7 minute read
UNCONTAINED
OUTSIDE
BOXby Bridget Callahan photo by Megan Deitz the The Cargo District gains momentum and brings female entrepreneurs along the way
Asuccessful business is rarely a thing that comes out of nowhere. More often, it’s the result of years spent collecting skills and Elizabeth Cardamone is a Wilmington native who has spent a lifetime getting to know this city, from her early days as a bartender at Elijah’s to wedding coordinator to her last experiences, combined with the ability position at local nonprofit WARM, to sense a moment of opportunity. Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry. For ELIZABETH CARDAMONE, Now as a partner with her husband, the beginning of the COVID lockdown she finds herself managing almost was one such moment. Last year, finding 75,000 square feet of retail and office herself in lockdown with her then- space in The Cargo District, an fiancée Christian and both of them opportunity to put all those hard-earned working from home, she says it felt like organizational and networking skills to the right time to jump into Christian’s use. burgeoning property management Developed by L.S. Smith Inc., The business. Cargo District rose in the past couple of The now-married couple owns Aloha years, growing around an initial cluster
Wilmington Real Estate, and Elizabeth of unique apartments at 1602 Queen
Cardamone’s found herself at the heart Street built from shipping containers. of the up-and-coming Cargo District It now expands over several blocks and close to downtown Wilmington. includes stores, professional offices, “It’s definitely been interesting,” eateries, a coffee shop, a distillery, and she says. “Taking on something so new more. during the pandemic just forced us to “I love the concept of the shipping both think outside the box and operate containers for something new and totally out of our comfort zones, which I different,” Elizabeth Cardamone says. think is something I needed. “I’m a big fan of minimalism, and I “I think The Cargo District is full think downtown that’s what we need of people like that, who had to think – affordable rental spaces. It’s one of outside of the box, and I think COVID the reasons we have these young, firstwas just the push everyone needed. We time entrepreneurs coming to our area all have these ideas of maybe one day because it’s not these sprawling office
I’ll do this or maybe I one day I’ll own spaces or a giant strip mall.” something of my own. That’s definitely Just as the neighborhood isn’t the case for a lot of people in the standard, the Cardamones have a unique
District.” approach as well.
WOMEN-OWNED OR CO-OWNED BUSINESSES IN THE CARGO DISTRICT
THE PLANT OUTPOST Sarah Mertz HALF UNITED Carmin Black AUGGIE & ZO Zoe Jurusik MISSIO HAIR Lorin Van Zandt HAIR BY VANESSA Vanessa Grant Teasley PETALS TO THE PEOPLE Erin Ellsworth ROSE + HONEY STUDIO Kat Christian OUTPOST COFFEE CO. Kourtnie Souders NOURISH NOSH Kendra Burgon TAY LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT Lynne D’Eramo WHOLE WATER SOLUTIONS Nory Simoneaux SALT + CHARM Abbye McGee LETTERS FROM AFAR Shawnee Mills SOUTH CASTLES Caroline Castles END OF DAYS DISTILLERY Beth Faulkner ALOHA WILMINGTON REAL ESTATE Elizabeth Cardamone TRANSCEND BOOKKEEPING & FINANCE Jenna May SHERRY BLACK DESIGNS Sherry Black MEREWIF (coming soon) Savannah Watson JEAN PALMER HOME (coming soon) Rebecca Milligan
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“The one thing we like to highlight as the property managers is we’re not a cookie-cutter management company. We’re not a one-size-fits-all,” Elizabeth Cardamone says. “We are boutique, we’re a small team, and we collaborate daily. We want to find local, innovative creative owners and companies to come into the community and work with this synergy we’ve already got going on. We want to find the right space for everyone. Everyone doesn’t need 1,000 square feet. Some people just need one shipping container.”
The businesses in the District are diverse, including popular favorites like The Plant Outpost and burger mecca Mess Hall. There are stylists, private chefs, and retail boutiques.
NORY SIMONEAUX is a local real estate broker and co-owner of Whole Water Solutions, a company that installs reverse osmosis systems. She and her husband, Paul, picked The Cargo District because of its proximity to different neighborhoods and their belief in the area.
“I think this area will continue to see consistent growth,” she says. “People are attracted to the energy, and The Cargo District has created a destination area. People come for plants and stay for coffee or come for a burger and end up remote working all day. It truly is unique, and we feel fortunate to be a part of it.”
ZOE JURUSIK, owner of boutique Auggie & Zo, echoes that optimism.
“There is an aura around The Cargo District that is energizing, refreshing, and inspiring. You can feel it when you’re around here. It’s a community that strongly backs one another as it continues to grow and develop, and that kind of support can be rare. I just knew this was the place I wanted the store to be and to be a part of that communal growth,” Jurusik says.
That sense of togetherness definitely struck Elizabeth Cardamone, who says she’s impressed by the businesses’ willingness to embrace newcomers.
“That’s one thing I’ve brought to Aloha: helping these younger female entrepreneurs who have this vision of what they want but don’t know how to get there,” she says. “One thing we really pride ourselves on is sitting down and saying, ‘Tell me your dreams; tell me what you want,’ and we’ll tell you how to get there.” W
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by Lynda Van Kuren | photos by Terah Wilson
