTATE

Building a career around home BY CECE NUNN s a child in the Western North Carolina town of Black Mountain, Annah Norris didn’t really have a place to call home. “Growing up, we had it kind of rough,” the Wilmington homebuilder said. “We moved around a ton and never really had a settled place. So homes are a big deal for me.” Over the years, she’s made building homes for others her life’s work. After working for more than a decade for Bill Clark Homes, Norris created her custom homebuilding business Isabella Grace Refined Homes at the end of 2018. “Even though I loved my job and I loved everything I did at work, I just had to take a different direction, and so I decided I would go out on my own,” she said. The title she had the longest at Bill Clark Homes, a company that builds homes in Wilmington, Greenville and New Bern, was sales and marketing manager. While there, she started Legacy Homes by Bill Clark, a more custom brand under the Clark banner. “They were so good to me and helpful in training me on all aspects of the job that I was able to learn not just the sales or the management or the marketing side, but also planning, design, material selection and just being involved in the day-to-day construction side of it,” Norris said. “I learned that over time with the Clarks.” Starting her own company, she decided she would focus on four to five homes a year after an initial period of working on just renovations because of a noncompete agreement in place until the end of 2019. The small number of projects allows her to be a part of the whole process, while still having flexibility for her children, who are 11 and 8, she said. “I like the sales, the marketing, the selections, the construction, the day-to-day project management. All that’s fun for me. I couldn’t keep my hands on all of it when you’re doing 120 houses a year,” Norris said. “I wanted to step back and be part of the whole thing.” Her first custom job is a 3,400-square-foot home in the Anchors Bend neighborhood in Wilmington for residents Beau and Ann

PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER

House proud: Annah Norris started Isabella Grace Refined Homes, a custom homebuilding business, with the aim of completing four to five houses a year.

Gunn. Beau Gunn said he and Ann met with other homebuilders but chose Norris for numerous reasons, including the fact that they found the story of how she worked her way up in a male-dominated field compelling. They also “felt she would be someone that was going to help us really bring our dream home together, not just build it, but to truly bring it together.” He said her company has a boutique feel, and she’s been involved in each step of a process that is expected to be complete in a couple months. “I have got to believe that she brings a level of attention to detail and organization that keeps a project moving that others may not possess,” Beau Gunn said. Norris graduated from Wake Forest University in 2001 with a degree in English before teaching high school students for three years. She met her first homebuilder employer when she was still teaching high school and designing her own townhouse in Greensboro. She moved to Ocean Isle in 2005 and began working for Bill Clark Homes a year or so after that. “It’s been hard since I left [Bill Clark Homes] because starting your

own business is stressful, but I think I’ve made it through the really rough patch, and we’re starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel,” Norris said. Norris is introspective about her job as a homebuilder and writes about it on a blog on her Isabella Grace Refined Homes website. In one blog post from 2019, she chose to write about the concept of restoration. “The funny thing about restoration is that something must be demolished before it can be rebuilt. It must be ruined before it can be transformed. And it must be broken before it can be restored. “As a business owner and a single mom, I often get tired and overwhelmed, and forget to open my eyes to the beautiful picture of humanity that surrounds me: Creation – Brokenness – Restoration,” Norris wrote. “What an amazing privilege it is to be an active participant in the joy of restoration. I get to take something that is broken and make it whole, all the while understanding that ruin is part of the process. After the year that Wilmington had last year [2018] through the storm [Hurricane Florence], I know that I am not the only one.” Isabelle Grace Refined Homes is also a way for Norris to give back,

she said. The inspiration for starting the business came from asking herself what she would want to do if she could do anything, and her answer was to help others have comfortable homes, Norris said. As a result, for every home she works on, a portion of the proceeds will go to a fund for fixing the homes of other single moms in Wilmington who need the help, “whether it be painting and cleaning, new living room furniture or redoing a bathroom or fixing up the kitchen – whatever it is she needs the most,” Norris said. Norris describes why on her website, saying, “Most of us have worked hard to achieve the position in life that has afforded us a good home. But, unfortunately there are many in our city who do not experience the basic physical and emotional comforts that a home provides. We believe that a home should be a refuge – and we intend to help. Our mission is to help local families in need create safe and lovely homes of their own.” Elaborating on why the concept of home is so important to her, Norris said, “People work so hard for this. This is the biggest purchase they make, and it affects everything about their life, their family and everything.”

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

September 4 - 17, 2020

Page 9

HEALTH CARE

HEROES NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN!

Nominations being accepted in these categories: • LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT • COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENT

HEALTH CARE • COMMUNITY OUTREACH

HEROES • INNOVATION IN HEALTH CARE

The Greater Wilmington Business Journal’s

HEALTH CARE HEROES AWARDS

honors individuals and organizations that are making an impact on the quality of health care in Wilmington. Whether they are companies, doctors, nurses, specialist or managers, join us in recognizing those who embody the word “hero” and prove their excellence in helping others. With this year’s pandemic, we need your help to recognize the dedication and achievements of our local health care community.

Visit WilmingtonHCHeroes.com to nominate! Nomination deadline is Sept. 10. FOUNDING SPONSOR

PRESENTING SPONSORS

PRODUCED BY

SCHOLARSHIP SPONSOR

•HEALTH CARE EXECUTIVE • PHYSICIAN • NURSE

• NURSE PRACTITIONER/ PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT • HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL • FIRST RESPONDER • VOLUNTEER CORPORATE SPONSORS

Page 10

September 4 - 17, 2020

wilmingtonbiz.com

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

| FROM THE COVER | 219 Station Road, Suite 202 Wilmington, NC 28405 (910) 343-8600 Fax: (910) 343-8660 wilmingtonbiz.com PUBLISHER Rob Kaiser rkaiser@wilmingtonbiz.com PRESIDENT Robert Preville rpreville@wilmingtonbiz.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Judy Budd jbudd@wilmingtonbiz.com EDITOR Vicky Janowski vjanowski@wilmingtonbiz.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Cece Nunn cnunn@wilmingtonbiz.com REPORTERS Johanna Cano jcano@wilmingtonbiz.com Christina Haley O’Neal chaley@wilmingtonbiz.com VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES Maggi Apel mapel@wilmingtonbiz.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Craig Snow csnow@wilmingtonbiz.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Ali Buckley abuckley@wilmingtonbiz.com KEN

LITTLE

OFFICE & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Sandy Johnson sjohnson@wilmingtonbiz.com CONTENT MARKETING COORDINATOR Morgan Mattox mmattox@wilmingtonbiz.com EVENTS/DIGITAL ASSISTANT Elizabeth Stelzenmuller events@wilmingtonbiz.com CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Suzi Drake art@wilmingtonbiz.com DESIGN/MEDIA COORDINATOR Molly Jacques production@wilmingtonbiz.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jenny Callison, David Frederiksen, Kyle Hanlin, Jessica Maurer, Laura Moore FOUNDER Joy Allen SUBSCRIPTIONS To subscribe to the Greater Wilmington Business Journal, call (910) 343-8600 x201 or visit wilmingtonbiz.com. Subscriptions cost $9.95 per month or $95 per year. REPRINTS For article reprints, plaques and more, contact Jennifer Martin of Wright’s Reprints at (877) 652-5295. ADVERTISING For advertising information and rates, call (910) 343-8600 x204 © Copyright 2020 SAJ Media LLC

From FLOW, page 1

public document that outlines details on the proposed deal, including conditions for the purchase, Novant’s pledge to maintain and expand the presence of UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine at NHRMC and a long list of measures that would impact hospital employees and patients. Before a final vote, people will be able to see a copy of the definitive agreement, and the county will hold a public hearing, as required by state law. Because New Hanover County owns NHRMC – a rarity, with the local health system being the third-largest in the U.S. still owned by a county – the proceeds form what several officials have called a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.” As described in the letter of intent, Novant is offering to pay $1.5 billion to the county for NHRMC. It also offered to let the county keep any NHRMC cash the hospital still has on hand after debts and other liabilities are paid off, which in September was estimated to be about $400 million – a figure that would be updated after a closing. (Aside from the money to the county, Novant also offered to give $50 million to the existing NHRMC Foundation and spend $3.1 billion in routine capital expenses and strategic master plan projects on NHRMC over the next decade.) But while the issues surrounding the potential sale of the hospital and Novant’s proposals as its next owner have been combed through during months of talks, presentations and community meetings – both in-person and online because of COVID-19 – the county’s plan to spend potentially $1.9 billion in proceeds has received less public discussion. A spending plan first appeared publicly in early July when hospital trustees voted for negotiating with only Novant. The trustees’ resolution became part of the approved letter of intent, and county commissioners have said the recommendations – which set aside money for the hospital, county reserves, a mental health and substance abuse fund and a new $1.25 billion community foundation – came from individual talks with county staff and briefings. Several said that’s why the plan was never sussed out in county commissioners meetings or work sessions, which would have been public. Next month when the deal with Novant is voted on, the spending

plan for the proceeds and how the new foundation will be set up also will be on the table for approval. “There’s four different escrows, for lack of a better word, where the money will end up being placed if in fact the [hospital] trustees and the county commission approved the definitive agreements,” New Hanover County Manager Chris Coudriet said. Here are more details about what’s been released so far on that spending plan – the caveat being that negotiations might have changed some things since mid-July when the letter of intent was approved; some details still appear not to be worked out as of Sept. 1; and the wild card remains politics as tensions have risen recently among the five county commissioners who are expected to vote Oct. 19 on the future of the hospital ownership as well as the proceeds.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1.25 BILLION The lion’s share of sale proceeds would go to an independent, tax-exempt foundation with the intent of funding community efforts. “The design is for the principal of that money to not be touched, just the investment income off of it,” Spence Broadhurst, one of the cochairs of the Partnership Advisory Group, said in an online talk with the public Tuesday. The letter of intent identified four areas the fund, or interest earnings on the endowment, would be spent on. Those are education (from K-12 schools through higher education); health and social equity (addressing food deserts, for example); community development (such as a workforce housing trust fund and open space preservation); and community safety (including next-generation 911 services and updating law enforcement training). “That’s what the foundation will focus on, and so there will be an 11-person board ultimately that is the governance structure for that and will also make the final choices on what actually … to invest those dollars [on],” Coudriet said. Despite the debate over how the foundation will be set up, that group would not likely be appointed until next year after the sale’s closing takes place – assuming the deal is approved – under the county staff’s plans now for the foundation’s framework, said Jessica Loeper, the county’s chief communications officer. In the interim, five people would

be picked initially by the county as the new foundation is established, Coudriet said. Among that group’s responsibilities likely would be picking which investment management firm will handle the fund “because there is work that would need to be done prior to the assets coming to the foundation,” Loeper said. The makeup of the 11-person foundation board has caused some sticking points so far for the county commissioners. In the letter of intent, it is proposed that the board be made up of six people picked by the hospital board and five people picked by the county commissioners. Under what the proposal county staffers are working on, the board would not be self-perpetuating, meaning that any future vacancies would go back to the county commissioners or hospital board to decide on new members, Coudriet said. Commissioner Pat Kusek, in a recent OpEd for the StarNews, said there was a push to make all of the foundation appointments come from the county commissioners, citing three of the five votes necessary to make the change. She argued that having more appointments from the county commissioners would hamstring the foundation’s ability to invest in sources outside the fiscally safe ones as outlined in state law and could limit the endowment’s earning potential. “The whole way that foundation was structured to begin with was to be able to only take off the amount that it earned every year to be used for purposes that the foundation board members would approve,” she said in an interview this week, pointing to the difference a 1% and 4% return would mean on a billion-dollar endowment. But enough commissioners – including Woody White and Jonathan Barfield – said they share Kusek’s logic and would not vote for a change in the proposed board makeup so there does not appear to be support for that change. “I’ve had individual discussions with commissioners about all types of options on the board,” said commissioners chair Julia Olson-Boseman. “One of [the options] was 11 members from the commissioners, but ultimately the majority of commissioners didn’t believe that was the right way to go. So the majority of commissioners to the best of my knowledge believe that five should be appointed by commissioners and six by the trustees because we want to

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

September 4 - 17, 2020

Page 11

| FROM THE COVER | be able to maximize the benefit that we get from the foundation because that’s going to be there forever.” Commissioner Rob Zapple, however, disagrees with the investment interpretation. He said even with a board made up solely of commissioners’ picks, the state statute allows for the state Local Government Commission to approve a more aggressive investment plan. Zapple also said he was concerned with a future hospital board, which will replace the existing NHRMC Board of Trustees, as part of the deal having control of the majority of the foundation’s appointments and say over the endowment money. As part of the proposed sale, local governance was stressed as a key area, and the new 15-member hospital board is supposed to include mostly (at least 12) residents of the region. “However, it does say there, that the entire board will be ratified by Novant Health,” Zapple said about the new hospital trustees, which will hold six of the appointments for the community foundation. “If we don’t work out a better system of appointing, I’m not only going to oppose this, I’m going to be extremely vocal.” The only change on the foundation that has come up so far is a two-year cooling-off period before elected officials and hospital trustees would be eligible to sit on it. Commissioners voted 4-1 on Aug. 10 on that additional rule – the letter of intent already stated that sitting officials could not serve on the foundation. But the vote angered Kusek, who had expressed interest in being considered for the foundation since she is not running for re-election and her professional background is in finance, in part because she said she didn’t know the vote was coming up. “This is not the way that we’re supposed to govern. We’re supposed to have discussions,” said Kusek, who voted against the change. “We’re not supposed to have things tossed out that aren’t on the agenda and we’re expected to vote on them inside of three minutes.” The foundation appointments and cooling-off issues bring up a larger point of what other details commissioners might disagree about leading to the final vote on the entire deal.

HOSPITAL TRANSITION: $300 MILLION The letter of intent calls for $300 million from the sale proceeds to be set aside for an “NHRMC Transition Stabilization Escrow” account.

Of that, $100 million would be used to cover any trailing costs not addressed in other parts of the contract. An example Coudriet gave of that would be damages from potentially pending lawsuits that might have started before Novant became the new owner but the amount won’t be known until later. Any money not spent from the $100 million two years after the closing would be split between the NHRMC Foundation and the new community foundation, according to the letter of intent. The other $200 million would help employees from being impacted by moving to new benefits, cover some wind-down and transfer costs for moving the ownership over and “address the staff and provider resiliency funding needs,” according to the letter of intent. Because NHRMC currently has a pension plan for its employees, and Novant Health does not, part of the money is intended to help fund their transition. Of the nearly 7,500 NHRMC employees, there are more than 5,300 active employees in the hospital’s defined benefit pension plan, which as of April was almost $263.8 million, according to NHRMC officials. How much of the $200 million escrow fund would be used to address the pension was still being determined, said Carolyn Fisher, NHRMC’s director of marketing and public relations “There are many variables and assumptions to project over the plan life, the liability and the related funding,” she said. In the area of “resiliency funding,” Fisher said, “We are looking for ways to invest in programs and services for staff and providers that will support their broader needs. Preventing burnout has been a priority for us.” Fisher also said that no details around potential hospital employee bonuses have been finalized. County commissioners’ responses about potential bonuses ranged from not having heard about the proposal to a one-time bonus of $3,000$5,000 for each employee to a $1,500 bonus only for those on the lower end of the pay scale. “I wanted just to make sure that no employee was left behind,” said Olson-Boseman, who also sits on the hospital trustees board. “We put them through a lot over this past year, and I certainly believe – and I think all of the trustees believe that – this has been a rocky time for them … We felt that we should protect their pension, the people who were

there, and give the lower-paid [employees] a one-time bonus.” Zapple has questioned why Novant shouldn’t absorb those employee costs when they transfer over to their payroll instead of taking it from county proceeds. Coudriet said they could have reduced the sale price by $200 million and asked Novant to cover those areas but it still stems from the same money.

COUNTY RESERVES: $300 MILLION

In the same amount as the hospital escrow, the county also came up with a proposed $300 million set aside for a “County Revenue Stabilization Fund.” The idea is to use interest proceeds off that fund to cover county costs. A supermajority of the sitting commissioners, or four of the five votes, would be needed to dip into the escrow. While it would be up to commissioners on how to spend it, Coudriet said examples of spending could range from helping shore up sales tax dips as what’s happening now because of the COVID-19 pandemic or covering costs from hurricanes. “We would imagine using it to pay as you go to satisfy limited obligation bond debts early or at the point that they’re called rather than refinancing and paying them off; COVID-19, where we are going to be several million dollars short on sales taxes,” he said. “There would be money in escrow available to stabilize the budget. Hurricane Florence, we ended up spending about $26 million largely out of the fund balance. Rather than dip into fund balance, [we could] use the escrow as the bridge until reimbursement comes in.”

MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FUND: $50 MILLION Finally, under the letter of intent, $50 million is earmarked for mental and behavioral health initiatives. The money, as proposed, would be used to fund long-term, residential substance abuse treatment programs; commit to sustained grant funding to evidence-based programs; and expand access to mental health services. “We all believe in doing something about the opioid crisis,” Olson-Boseman said, “so we want to make sure that was identified up-front.”

FOUNDATION ENDOWMENT Here are areas that have been identified for areas that the proposed $1.25 community foundation

endowment money could be used for, including examples of potential initiatives, according to the letter of intent approved in July. The final agreement documents might show the same areas or could have been updated since then.

Public Primary, Secondary and Post-Secondary Education (possible initiatives) • High quality universal pre-kindergarten with wrap-around services • Comprehensive, no-cost broadband connectively countywide • Comprehensive access to modern technology for all learners • NHC Teacher Fellows program for traditional and charter school graduates committed to returning to local public schools • Access to scholarships for post-secondary education attainment • School facilities designed for mid-21st century education delivery Health and Social Equity (possible initiatives) • Eradicate food deserts across the county • Expand access to high quality, fair cost physical and mental health clinics for county residents • Funding support to eliminate disparities in health outcomes focused initially on diabetes and obesity • On-demand, cost-effective transit system for dependent and choice riders • Funding for new senior resource centers and other support for senior citizens based on the county’s strategic master plan for aging adults Community Development (possible initiatives) • Workforce housing trust fund • Small business micro-loan program • Minority- and women-owned business support programs • Open space and public water access preservation Community Safety (possible initiatives) • Next generation 911 services developed and deployed • Rapid response fire rescue and emergency medical services • Support and resources for community-led restorative justice programs • Modern development and training of law enforcement, to include cultural competency and implicit bias • Comprehensive flood, storm surge and wind mitigation investments

Page 12

September 4 - 17, 2020

wilmingtonbiz.com

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

| ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |

Airport officials looking to the future BY SHEA CARVER

ilmington International Airport officials are focused on getting ILM’s numbers back up to pre-COVID-19 levels, according to a recent airport update. They previously set a goal to increase seats and schedules by 50% and announced by the end of July that they had reached 40%, according to ILM director Julie Wilsey, who gave a presentation to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 24. The presentation focused on the airport’s operations this year to date and looking ahead to the 2021 fiscal year. Wilsey started off the presentation on a high note, talking about the 1 million-passenger milestone ILM had reached at the end of 2019 and celebrated through January 2020. Everything was moving along on schedule with plans to grow infrastructure, checkpoints, parking and concessions. The reality of COVID-19, however, changed

PHOTO C/O NEW HANOVER COUNTY

PHOTO C/O ILM

ILM update: Wilmington International Airport Director Julie Wilsey gives a presentation about the airport’s operations. A United Airlines flight takes off at ILM. The airport’s three carriers are United, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.

everything. By April, ILM – the fifth-largest airport in North Carolina – hit an all-time low in operations. Thanks to the $19.8 million grant awarded by the CARES Act, the airport was able to secure employees and carry its debt for the next four years. ILM serves three carriers current-

ly, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines, and hopes to make room for a fourth airline in the future. In the months since the pandemic hit home and as restrictions have eased, American Airlines has added early-morning departures to Charlotte Douglas International Airport

(CLT); reinstated two daily departures, in early morning and midday, to LaGuardia Airport (LGA); and upgraded a premium cabin aircraft to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Delta added an early-morning departure to Atlanta, and United added an early-morning departure to

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

September 4 - 17, 2020

Page 13

| ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Dulles International Airport (IAD). Wilsey said airport officials tightened their budget for 2021 and have updated operating procedures to implement new sanitization and cleanliness policies under their COVID-19 program, “until the coast is clear.” The airport has installed plexiglass sneeze guards and hand-sanitizer stations, made seating changes, has cashless self-service parking, modified restaurant menus and installed social distancing floor markers. The new normal of travel includes all employees and passengers wear masks at all times in public spaces, from check-in to boarding, and then are carried through according to each airline’s policy. Grants awarded to ILM in FY20 from the state General Assembly ($9.1 million) and from the FAA ($21 million) have helped the airport move forward with Terminal Expansion Contracts 2 and 3 over the past five months, Wilsey said. ILM increased terminal expansion with new ticket areas and added a third checkpoint lane. By the beginning of July, it was operating two lanes daily for more efficient customer service.

ILM also updated the outbound baggage system for its airline partners. The airport will continue moving forward with the Monteith Construction contract that costs around $750,000 a month for gate and terminal expansion, slated for completion in early 2023. “This is a challenging period we’re going through,” Commissioner Rob Zapple commented to Wilsey. “You’re doing a terrific job. Does the ticketing area include more kiosks to shift away from person-to-person contact? And where do you stand on the parking decks?” Wilsey confirmed during the presentation that more airline kiosks will help expedite passenger checkin; however, the airport’s original plans to build new parking areas or decks have been put on hold. “We believe the current lots will be sufficient for Thanksgiving,” she said in an email Aug. 24. “All lots are now operated by credit card machines, making it a cashless process. We are delaying any decision on new parking areas for a year, when we see how passenger traffic and parking returns.”

Project Touchdown could bring jobs to Brunswick Economic developers are working with Brunswick County to help a Leland-area manufacturer secure a grant to expand. Called “Project Touchdown,” the economic development effort could help the manufacturer to expand the firm’s existing facility resulting in a minimum of 17 jobs, according to county documents. Officials have not named the firm, citing competitive reasons. The business, which is in unincorporated Brunswick County, is seeking to expand its manufacturing operation but needs to be connected to public wastewater to do so, said Bill Early, executive director of Brunswick Business and Industry Development (Brunswick BID), the local economic development agency charged with business and industry recruitment and retention efforts in the county. “They’re trying to get grants to help pay the costs of extending the sewer lines,” Early said of the firm. “They can’t add employees to the existing system.” The Brunswick County Board of

Commissioners at its meeting Aug. 17 authorized staff with Brunswick BID to submit a formal application to the N.C. Department of Commerce to provide assistance to benefit Project Touchdown, according to the county. The application is for a $100,000 grant and would require the county to provide a 5% match and meet all state commerce requirements. The move by commissioners came following a closed session at a recent meeting to discuss the business development effort. Brunswick BID is working with the county to help solidify the grant application to the state’s Rural Infrastructure Authority, under the commerce department, Early said. “We’re hoping to have the state approve it at their meeting in October,” he said. “We have to finalize the application to the state, and I am waiting for some additional information to go with that application from the company.” Additional funding could be sought in the future to aid the project, Early said. - Christina Haley O’Neal

Page 14

September 4 - 17, 2020

wilmingtonbiz.com

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

SPECIAL FOCUS: WOMEN IN BUSINESS

IN PROFILE

Putting patients first at PPD BY CECE NUNN honda Henry knows what it’s like to have a potentially terminal illness. At age 32, Henry, now vice president of patient-centered trials for Wilmington-headquartered PPD, discovered she had breast cancer. “The diagnosis was somewhat of a fluke. I had a biopsy because I had some inflammation in a mammary duct, and it turned out to be invasive cancer,” Henry said. Henry, who had two young children at the time, and her doctor pursued an aggressive treatment plan, with a bilateral mastectomy and four rounds of chemo. These days, Henry’s in charge of developing and implementing solutions to help PPD’s customers reach more patients with clinical trials as possible care or treatment options. “I think in some ways, it was a blessing because even though I was in clinical research and I had been a nurse, breast cancer gave me a patient perspective,” Henry said, “what it’s like to be on the other side of a condition.” Henry recently received a major pharmaceutical industry accolade. She and Karen Kaucic, chief medical officer of PPD and president of Evidera, were named to the 2020 PharmaVOICE 100 list of the most inspiring people in their industry. Published by PharmaVOICE magazine, the PharmaVOICE 100 is an annual list of “inspirational and innovative individuals recognized for their positive contributions to the life sciences industry,” according to a PPD news release. Profiles of Kaucic and Henry appear in the PharmaVOICE 100 issue. “They’re impressive individuals so to be considered part of that group is quite an honor,” Henry said. “There are a lot of people across the industry who’ve been doing this a lot longer than I have that deserve this recognition even more than I do but I find it very motivating. It’s made me want to continue to do what I’ve set out to do, the mission that I’m on, and to do it to the best of my ability.” Henry described that mission as “giving people greater access to options in their own health care.” “So, for me, most of the time that includes clinical trials,” she added. “But it’s providing patients, individu-

PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER

A patient focus: Rhonda Henry, vice president of patient-centered trials at PPD, was recognized recently as an inspiring voice in the pharmaceutical industry.

als, caregivers, with access to clinical trials, as a treatment or a care option and then making it easier for them to participate in a clinical trial should they choose to do so. “And by doing that, I’m helping the industry solve one of the biggest challenges, which is finding individuals that are willing to participate in trials so that we can get the data that we need to see if a drug is safe and effective.” Colleagues recognize her drive. “As a breast cancer survivor, Rhonda is deeply passionate about creating greater access to clinical trials and removing potential barriers to participation,” said Nik Morton, senior vice president of digital services at PPD, in a news release about the PharmaVOICE list. “This passion overflows to her colleagues. When it comes to improving patient access to, and experience within, clinical trials, Rhonda makes it her business to understand every single asset or capability that exists across PPD and the broader industry of partners and vendors that PPD could or should collaborate with – if that collaboration can improve the trial conduct and patient experience.” Henry explained how PPD goes

about finding patients, which involves a multi-faceted approach. “By and large, we have used investigators, which are health care professionals who have been trained to do clinical research,” she said. “We have an entire database full of sites, all over the world, that have experience in clinical research and have access to patients with certain indications. They may be specialties or subspecialties, but that’s just one methodology.” Other methods vary. “Now, what we’re seeing, especially with COVID and the pandemic, is that we’re doing much, much more direct-to-patient outreach, so reaching patients through advertising, articles, social media and through peer groups and Facebook communities.” Her journey to working for PPD for nearly 29 years began with her desire to become a nurse. “I wanted to serve,” Henry said. “I wanted to help people and nursing was the field that I chose.” Henry pursued that career in Wilmington. “I graduated from UNCW School of Nursing and worked for several years at New Hanover Regional Medical Center and was presented this opportunity to go to go work

for this new company in town called PPD as a clinical research associate which is an entry-level position,” Henry said. “And all I knew was that they were hiring nurses to travel around to doctors’ offices to be anywhere in the world to educate them about a clinical trial and to collect data. And I thought, ‘How cool does that sound?’” Besides the opportunity to travel, there were other benefits Henry liked about the job. “I don’t have to wear a nursing uniform; I can wear regular clothes; I can work 8 to 5, nonshift work,” she said of her thoughts at the time. It turned out “to be a career that I absolutely loved.” Henry continued to advance within PPD. “I was given the opportunity not only to lead a therapeutic area there but then to move over into the business side of things and develop strategic relationships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies that helped us work more collaboratively and more effectively together,” Henry said. “And now I’m back in the operations side, again working in an area that I love and that’s patient-centricity, helping the industry become more focused on patients as the key stakeholder in drug development.”

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

September 4 - 17, 2020

Page 15

| BIZ LEADS | Reader’s Guide BizLeads is a collection of information gathered from greater Wilmington courthouses, state government offices and informational websites. These listings are intended to help the business community find new customers and stay on top of happenings with current customers, vendors and competitors. New Corporations lists firms that were recently incorporated in the state of North Carolina. All information is gathered from the North Carolina Secretary of State website. Addresses listed may not be the actual address of the business.

NEW CORPS July 1 - 31

KINLAW REAL ESTATE LLC 3931 Marsh Hen Drive Shallotte 28470 Agent: Deborah Kinlaw KMH GLOBAL MARKETING LLC 204 Arcadian Row Apt #209 Wilmington 28412 Agent: Krystine Marie Hobson KMS SOLUTIONS LLC 122 N Crestwood Drive Wilmington 28405 Agent: Caitlin Quinn

Agent: Robbie B. Parker LINK 2 US.ORG L.L.C. 2840 S College Rd # 339 Wilmington 28412-6827 Agent: Tomika L. Willoughby LIT PORTALS INC. 2204 Gardenia Ct Wilmington 28409 Agent: Nicholas Van Burren LIVEWIRE ELECTRICAL & AIR LLC 7749 James Way ne Leland 28451 Agent: Phillip D Robbins

L N MEDICAL SUPPLIES L.L.C. 5032 Out Island Drive Wilmington 28409 Agent: Leo L Long

LOCKHART BOOKKEEPING & TAX PREPARATION LLC 5022 Hunt Club Rd Apt 2 Wilmington 28403 Agent: Jamesetta Wainwright

LAKE TIMES PROPERTIES LLC 1305 Spotswood Ct Wilmington 28409 Agent: Daniel D. Phelps

LOVELY CARES LLC 9121 National Ave Leland 28451 Agent: Jeffrey Hibbert

LAND TRANSFORMATION LLC. 522 Manly Ave Wilmington 28405 Agent: Dennis Baxley

LOW TIDE CONSTRUCTION INC 434 Sausalito Dr Wilmington 28412 Agent: Jeremy Letchworth

LEGACY SHORES VENTURE PARTNERS LLC 3414 Wrightsville Ave Wilmington 28403

LUMISEAS CORPORATION 2626 Bow Hunter Dr Wilmington 28411 Agent: Robert Lee Kent Jr

LUXURIOUS HOME DECOR LLC 3037 Pauline Lane Wilmington 28405 Agent: Sharita Bell MARLOW ARCHITECTURE PLLC 840 Settlers Lane Kure Beach 28449 Agent: Hart Marlow MATH BUSTERS TUTORING LLC 6518 Chalfont Circle Wilmington 28405 Agent: Drew Vliet MBAKWIN PROPERTIES LLC 7415 Richfield Court Wilmington 28411 Agent: Meghan Bakwin Wells MCGHEE ENTERPRISES LLC 219 NE 64th St Apt A Oak Island 28465 Agent: Brandon Riley McGhee-Austin MDR PROPERTY HOLDINGS LLC 154 Great Oak Dr Hampstead 28443 Agent: William Micheal Riley MEDQRA L.L.C. 589 Riverwood Dr. SE Bolivia 28422 Agent: Richard Hettenbach METTS CONSTRUCTION & LANDSCAPING LLC 250 J Metts Drive Supply 28462 Agent: Jameel M Metts MHWJR LLC 6220 Sentry Oaks Dr Wilmington 28409 Agent: Malcolm Warner MI RANCH L.L.C 9992 Piney Woods Rd Willard 28478 Agent: Abigail Lopez Sanchez MUESES AIR LLC 1503 Flushing Drive Wilmington 28411 Agent: Juan J. Mueses MURRAY FARMS VENTURE PARTNERS LLC

3414 Wrightsville Ave Wilmington 28403 Agent: Robbie B. Parker

Ave N Carolina Beach 28428 Agent: Leo L Nguyen

Unit #306 Wilmington 28412 Agent: Quami L. Felder

MURRAYMED SUPPLY LLC 4034 Tamarisk Lane #54 Wilmington 28409 Agent: Kevin Murray

NICE AND NEAT LANDSCAPING L.L.C. 35 Cypress Grove Dr Apt D Wilmington 28401 Agent: Shyion Jennings

P-GEO INCORPORATED 6338 Oleander Dr Apt 8 Wilmington 28403 Agent: Susan Foerster

MUSCLE MAX LLC 1200 Slater Way Leland 28451 Agent: Daniel J Ellis MUTINY EBIKES LLC 320 N New River Drive Surf City 28445 Agent: Christopher G. Rackley MWDESIGN LLC 8400 Sidbury Rd Wilmington 28411 Agent: Maria L Williams MY HOME JOURNAL LLC 1260 Village Point Road Shallotte 28470 Agent: Luke A Perisich NASTIE CLOTHING LLC 1263 Morgan Rd Supply 28462 Agent: Shanika Jones NAUTICAL HOSTING LLC 201 River Drive Southport 28461 Agent: Suzanne Foster NAVIGATOR YACHT SALES LLC 2608 Shandy Ln Wilmington 28409 Agent: Brendan Bennett NEEDHAM & GULLEY ENVIRONMENTAL PLLC 9100 Charlestowne Road SE Winnabow 28479 Agent: Robert N. Needham NEIL WRIGHT LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 3802 Grand Willow Circle Southport 28461 Agent: Neil C. Wright NFINITE LLC 2168 Bayside Dr. sw Supply 28462 Agent: Preston Divers NGUYEN SEAWITCH PROPERTIES LLC 224 Carolina Beach

NINTH STREET LLC 5319 Oleander Drive Wilmington 28403 Agent: Kathryn Ross NOOK N KRANNY HOME INSPECTIONS LLC 386 Turner Way Hampstead 28443 Agent: David Scott Williams II NORTH RALEIGH PG LLC 1054 S. Seabreeze Road Wilmington 28409 Agent: Raimond Struble OAK TREE SERVICES INC 738 Carolina Inlet Acres Road Wilmington 28412 Agent: Pablo Moreno Herrera OD FLOORING LLC 2474 Old Ocean Hwy Bolivia 28422 Agent: Jeeseka Morales ODD JOBS UNLIMITED NC INC 1052 Beach Drive SW Calabash 28467 Agent: Barbara Pugh ODYSSEY MECHANICAL LLC 6730 Amsterdam Way Wilmington 28405 Agent: Kevin Adrian Hommes ORGANIZED CIRCUS LLC 2525 Shadebranch Ct Wilmington 28411 Agent: David Carr Fullagar OSPREY INVESTMENTS LLC 7429 Janice Lane Wilmington 28411 Agent: Ryan M. Roberts OUR PEOPLE’S MUSIC GROUP ENTERTAINMENT LLC. 1525 Sandlapper Way

PAIN APPARELL LLC 2707 Bunche Street Wilmington 28405 Agent: Alfonza Walker Jr. PARKER O’CONNELL VENTURES LLC 7102 Farrington Farms Dr Wilmington 28411 Agent: Parker O’Connell PEREGRINE WAY HOA INC. 3412 Osprey Lane Wilmington 28409 Agent: Jefferson C. Woodall PERSONNEL TECHNOLOGY LLC 1202 Yardley Lane Wilmington 28412 Agent: Scott L Monroe PESI CARE LLC 1902 Eastwood Rd Wilmington 28403 Agent: Peggy Singer PGB NORTHCHASE II LLC 2049 Corporate Drive Wilmington 28405 Agent: Tiffany Bates PHILLIPS & SON LAND SERVICES LLC 1075 Phillips Bay Ln NE Leland 28451 Agent: Kimberly G. Phillips PIEDMONT INDUSTRIAL HEMP LLC 212 Dixie Ave. Wilmington 28403 Agent: Michael Long PLUTO LABS L.L.C. 6508 Windmill Way Suite B Wilmington 28405 Agent: Ellis Haroldson PORT CITY DELI LLC 1225 Deer Hill Drive Wilmington 28409 Agent: Bradford Heaton POSITIVE RATE LLC

8632 Plantation Landing Drive Wilmington 28411 Agent: Gregory Vining PRECISION CONSTRUCTION SERVICES NC LLC 1518 Lake Park Blvd S Apt 4D Carolina Beach 28428 Agent: Ismael Soto PRECISION PILINGS AND FOUNDATIONS LLC 402 Carl Street Wilmington 28403 Agent: Cape Fear Tax Accounting Solutions LLC PRESERVATION STATION INC. 5413 Cross Creek Rd Wilmington 28403 Agent: Joelle Scholer PRESTIGE CONCIERGE SERVICES OF THE CC LLC 402 Carl Street #102 Wilmington 28403 Agent: Cape Fear Tax & Accounting Solutions LLC PRG TRANSPORT L.L.C. 108 South Lloyd Street Burgaw 28425 Agent: Brittany Guyton PRO HANDYMAN SOLUTIONS INC. 1917 Robert Luke Dr NE Leland 28451 Agent: Tony J. Gilbert PROPERTY REVISION LLC 2081 Burnett Blvd Wilmington 28401 Agent: Jon Holtzclaw PURE AGAPE LLC 1308 N 5th Street Wilmington 28401 Agent: Shana Franks PURE HAIR CO. L.L.C 7122 Market St Ste 114 Wilmington 28411-9891 Agent: Shannon Lowe QAADIR’S BOUTIQUE LLC 4878 Malpass Corner Rd Burgaw 28425 Agent: Bakari Qaadir R&R COASTAL HOME INSPECTIONS LLC 240 Capital Dr Hampstead 28443-1138 Agent: Eric Remilev

RABBLE AND ROSE LLC 201 N Front St Ste 513 Wilmington 28401 Agent: Anna Marie Precythe REAL CLEAN EXTERIORS LLC 108 Brookwood Ave Wilmington 28403 Agent: Gabriel Chandler REAL PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT LLC 3819 Park Avenue Wilmington 28403 Agent: GM Entity Services Inc. REALSTAR SOLAR SYSTEMS LLC 1 Sun Court Carolina Shores 28467 Agent: Graeme Black REFINED RENOVATIONS ILM INC. 3701 Tumbril Ln Wilmington 28412 Agent: William N. Simpson REMEMBER OUR HISTORY INC. 713 Caswell Beach Road Oak Island 28465 Agent: Kathleen M Hines RENEWED VILLAGE 228 Green Bay Rd NW Ocean Isle Beach 28469 Agent: Lucas Grainger RESURRECT HER BEAUTE LLC 505 Costin Rd Burgaw 28425 Agent: Zipporah Jordan REVIS YACHT SALES LLC 5314 Ridgewoodheights Drive Wilmington 28403 Agent: Tyler Revis RICHMOND HILLS NORTH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC. 2018 Eastwood Road Wilmington 28403 Agent: Premier Management Company RIPTIDE BUILDERS DEVELOPMENT INC 8985 Marshview Ln SW Sunset Beach 284684602 Agent: Robert Eric Hill

Page 16

September 4 - 17, 2020

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

| ACHIEVERS | Send information about company hires, promotions or awards to editor@wilmingtonbiz.com

UNCW Board of Trustees elects 2020-21 officers The UNCW Board of Trustees elected officers for the 2020-21 academic year. HENRY “HAL” KITCHIN was named board chair, GIDGET KIDD is vice-chair, and HENRY “HANK” MILLER III was named the board secretary. Kitchin has been a member of the Kitchin board since 2013. He has been re-elected as chair, leading the board, the executive committee and the endowment board. Kidd has been a member of the board since 2013. She is a current member and past chair of the Asheboro City Schools Board of Education. And Miller has been member of the board since 2015 and currently serves as a member of the Board of Aldermen for Wrightsville Beach.

Thomas Construction Group names new hires Wilmington-based Thomas Construction Group has announced the addition of several new employees. KYLE BROOKS, KRAMER JOYCE and JAKE CONNOR have joined the general contracting firm. Brooks is a senior estimator with 10 years of experience Brooks estimating jobs ranging from $2 million to over $50 million in value. Joyce is a superintendent with the firm, and will be responsible for assisting the on-site team Connor with subcontractor management, meeting milestones, cost management, client communication and project safety. Connor has joined Thomas Joyce Construction’s accounting department as a project accountant, responsible for working with project managers and superintendents to maintain project costs.

Anderson joins Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co. JOHN ANDERSON has joined Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co. as a real estate broker. Before joining the firm, Anderson “covered an extensive territory as a medical device sales representative specializing in cryoAnderson therapy for total joint replacement patients,” officials said. Anderson is a Wilmington native. He graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies.

CAMS promotes Orr DAVE ORR has been promoted to president of the Community Association Management Services. Orr previously served as the Community Association Management Services (CAMS) senior vice president of community management. With the transition, Mike Stonestreet’s title is founder/owner, and Orr Dave Sweyer’s title is CEO/owner. Before joining CAMS, Orr was responsible for the daily operations of a large community association management company. He has also served as senior vice president of a large community association management company’s lifestyle division.

Rock joins McKim & Creed engineering McKim & Creed Inc. has welcomed THOMAS ROCK to the firm’s engineering team. Rock is the company’s Mid-Atlantic subsurface utility engineering (SUE) manager, overseeing the firm’s professional SEU services from Georgia to Pennsylvania, including the Wilmington location. In his nearly 40Rock year career, Rock has been involved with every facet of the industry, from working on SUE crews to managing projects to leading a national SUE company. Rock is a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in industrial technology.

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

September 4 - 17, 2020

Page 17

SPECIAL FOCUS: WOMEN IN BUSINESS

IN THE NEWS

How to calculate a career BY JENNY CALLISON umbers have always held an allure for Tammika Brown, and eventually, they added up to a career for her. It’s not every young girl who finds joy in reconciling checking accounts, for instance. But as a youngster, she did. “Back in the days when banks sent out all the canceled checks with monthly checking account statements, I used to reconcile my parents’ bank account. I couldn’t wait for that envelope to arrive so I could put all those checks in order,” Brown said. By the age of 12, she had her own checking account. Brown had a powerful example: her mother, who started as a bank teller and moved up the banking ladder to a position as vice president. Brown’s family moved to the Cape Fear area when she was a teenager. She attended North Brunswick High School and then headed off to Bennett College in Greensboro. She debated whether to major in business or in accounting but ultimately chose the latter.

“I studied accounting, watching how money could grow through compound interest, through putting money in the bank, in the stock market: things that allow those numbers to grow,” she said. Brown’s first job was as a night auditor at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside (now Hotel Ballast) in Wilmington. Within a year, she became an accounting clerk in the executive office. But in late 2001, her path took a slight turn when she became an accountant for a small business. She said the work was engaging because she could see the whole picture of the business’s finance. In her first foray into small business accounting, Brown said she was able to really manage the finances of the $2 million company. Her knowhow saved the company a significant amount of money, she said. She replicated that experience with another small business and then decided she was ready to open her own shop. She launched Tammika C. Brown Accounting and Tax Service LLC in the fourth quarter of 2016.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER

By the numbers: Tammika Brown owns an accounting and tax service that started in 2016.

“Before I started my own business, I was coming across a lot of small business owners who were having trouble with tax issues and paying a lot of money to CPAs and not being educated about taxes or accounting,” she said. “They didn’t know why they

owed money. I knew I could help them reduce their tax liability.” For example, she noted, companies that have lost business during the pandemic could well see some tax benefits. “Businesses that are not doing well need to keep up with their income and expenses for the year,” she said. “If you have a contract with another business, and that contract was canceled, keep that information and tell your tax professional.” In less than four years, the number of Brown’s clients has multiplied to about 250. Brown, a former member of the Community Boys & Girls Club, is also a new member of the YWCA Lower Cape Fear board. It’s a good fit for her, she said. “Empowering women and eliminating racism is right up my alleyway.” Tammika Brown’s profile ran in a recent WILMA Leadership, one of the daily email newsletters from WILMA magazine, the Business Journal’s sister publication. To sign up for that or other newsletters, go to WILMAmag. com/email-newsletter.

Page 18

September 4 - 17, 2020

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

RESTAURANT ROUNDUP

BUSINESS OF LIFE

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

Indochine Express set for Monkey Junction Solange “Niki” Thompson, owner of Indochine, plans to open a satellite location of her popular Market Street restaurant this fall. Indochine Express will be located in the former Chop’s Deli spot off South College Road, just opposite of Wal-Mart in Monkey Junction. Thompson said she has been looking for a satellite location for some time, and always had Monkey Junction in mind. She said she believes takeout and delivery will play a pivotal role in the future of the restaurant industry, making now a great time to move forward with an additional location with that as its primary focus. Thompson credits her dedicated employees with allowing her to move forward with these plans. “It’s truly a very organized, welloiled machine and I’m very grateful to my wonderful staff.” Renovations are now underway at the new location, and pending permits and inspections, Thompson hopes to be open in about eight weeks. Indochine Express will serve all of the restaurant’s most popular Thai and Vietnamese dishes, including a variety of curries, Pad Ki Mao and Pad Thai. - Jessica Maurer

WANTS TO HELP YOU STEP UP TO BETTER FINANCES Regardless of your starting point in life, you’re a neighbor, not a number. Everyone should have the chance to build wealth and learn how to manage their money better.

READY TO

Please reach out to Kandra Romeo, Director of Community Relations at kromeo@excitecu.org or 910.793.2235

Federally insured by NCUA

Castle Street restaurant Rx reopens for dining in It’s been more than five months since James Doss and his wife, Sarah Rushing Doss, made the decision to close Rx Restaurant on March 15 because of COVID-19. Rather than remain open and do to-go orders only, they wanted to protect those they employed. “Our staff is our first concern,” Rushing Doss said. “We chose to close down completely instead of doing takeout ... [and] cut our expenses as much as possible.” Rx, 421 Castle St., received a Paycheck Protection Program loan, so the Dosses used their time off to figure out how to operate the restaurant with new safety protocols in place and ensure economic viability. They reopened Aug. 27 and had

also instituted a family-style takeout program, using a new pig cooker to prepare a whole hog and offer Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue and sides. The post also noted that Rx will have limited to-go items from its regular restaurant menu. So far, it will offer chicken wings, pimento cheese and ham. Rushing Doss will post it on their website as soon as it’s updated. They have also started building an outdoor dining area to double the amount of people they can serve.

New chef at Boca Bay brings back Sunday Funday Every Sunday for more than a decade, Boca Bay had been a brunch hotspot in Wilmington, serving upward of 300 people in a mere five hours. The restaurant and its famed brunch buffet—packed with waffles, sausage, blintzes, even a madeto-order omelet station—went on hiatus once COVID-19 hit the U.S. in March. Even when Boca Bay reopened under Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order in phase two, the owners had to re-evaluate what Sundays would look like. “We removed the buffet since customers use common serving utensils and dispensers, as they move through the [line],” said Kevin Jennings, who, with his wife, Stacey, owns Boca Bay under the Urban Food Group umbrella. “However, the outreach for us to keep our brunch going was so strong, we knew we needed to come up with a different plan.” So they hired Chef Dean Bauer to oversee the 2025 Eastwood Road eatery. First on his agenda: Bring back Sunday Funday with an a la carte menu, featuring 15 new items, including asparagus strudel, chicken and waffles and smoked corn and lobster chowder, among others ($6-$28). The menu also includes $2 mimosas. A culinary arts graduate from Schenectady County Community College, Bauer has worked in hospitality since age 19, including at Wilmington’s Beau Rivage and Carolina Beach’s Marriott. He took the helm at Boca Bay in June. Bauer also is sharpening Boca’s sea-faring palate, with the goal of making it “the most vibrant and exciting seafood restaurant in Wilmington.” - Shea Carver

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

wilmingtonbiz.com

September 4 - 17, 2020

Page 19

| BUSINESS OF LIFE | Bakery gets a taste for success BY SHEA CARVER

hen Brian Dickey opened Sweet D’s Cuisine, a bakery located at 2321 S. 17th St. in the old Priddyboy’s location, he thought he would be able to ease into its operations. Between the pandemic curtailing a lot of normal foot traffic at local businesses and depending on wordof-mouth to draw in customers, a soft opening seemed reasonable for Aug. 1. By the end of the second week being open to the public, Dickey realized he needed to hire a general manager sooner rather than later. He couldn’t oversee front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house and keep within his expectations of stellar customer service. “My wife couldn’t believe it when I told her during the first week of service how busy we were,” he said with a laugh. “She took off work the second week to help out and see for herself. Customer response went above our expectations.” By Aug. 22, Sweet D’s was churning out 200 dozen sweet croissants a day – not to mention other treats, like mini pies, cupcakes, cake pops, homemade ice cream and milkshakes. Local hospital and medical industry workers, immediate neighbors of the bakery, were the first to show support. Once social media caught the sugar rush, it sent the bakery viral among locals. “The day I signed the lease on this property, I had a feeling it was going to do well,” Dickey said. “I knew God was going to look over me and make this happen – but I had no idea it was going to be this popular. I just wanted to offer something sweet to people during these hard times we are facing as a nation.” On Aug. 28, the bakery’s sales tripled after local TV station WECT ran a story that garnered 87,000 views. The bakery had to enforce a one-dozen limit per customer for the rest of the day until they could restock their product. Sweet D’s traction keeps gaining strength, too, as folks stop in daily to ask about posts they see from the business’s Facebook page. Staff constantly promote something decadent and tempting for customers. Almost always, first-time inquiries become repeats. “These things are addicting,” said

PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER

Family business: Sweet D’s Cuisine, a bakery on South 17th Street, specializes in filled croissants and other sweet treats. Pictured are owner Brian Dickey (right) and his wife, Shante Dickey (left), with their children Nyla Dickey (from left), Julian Hilliard and Gabriel Dickey.

one gentleman upon entering the bakery. “I’m already a return customer – and I was just here yesterday.” “What’s your specialty?” another asked. “The cream-cheese filled croissants,” Dickey answered. “But we also have specialty items every weekend; this weekend it’s all Oreo-flavored.” Sweet D’s croissants come either plainly glazed or stuffed with various fillings, like chocolate, lemon, raspberry, blueberry, apple-caramel, Bavarian cream, white cream, strawberry cream cheese and so on. They serve them coated in cinnamon and powdered sugar, as well as offer specialties like chocolate-covered banana-filled, vanilla-covered strawberry-filled and maple-bacon. “My sister started us on this journey 10 years ago,” Dickey said. “We’d always stop in Whiteville at Darel’s, [another bakery that specializes in sweet croissants]. We felt a place like that would do great in Wilmington.” Dickey hired a professional food

company to develop and perfect their dough recipe, so it’s crispy on the outside, with a flaky yet soft crumb, and perfectly sweetened by its glaze. His 20-plus person staff pump all fillings to order. “Making sure everything is fresh is how we stand apart,” Dickey said. No stranger to hard work, Dickey’s entrepreneurial spirit gained its footing more than a decade ago. He started Gifted Hands Services, a cleaning company that employs 32 people. During COVID the company had larger cleaning contracts – Lowe’s Home Improvement and UNCW, among them – which helped finance the opening of Sweet D’s. Branching out into the restaurant industry has been a dream of Dickey’s since youth. In fact, the name of the bakery comes from his mother, Dee, and father, who went by the disc jockey name “Sweet D” on 1490 AM. “My mother had a restaurant when I was younger in the Seabreeze/ Carolina Beach area,” Dickey said. “I can remember her making shrimp burgers and hamburgers. Also, my

grandfather was a good cook – he fed 13 kids daily. I’d watch him and my grandmother make homemade biscuits, but he would never tell me the recipe. He just said, ‘You gotta do it and feel the dough.’” Dickey already envisions Sweet D’s evolving into a savory restaurant down the road. He also plans to expand the sweets menu to include gluten-free items. Taking in customer feedback is important, too, and being community-inclusive, Dickey said. “We have talked about starting a book club for kids,” he said, “so every time a child finishes reading a book, we give them … something sweet. We think it’s important to reward hard work.” If the success of his first bakery is any indication, growing into a second, even third location seems like a natural next step. “Franchising is a possibility,” Dickey confirmed. “It’s something I’ve already considered. People are coming in from Charlotte and Raleigh, asking if we would open a Sweet D’s in their city. It’s been truly amazing.”

Page 20

September 4 - 17, 2020

wilmingtonbiz.com

Greater Wilmington Business Journal

Greater Wilmington Business Journal - Sept. 4 Issue

Articles inside

Business of Life

In Profile

Economic Development

Banking & Finance

See FLOW

Health Care