After more than 15 years in the strip mall opposite Walmart, Antonio’s Pizza & Pasta of Monkey Junction is moving to a new location next to Eggs Up Grill at Beau Rivage Marketplace, 5932 Carolina Beach Road.

Co-owner Willie Beasley, who owns the two Wilmington Antonio’s locations, as well as one in Powdersville, South Carolina, with business partner Steuart Watson, said the lease at the current location is ending and he and Watson have been seeking a larger location.

“Thank goodness business has been good and we’re in need of a larger location,” Beasley said. “The new location offers us a brand new space with about 1,000 more square feet of space at a lower cost and with better visibility and parking.”

Originally slated for a second Port City location of MOD Pizza, Beasley said that plan fell through last year, and the space went back on the market prior to MOD’s build-out.

“This allowed us to come in and build the space from the ground up,” Beasley said. “We hoped to be in by January, but like most things these days, there have been delays.”

Now Beasley is hoping to be open by the end of June. The current location will likely close for two or three days at the end of the month in order for the staff to move some equipment and finish setting up the new restaurant.

About 90% of the kitchen equipment and all of the dining room furniture will be new at the Beau Rivage location. It will feature an expanded kitchen where customers will still be able to see pizzas being made, but the rest of the kitchen will be a bit more closed off than it is currently.

There will also be a 10-seat bar, something none of the locations has had previously. The dining area will have more tables and an updated look, and there will be a patio on the side of the building with additional tables and umbrellas.

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