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

Chicken Salad Chick nesting in Leland

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A popular franchise in Wilmington is preparing to add a new nest in Leland.

The owners of Chicken Salad Chick, 1131 Military Cutoff Road, Suite A, are eyeing a December or January opening of their second location at 503 Olde Waterford Way, Suite 104. The Leland space, while smaller than Chicken Salad Chick’s location at The Forum in Wilmington, has a drive-thru window, which will give the restaurant another customer service option.

Chicken Salad Chick, with more than 200 locations in the South, the Southeast and the Midwest, features 12 chicken salad variations along with soups, salads and a children’s menu. Everything, according to franchisee Haley Pinder, is made from scratch every day. The Wilmington restaurant sees a wide variety of customers, from retirees who want a healthful, leisurely meal to working folks who stop in for a quick lunch or takeout.

Construction begins for rebranded Leland brewery

· Commercial Properties for Sale · Real Estate Consulting · Commercial Land

It’s been a long time bubbling up to the surface, but a brewery planned for the Leland Gateway District is laying its foundations this week.

Plans for the brewery were first announced in 2019, but since then, had been on hold, according to CEO Mark Said, attributing the delay “predominantly” to circumstances driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re back on track,” Said said. “We poured concrete today and we hope to be open in the first quarter of 2023.”

Owners initially dubbed their establishment 7twenty6 Brewing Co., but had to scrap that moniker because of a trademark issue.

The site is at 133 Old Fayetteville Road is across from Leland Town Hall. The brewery’s 2.5-acre site will feature a nearly 8,000-square-foot industrial-style building, 60% of which will be devoted to production. The surrounding site will be developed as green space for events and activities, including space for children to play.

Leland Brewing Co.’s announcement follows recent news that Leland’s first brewery, Brunswick Beer and Cider (a sister venture to Wrightsville Beach Brewery in Wilmington), plans to open by the beginning of October. · Commercial Office Space · Investment Property Southeastern NC · Commercial Property Management mwmrealestate.com (910) 791-0400 2524 Independence Blvd., Wilmington, NC 28412 2524 Independence Blvd. I Wilmington, NC 28412 910-791-0400 I mwmrealestate.com

Pretzel shop’s new location sees busy first weekend

Aiden Crofton and Brian Granger spent Labor Day weekend twisting the nights away – and the days as well. “I was twisting pretzels constantly for 10 hours each day,” Crofton said. “That’s 30 hours’ worth of pretzels.”

Crofton, owner of Crofton’s Pretzels, opened his new location Sept. 3 and had a line out the door. He and Granger, the shop’s general manager, were overwhelmed at the traffic to the new shop, a 2,000-square-foot former auto shop at 1620 Market St., at the corner of 17th Street. The pretzel shop’s original location, 6014 Oleander Drive, closed in March to allow the two to revamp the new space. Currently, the shop stocks “about 150” bottled craft sodas but will add beer in October when the business obtains its beer and wine license.

Fermental quenches thirsts in Cargo District

Five months to the day after pouring its last beverage in Ogden, wine and beer shop Fermental quietly opened its doors at its new Cargo District location last month. “We didn’t want to announce it; we wanted to make sure everything was ready,” said Steve Gibbs, who owns the shop with his wife, Kristen.

Despite the low-key start, quite a few familiar faces, as well as new ones, have already showed up at Fermental’s new home at 600 S. 17th St.

“There have been a lot of Ogden customers,” Steve Gibbs said. “It was a busy weekend.” Fermental launched in 2012 at 7250 Market St. In 2020, however, the Gibbses learned that the property – the site of several other small businesses in addition to the wine and beer shop – was for sale.

Finding nothing suitable for their business in the Ogden area, the couple looked downtown. Over these past few months, the Gibbses have moved equipment, navigated the permitting process and overseen the building’s renovation.

| BUSINESS OF LIFE|

Upscale Greek food on the menu

BY LYNDA VAN KUREN

Giorgios Nicholas Bakatsias is bringing a slice of Greece to Wilmington. Bakatsias, the head of Giorgios Hospitality Group, is an award-winning restaurateur who owns several renowned restaurants in the Raleigh/Durham area. Kipos Hellenic Cuisine is the latest addition to his empire.

Kipos is an upscale restaurant that emphasizes fresh seafood. It aims to serve the pure, simple, tasty dishes that diners can enjoy at the finest Greek restaurants throughout the world.

Bakatsias’ decision to open Kipos came from a combination of opportunity and a desire to give back to the Wilmington community. When the space housing the former 1900 Restaurant and Lounge in Lumina Station came open, Bakatsias saw a good location at which he could fill a void in the area’s restaurant options.

“There are a lot of great restaurants in Wilmington, but this style [upscale Greek food] is not here,” Bakatsias said. “I wanted to bring something to the community that adds value. Many people in Wilmington have traveled widely and will appreciate elevated Greek cuisine. People who haven’t traveled still want the highest quality of fish.”

As someone who often escaped to Wilmington’s beaches for rest and relaxation, Bakatsias also wanted to do his part for the community that has given him so much.

“This community is so special, and I wanted to be a part of it,” he said.

Bakatsias brought George Delidimos to Kipos as executive chef. Delidimos stressed that Kipos’ Mediterranean fare is far more than the traditional Greek food like moussaka (though the restaurant does serve the dish, and it’s made from scratch).

What makes the restaurant’s expansive menu exceptional is that the food is simple. However, diners shouldn’t let the word “simple” mislead them. “Simple” doesn’t mean that preparing the food is easy and it doesn’t mean the food isn’t tasty, Delidimos said. What it does mean is that diners can “experience the purest form of the flavors and ingredients of a country’s cuisine.”

With Delidimos’ extensive background in the culinary arts, he makes the “simple” food served at Kipos exceptional. The chef trained at the Swiss Culinary Institute in Athens, then apprenticed in hotels across Greece and Europe, before traveling to the United States and joining the Giorgios Hospitality Group. He has been with the Giorgios Hospitality Group for eight years and served as the executive chef of its Golden Fleece Slow Earth Kitchen in Asheville, which was recognized by Zagat as one of the “8 Hottest Restaurants and Bars in Asheville.”

However, Delidimos credits his grandmother for his love of cooking, and he has brought some of her recipes and cooking techniques to Kipos. One of those is braising, which Delidimos uses for many meat and fish dishes.

“These techniques have been used through the centuries,” said Delidimos. “Braising lets the ingredients shine. You cook the food slowly at low heat, and that gives all the flavors time to develop. Whether it’s meat or octopus, we have a lot of braising in this kitchen and use it the most.”

Kipos’s braised beef shortribs, which are served with orzo pasta and the Greek cheese gravierea, exemplify the benefits of braising. The shortribs, which are baked over two days, are first marinated overnight with cloves, cinnamon and rosemary in red wine. Next, they are dry cured with sugar, salt and cinnamon, then seared, then slowly braised in the oven.

“Braising gives different levels of depth to the dish,” said Delidimos.

In homage to its coastal location, Kipos also offers a large variety of fresh, whole seafood, which is sourced from Motts Channel Seafood. Diners can choose from red snapper, grouper, tuna, sea bass, flounder, shrimp and scallops. The fish is so fresh it often has been caught the very day it is selected by a diner for dinner.

Delidimos specializes in preparing the whole fish, which he said ensures the fish is moist and succulent. The fish can be fileted by a staff member or by the customer.

The grouper, already a favorite of Kipos’ diners, is slow roasted in the oven and served with roasted tomatoes, garlic sauce and fennel with a side of leafy greens and radishes.

Another popular seafood dish is Kipos’ fisherman’s stew. The hearty meal is made of aromatic fish stock and filled with clams, mussels, shrimp, salmon, grouper, potatoes and roasted fennel.

In keeping with Kipos’ high standards, the restaurant serves a variety of imported Greek cheeses, such as the above-mentioned graviera, aged feta and vlahotiri. Some are incorporated into dishes or sprinkled over salads, while others are served as stand-alones eaten with other little bites on the table.

There is also a large selection of mid- to top-tier Greek wines and craft cocktails made from fresh herbs and citrus for customers who wish to imbibe. Dessert selections include olive oil chocolate mousse, made from Verona bitter chocolate and topped with sea salt and fresh fruit, and the Greek coconut cake, ravani, which is doused with a luscious Greek syrup.

In Kipos, Bakatsias aimed to make dining more than a meal.

“I like to be known for sharing love through food,” said Bakatsias. “Even if I make a small difference in someone’s life, that is worthiness for me.”

RESTAURANT ROUNDUP

PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER Curating flavor: George Delidimos, executive chef at Kipos, said customers to the new Wilmington restaurant can “experience the purest form of the flavors and ingredients of a country’s cuisine.”