Fire & Spice Gourmet owner Tommy Cooper has been helping folks expand their palates for nearly two decades. Now, he’s expanded his specialty food, wine and kitchenware shop to include a tasting room and additional retail space at his new Oleander Drive location.
 
Quartered in the Cotton Exchange since 1998, Cooper was attracted to the new location because it is more centrally located for many of his customers. It also provides space for a dedicated tasting room where Cooper can now serve both beer and wine.
 
“Wine has been a healthy part of our business for a while now, and the market for craft beer just continues to grow,” Cooper said. “Now we have the space to hold regular tastings and help customers discover what they like.”
 
The core of Fire & Spice’s business remains its seasoning blends, sauces and condiments. Cooper said the hot sauce market alone has increased probably 50 to 60 times what it was when he first opened. He explained that following the financial crisis of 2008, many people were forced to find new ways of generating income and thus new products began to flood the market.
 
Cooper’s shelves are lined with products from across the globe, with special sections dedicated to products from North and South Carolina and Louisiana.
 
Many of the products are made right in the Cape Fear region, from Addiction Sauces to 8th Wonder Spice Blend to Cooper’s own label, Cat Daddy’s Cookery.
 
Cooper said he learned to cook from his father who was an army cook stationed in the South Pacific for much of his career.
 
“As a cook in the army, my father had to work with ingredients he’d never tasted growing up in North Carolina,” Cooper said. “His food was always so flavorful and he always encouraged me to taste as I cooked. And that’s what I tell my customers now. I really enjoy sharing ideas for how to experiment with new flavors.”
 
Throughout the summer Cooper will carry a variety of fresh local produce at a tent outside the building he shares with Progressive Gardens.
 
“The idea is not to compete with other produce vendors, but to have a few locally grown items on hand to supplement what customers may need to prepare a meal,” Cooper said.
 
Fire & Spice Gourmet is located at 6005 Oleander Drive.
 
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