Editor's note: This version corrects the spelling of Susan Boyles' name.
A longtime Wilmington retailer is opening a bigger location on Market Street after closing its Lumina Commons store.
The Seasoned Gourmet and its cooking-class counterpart, Cape Fear Food and Wine Club, is expected to begin welcoming customers to its new address, in a shopping center at 5500 Market St., with a soft opening in March, said manager Susan Boyles. The business has a target date of April 2 for its official re-opening, she said.
The need for more space and visibility were factors in the decision to relocate.
"One of the shortcomings of being in Lumina Commons as we were is that there was no visibility from the main road," Boyles said Thursday. "The additional space was a big consideration because we knew if we were going to do this, we wanted to have the cooking school be a separate space beside the store so that classes or private events could be conducted at any time."
She can seat more than 30 people taking cooking classes. "We'd also be able to accommodate private events like cocktail events, with well over 40 people. It's a space that will allow us to do many things, and we're very pleased with it."
The new location, Unit 110 in The Promenade at North Market, is 4,137 square feet compared to the 2,600 the business had at Lumina Commons. After first opening more than 20 years ago in Landfall Center, The Seasoned Gourmet moved to Lumina Commons in 2009. With the help of contractor Buddy Green of CCSI, The Seasoned Gourmet is in the process of upfitting the new store and school, including installing a glass wall between the retail section and the cooking school.
"Working with the business owner, Randy Newton, and his manager, Susan Boyles, to locate the right place to take their business to the next level was exciting and rewarding," said Terry Espy, president of commercial real estate brokerage and development firm MoMentum Companies, in a news release this week. "The expansion of the cooking school as well as the enhancement of their wine bar could only be possible in a larger and strategically located space. This location will enable them to reach an even broader audience."
Boyles said they are also in the process of working with their instructors to put together a new cooking class schedule, with classes also expected to resume in April. Some customers and students come from as far away as Jacksonville and Brunswick County, she said.
The store's top-selling items, according to Boyles, are bottles of wine, which start at about $7 each and are made by small-production and family-owned wineries.
"You would see our wines on restaurant wine lists, but you wouldn't probably see them in a grocery store," Boyles said.
Coming in second for The Seasoned Gourmet's top sellers are its kitchen tools. "There will be even more room for gadgets" at the Market Street location, Boyles said.
The Promenade at North Market is a 24,400-square-foot, two-story center that includes a mix of office and retail space, including new restaurants set to open in coming weeks. Built in 2004, Promenade Partners LLC bought the center for $5.4 million in 2008. PODS Ventures LLC then bought it for $3.2 million in April 2014, and the center's current owner, Alexander Place Shoppes LLC of Morrisville, purchased the property for $1.86 million in June 2014, according to New Hanover County property tax records.
