The owner of a bar and grill with a longtime presence in other North Carolina university towns plans to open a fourth location in Wilmington after buying property May 14 on South College Road.

Originally a Shoney's Restaurant, the building at 149 S. College Road will soon be home to a new Pantana Bob's, a business that has operated in Greenville near East Carolina University for 40 years, in Raleigh for 25 and in Chapel Hill for 20, said owner Bennett LaPrade.

He said construction on a deck for the Wilmington location and remodeling is expected to begin in the near future, and he hopes the establishment will be open as soon as possible.

Seahawk Nest LLC, organized by LaPrade, bought the property for $1.035 million on May 14 from Jonnykite LLC, according to a deed recorded the same day in New Hanover County. Bill Rose, a broker with Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners, represented the buyer, and Hansen Matthews, partner in Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co., represented the seller.

LaPrade said he'd been looking for a Wilmington location for about four years. The new Pantana Bob's will be less than two miles from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

“College Road is obviously a popular place. There's a lot of students, and so we feel like being close to the university is normally what we do,” LaPrade said.

The 5,000-square-foot building was most recently occupied by an Internet and sweepstakes cafe.

LaPrade said he expects the new Pantana Bob's to employ between 20 and 40 workers, and he's excited about getting it up and running.

“Wilmington is a beautiful, growing, very alluring city to me,” he said. “I think it's a nice place, and everybody I know that lives there or visits there loves it.”