A locally owned restaurant and bar plans to open a second location in a new shopping center under construction in northern New Hanover County.

Cape Fear Seafood Company is leasing 4,100 square feet of space in Bayshore Commons, a Wal-Mart-anchored center under construction at 8107 Market St., said Nicholas Silivanch, a partner in the company in charge of leasing at the center, Eastern Carolinas Commercial Real Estate.

“We think that side of town is underserved as far as restaurants go, and we’re looking to expand,” said Evans Trawick, owner of Cape Fear Seafood Company.

The restaurant opened in January 2008, in 2,300 square feet, at its current location in Myrtle Grove Shopping Center at 5226 S. College Road. Three years later, the business expanded into an additional 1,500 square feet.

“We opened six months before the crash [start of the Great Recession], and I can tell you, the first couple of years were a struggle, but we have grown every year since we opened,” Trawick said.

He said the developer of Bayshore Commons, Paramounte Development Corp., is expected to deliver the restaurant’s building by late summer. Environments Unlimited Inc., a Wilmington construction company, assisted Trawick as he searched for a second location and will be upfitting the new restaurant.

Trawick said he hopes the Bayshore Commons location will be open by November. He said his Myrtle Grove restaurant employs 32 people, and the new location will likely employ at least 35 people.

In addition to Cape Fear Seafood Company, five other businesses have signed leases at Bayshore Commons: McDonald's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Fantastic Sam’s hair salon, Lee Nails and Sally Beauty Supply.