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December 4 - 17, 2020
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BUSINESS OF LIFE
This is a sampling of stories from the Business Journal’s weekly Restaurant Roundup email. Subscribe at wilmingtonbiz.com.
Multiple restaurant owner closes Bone & Bean BBQ James Smith, owner of Bone & Bean BBQ, announced via Facebook on Nov. 20 that he would be closing the Carolina Beach Road restaurant on Nov. 28, calling it the most difficult post he’s had to make in his business career. Smith, who owns the downtown and Carolina Beach locations of Fork n Cork as well as Smoke on the Water in Riverlights, took over the restaurant three-and-a-half years ago after founders and fellow Texas natives, Pam and Chris Valverde, put the business up for sale. Smith carried much of what the Valverdes had on their original menu, including brisket, pulled pork, smoked turkey breast and smoked chicken wings. He added St. Louis-style ribs and baby back ribs to the menu and gained a loyal following with dishes such as short ribs and chicken-fried ribeye. But despite that, Smith said the location had always been an issue, and it just didn’t get the flow of traffic necessary to stay in business.
Gregory Farms decides to launch own wine label In 1987, Paul and Martha Gregory bought a 113-acre blueberry farm in Currie, about a 15-minute drive from Wilmington. Over the years they not only grew blueberries but with the growth of their family, the farm grew to 251
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acres, ponds were dug and an old tobacco barn was relocated and restored into living quarters. Gregory Farms became a place for family and friends to gather. In 2012, Paul Gregory died at the age of 89, but the farm stayed in the family. His son Alan and his wife, Pam, bought the farm from the family estate in 2016 and began revitalizing it. Now the couple has partnered with another muscadine grower in Smithfield, as well as a vineyard and winemaker in Lexington, to produce wine under the Gregory Farms Vineyard label. The label includes several wines, three muscadines, a sangria, a rosé, a chardonnay, a merlot, a traditional cabernet and a double-barrel cabernet aged for 10 months in oak barrels and an additional six months in Jack Daniel’s barrels. Wines range from $14 to $26 a bottle.
The Blind Elephant owner partners on mobile bar Ashley Tipper, owner of The Blind Elephant, partnered with longtime bar manager Cabell Bryan to launch Vagabond Spirits Mobile Bar, specializing in customizable curbside cocktails for private events. Tipper embarked on this offshoot of The Blind Elephant last November when she purchased a camper to refurbish as a mobile bar. Tipper said she had a surplus of income from last year which she wanted to reinvest back into the business. The process of refurbishing the camper ended up taking months longer than expected, but it is now up and running and the team is currently booking dates through the holidays and beyond. - Jessica Maurer
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