It’s not an unusual sight these days: A crowd of mostly masked shoppers lining up outside for a chance to shop at Trader Joe’s in Wilmington.   Grocery stores across the country, including the Trader Joe’s chain, are experiencing a boost during the age of coronavirus from consumers who haven’t been dining out as much – or at all – ...

Economic developers in the region are having to adapt to the ever-changing business environment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.   Due to impacts, Wilmington Business Development has changed the way it operates, specifically from a business recruitment perspective, said Scott Satterfield, CEO of the private, nonprofit organization that oversees business recruit ...

Editor’s Note: Starting in March, the Business Journal featured area businesses and how they were adjusting operations, innovating and coping in general with the economic impacts of the coronavirus. For this issue, we’re providing updates on some of those businesses as they continue to work through the ongoing pandemic.    Getting fruits, veggies a ...

Last week, the state started requiring people, with some exemptions, to wear face coverings in public to help slow the increasing spread of COVID-19. On Wednesday’s BizTalk , Southport Mayor Joe Pat Hatem, who is also a doctor, discussed why the Brunswick County city enacted its own face covering requirement before the state did and why face coverings might make a ...

Wearing a blue mask, Danielle Cullen shopped Friday at Mayfaire Town Center in Wilmington with some friends. She waited for them just before noon outside Sunglass Hut, which had a four-person occupancy limit as a result of restrictions aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19. Asked why she wore a mask to shop, Cullen, an 18-year-old Winston-Salem resident, said, &ldq ...

For many gym owners and operators across North Carolina, the state-mandated closure of fitness centers is becoming a costly one. Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday afternoon that the state will continue in phase two of its economic reopening plan for another three weeks. That means gym facilities would have to remain closed until the order is re-evaluated again in ...

Wilmington will be one of many sites around the county to take part in a third-phase trial for the development of a potential coronavirus vaccine. Trial Management Associates LLC (TMA), along with Bart Williams and Will Jones, two physicians at Wrightsville Family Practice, have been selected to conduct the trial in Wilmington, according to a news release Wedn ...

New Hanover County has awarded 130 local small businesses with $10,000 each through the county’s Small Business Economic Incentive Grant Program, releasing the names of the recipients Tuesday. The investment of $1.3 million in local small businesses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic was officially announced and approved by the Board of Commissioners on June ...

A Wilmington-based clinical research management company and a local family practice have been selected for the second phase of a coronavirus vaccine trial, which could help fight COVID-19, according to a news release. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna Inc. selected Trial Management Associates LLC (TMA) and Wrightsville Family Practice for the phase two tr ...

At least one local event venue has made use of the time it's been closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic to make changes. Meanwhile, some events are starting to roll out in some unique ways in the Wilmington area.  The Brooklyn Arts Center, which is still closed to major events, has been undergoing an overhaul of the facility at 516 N. Fourth St. in Wilmington ...