A Wilmington-based small business, which entered its 10th year Friday, is growing its franchises elsewhere and hopes to expand in the Port City area as well.

Giggles Drop-in Childcare, a convenienced-based child care service with its headquarters in Mayfaire, will open a second location in Greenville, South Carolina, with a target date of April 1, said Michelle Richards, who owns the business with her husband, Zach Richards. The new Giggles in Greenville will mark the company's sixth location overall in the Carolinas.

Over the past year, the company has seen rapid growth, Michelle Richards said.

"We have just sort of been focusing on that. We started the franchise company from our original location and we are responsible for selling, and opening and maintaining, everything that goes along with the franchise locations," she said.

Michelle Richards said the business started with a conversation with her husband more than a decade ago.

"Our business was born at the kitchen table just talking about ... the concept of drop-in childcare, because it wasn't new to us, and we just felt like we could do it much, much better. And so our mission was always to provide the service at a much higher standard than anybody else in the market," Michelle Richards said.

The Richards officially opened the doors of Giggles at its first Wilmington location in Howe Creek Landing on Feb. 16, 2008. Within five years the business grew out of the space, she said. The Richards found a new home for the business in The Offices at Mayfaire II and became one of the first tenants there.

Giggles has an average of about 80 to 100 children going in and out of the Wilmington center a day. The company also hosts afterschool and summer camp programs, as well as unlimited memberships.

The first franchise opened in Cary, in September 2013, just after Giggles moved into its new space at Mayfaire, she said. That portion of the business has a slow start, she said. But last year, three locations opened, in Jacksonville, Raleigh and the first franchise in Greenville, South Carolina.

Ten-year anniversary celebrations are taking place at the Wilmington location over the next two days.

The business employs about 10 people in Wilmington. Future plans are to open a second location in Wilmington and expand franchise operations further.

Michelle Richards said the goal is to eventually expand into 100 locations, with market research taking place for franchise sales across the country.