Haute dogs
Lee Kent ups the hot dog game in Leland Page 23
March 20 - April 2, 2020 Vol. 21, No. 6
wilmingtonbiz.com
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SPECIAL FOCUS REGION IN FOCUS
BRUNSWICK CO. PAGE
County moves: Randell Woodruff crosses county lines
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Housing repor t: South Brunswick’s buying spree
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Going to the dogs: Brodee Dogs’ Leland leap
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VIRAL VOID
Index Economic Indicators .............................. 3 Technology ............................................. 4 The List .................................................. 5 Hospitality ............................................. 6 In Profile...............................................10 Real Estate...........................................14 Business of Life.............................. 22-23
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PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER
Standstill: Greenfield Lake, shown above, was to host Scotty McCreery’s sold-out concert this month, but it was postponed as officials looked to try and prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Events around the region were rescheduled or canceled, as classrooms and attractions also closed their doors to keep people apart.
CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS BRING CAPE FEAR REGION TO A STANDSTILL BY CECE NUNN he Greenfield Lake Amphitheater would have been filled with country music fans March 13. They would have been listening to former American Idol star Scotty McCreery singing live, probably crooning along at some point to the North Carolina native’s biggest hit, “Five More Minutes.” But before then, the five minutes were up for the Wilmington area, the state and the nation when it came to gatherings like concerts. It was another way everyone’s lives, and the way people do business, shifted rapidly this month as public health officials and governments put in place drastic measures to help slow the exponential spread of COVID-19. The highly contagious form of the
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coronavirus, especially deadly to the elderly and immune system-compromised, is expected to affect the local, U.S. and global economy for an undetermined length of time. Not even a hurricane. “There’s a clear end to a hurricane or most other natural disasters,” said Adam Jones, regional economist with the University of North Carolina Wilmington. “I don’t know, and I’m not sure anybody knows, what the end of the virus looks like.” Already, the virus has had a profound impact on one of the area’s major industries: tourism (for more see page 6). The N.C. Azalea Festival, set for April 1-5, was canceled for the first time in its more than 70-year history, and organizers were expecting 200,000 people to attend and spend money in the Wilmington
area as a result of the event. Area cancellations came in quick succession in the following days, including CFCC’s Wilson Center suspending its events for the next month. On March 16, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that for the following eight weeks, organizers cancel or postpone in-person events consisting of 50 people or more throughout the U.S. as a means of controlling the spread. The recommendation came after Gov. Roy Cooper ordered that mass gatherings of 100 people or more be canceled in North Carolina and all schools in the state be closed, beginning March 16, for at least two weeks. On March 17, Cooper issued a See VIRUS, page 8
