Chef Vivian Howard and Ben Knight, the couple who own Chef & the Farmer in Kinston and star in the PBS show A Chef's Life, have signed a lease for 206 Greenfield St. in Wilmington.

With an opening expected by this summer, Benny's Big Time Pizzeria will serve wood-fired pizzas, but it won't be a typical pizza joint, said Terry Espy, president of MoMentum Companies. 

She said Howard and Knight bring a unique touch to their eateries.
 
"They’ve made a significant impact in Kinston, and they're welcomed with open arms in Wilmington," Espy said.
 
The 3,700-square-foot space leased by Howard and Knight is part of the second phase of South Front Apartments, a Tribute Companies project to redevelop property that was previously used as a warehouse complex into apartments and a restaurant.
 
Howard will be in town 4-6 p.m. Friday at the Lowes Foods Community Table of Wilmington, 341 S. College Road, where she will greet guests and sign her New York Times best-selling cookbook, "Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South."
 
Registration is required and can be completed online. The cost of the event is $40, which includes a copy of the book. A limited number of tickets will be sold.

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Restaurant reporter Jessica Maurer contributed to this report.