Wilmington-area stores and businesses are seeing the same impacts from supply chain bottlenecks as the rest of the country. Triggered by the pandemic, a ripple effect has hit a variety of sectors. From waitlists for vehicles because of the chip shortage to fewer frozen turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving, supply chain disruptions have popped up in a variety of ways. To exp ...

In recent years, efforts to aid military veterans in the pursuit of employment and in the creation of businesses have been on the rise in the Wilmington area. For example, Bunker Labs, a nonprofit that provides resources for veteran entrepreneurs, launched a Wilmington chapter in 2019 to help military veterans and military spouses start and grow successful businesses. ...

Two recent business announcements focused on the downtown Wilmington area. Wilmington Downtown Inc. last week introduced officials with Parastream Development, which bought more than 7 acres in the historical Soda Pop District that includes the former Coca-Cola building on Princess Street. From the $8 million sale, the developers plan to add manufacturing, retail and re ...

An FDA advisory panel voted Tuesday to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11. If the FDA and CDC approves emergency use of the pediatric doses for Pfizer’s vaccine, providers are preparing for distribution as early as the next couple of weeks. Pfizer has released data from its clinical trial about the vaccine, which is a third of the dose older c ...

Some local efforts to support startups and small businesses have been focusing on minority- and women-owned business owners. To that end, Wilmington entrepreneurs Tracey and Girard Newkirk last year founded Genesis Block, a company that provides business development services. "We have 54 companies that we provide specific business development services for, whether ...

Wilmington tech company Vantaca recently announced its plans for a $5 million expansion and to double its workforce with about 100 new jobs. The firm, which works with association management companies, has secured local and state incentives tied to the expansion, and the average annual salaries for the new jobs are expected to be more than $80,000. On Tuesday's B ...

Homebuilding is big business in the Wilmington area, and the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association is the fifth largest in the U.S. The industry is working to meet an ongoing demand for new homes in the midst of the pandemic, issues with materials and other concerns. On Thursday’s WilmingtonBiz Talk, we discussed the industry with two local experts:&nb ...

This week's WilmingtonBiz Talk focused on the Blue Economy, a concept that has given rise to a growing local initiative to boost what the World Bank defines as “the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem.” A local group has formed called the Alliance for a B ...

Thursday's BizTalk covered significant state funding issues for transportation as well as the future of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. The panel included Chad Kimes, the area’s division engineer for the N.C. Department of Transportation, and Mike Kozlosky, head of the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. They discussed transportation, i ...

The Wilmington area’s housing market has been hopping even in the midst of the pandemic, with retirees continuing to flock to the region and people who can work from anywhere moving here, among other new residents. A slight slowdown in July, however, was indicative of weary would-be buyers trying to cope with an intense seller’s market.  To provide s ...