Wrightsville Beach
Wrightsville Beach, NC · Business
franchisechatter.com
Culture, Community, and Showing Up: School of Rock, i9 Sports, and SafeSplash Franchisees Honored by the IFA
Youth Enrichment Brands, the nation’s leading youth activities platform, closed out a milestone year with five franchise owners named 2026 IFA Franchisees of the Year by the International Franchise Association, representing three separate business units across the company’s portfolio. Dan Moore and Quinn Lukas of School of Rock Wexford and South Hills, Pennsylvania, Jay and Danielle Mechtly of i9 Sports in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Amy Albiero of SafeSplash + SwimLabs in Louisville, Kentucky, were honored at the IFA 2026 Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C.
Star News
New details revealed for proposed Hampstead Walmart
New details have emerged regarding the proposed Walmart location in Hampstead. A major site development plan recently submitted to Pender County revealed several new specifics about the superstore location -- including that it will be larger than the original estimate. The Hampstead Walmart, which has been rumored for well over a year now, would be the third location in Pender County . The brand currently has a superstore in Burgaw and a neighborhood market -- a smaller, grocery-oriented location -- in Surf City. Currently, the nearest Walmart Supercenter to the potential new location is at 8025 Market St. in New Hanover County -- around 7 miles from the site in Hampstead. Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust purchased property on U.S. 17 for around $15.5 million. More: This Hampstead grocery store could be expanding New features Plans originally showed the superstore at around 171,000 square feet, but that has risen to 181,000 square feet in the newest plans. According to Pender County Communications Director Brandi Cobb, the increase reflects Walmart’s need for additional space. One key feature confirmed in the new plans is a canopied drive-thru pharmacy, something not shared in every Wilmington-area Walmart. The plans also confirm that an outparcel
WilmingtonBiz
Amazon Robotics Fulfillment Center, Delivery Station Now Open In Wilmington
On Monday, North Carolina’s largest and most advanced robotics fulfillment center marked its launch in the Wilmington region. The robotics fulfillment center, located on the New Hanover-Pender county line, has been ramping up its operations since opening in August, said general manager Josh Lingenfelser. The facility employs more than 1,000 full-time employees and encompasses more than 3 million square feet across four-and-a-half floors.
WilmingtonBiz
Big Projects Having Or Set To Have Major Local Impacts
Built alongside the runway at Wilmington International Airport, Frontier Scientific Solutions’ 530,000-square-foot North American headquarters building serves as a hub for the company’s pharmaceutical logistics operations. Frontier Scientific, which provides temperature-controlled storage and transportation for the life sciences sector, announced its plans for the new facility in November...
hoodline.com
Indianapolis Firm Buys Leland's 334-Unit Marling at Town Creek for $57.7M
A 334-unit apartment community just off Ocean Highway East in Leland has changed hands for approximately $57.7 million, according to public records, as an Indianapolis-based private equity firm makes its first move into the North Carolina coast. The buyer, BAM Capital, says the deal marks its entry into the Southeast real estate market after years of watching the region from afar.
WilmingtonBiz
Local Companies Solve Problems With Their Own Creations
Guitar players come to a Pender County-based business for solutions. Since 2000, Mojotone, a manufacturing firm headquartered at 137 Worth Beverage Drive in Burgaw, has supplied handcrafted amplifiers, cabinets, pickups and other guitar components to enthusiasts and celebrities worldwide. Led by CEO Michael McWhorter, the company moved into a nearly 50,000-square-foot facility on a 6.3-acre site in 2018 and has about 60 employees.
WWAY NewsChannel 3
Leland launches first Citizens Academy for residents, business owners
LELAND, NC (WWAY) — The Town of Leland is accepting applications for its first Citizens Academy, a free six-week program offering a closer look at how the town government operates. The Leland Citizens Academy is open to people who live within town limits or own a business within town...
WECT
Publix announces opening date for new Calabash store
CALABASH, N.C. (WECT) - A new Publix Super Market is set to open next month in Brunswick County. The store, located at Commons at Carolina Shores, will open its doors Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 a.m. The 46,791-square-foot supermarket will employ approximately 140 workers. “We’re excited to welcome customers to...
WWAY NewsChannel 3
Throwback Thursday: Remembering Babcock and Wilcox’s Wilmington plant
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — More than four decades after hundreds of workers walked out of Babcock and Wilcox’s Wilmington plant for the final time, former employees are still coming together to remember the people and the workplace they shared. Babcock and Wilcox came to Wilmington in 1951 and...
coastalreview.org
Cape Fear River Watch vows to hold Chemours accountable
A chemical manufacturing company responsible for contaminating the drinking water sources of tens of thousands of North Carolinians is not adequately curbing its releases of PFAS into the environment, a Wilmington-based environmental group says. In a recent notice to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Cape Fear River Watch...
multihousingnews.com
BAM Capital Enters the Southeast With 334-Unit Buy
The company made the purchase through its fifth multifamily growth fund. BAM Capital has acquired The Marling at Town Creek, a 334-unit community in Leland, N.C., for approximately $57.7 million, according to Brunswick County public records. D.R. Horton previously owned the property, Yardi Matrix shows. This acquisition represents BAM Capital’s...
WWAY NewsChannel 3
MED Week returns to Cape Fear with events for local entrepreneurs
LELAND, NC (WWAY) — Events for Minority Enterprise Development Week, or MED Week, will begin next week in the Cape Fear region. The week is dedicated to empowering and building the local business community. Wilmington Minority Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Atiba Johnson spoke with WWAY’s Tomika Jackson about...
WilmingtonBiz
Redevelopment Of Market Street Shopping Center Makes Progress
Vertical construction is underway on The Grove on Market, the redevelopment of the former North 17 shopping center site on Market Street. The proposed five-story, mixed-use project at 4302 Market St. is expected to include about 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space, with 55 apartments occupying the stories above, according to Annamaria Lookman, CEO of project developer Quantum Real Estate.