Spring business comings and goings across the Greater Outer Banks

Spring business comings and goings across the Greater Outer Banks

May 29th, 2023
OBX Chamber holds ribbon cuttings for Hook Law, Holiday Inn Express-Kitty Hawk, Sandy Paws Pet Care


Myra Ladd-Bone, Immediate Past Chairman of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Broker at Atlantic Realty congratulated Chief Operating Officer Tejal Desai; Shareholder Letha McDowell, CELA; and President Andrew “Andy” Hook, CELA, AEP, CFP for the opening of the new Hook Law office at 8 Juniper Trail in Southern Shores.

Hook Law offers a full range of services to help you address any legal matters or plan for anything life brings.

“We believe in the old adage that failing to plan is planning to fail. We take a unique holistic approach to solving your legal and financial issues, offering extraordinary, comprehensive solutions that maximize your opportunities in estate and long-term care planning, high-net-worth strategies, conservatorships, trust administration and beyond.”


Jim Gilreath, Chairman of the Chamber Board and Attorney at Rose, Harrison, Gilreath & Powers, P.C. congratulated Chris Brown, President, and Jack Zimmerman, Sr. VP of Operations of Coastal Hospitality Associates for the grand opening and renovation of the Holiday Inn Express Kitty Hawk.

The multi-million dollar renovation of the former Baymont by Wyndham Kitty Hawk was completed in April, and returns the property to the Holiday Inn Express brand.

The Holiday Inn Express Kitty Hawk – Outer Banks is owned and managed by Coastal Hospitality Associates, headquartered in Virginia Beach.

Located at 3915 North Croatan Highway near mile post 4, the 98-room hotel is situated on almost 5 acres of property and located just a short walk from the oceanfront.

Coastal Hospitality also owns and operates the 100-room Holiday Inn Express Nags Head Oceanfront, which underwent a similar conversion.


Gilreath also congratulated Kayla Knight, owner of Sandy Paws Pet Care, serving the northern beach towns from Duck to Manteo.

Sandy Paws Pet Care offers walks, drop-ins, daycare, and overnight pet sitting in your home. Find out more by calling (252) 580-8086, email sandypawspetcareobx@gmail.com, or visit their Facebook page.

May 23, 2023

Southern Bank celebrates new branch in Manteo with Outer Banks Chamber ribbon cutting

Jim Gilreath, Chairman of the Chamber Board and Attorney at Rose, Harrison, Gilreath & Powers, P.C. congratulated Neil Songer, Senior Vice President, Area Manager; and Jason Waughtel, Executive Vice President Coastal Region; on their new location for Southern Bank in Manteo.

The new branch is located at 318 U.S. Highway 64.

Southern Bank’s former location on Roanoke Island is now the offices of Outer Banks Community Foundation and the new Outer Banks Center for Nonprofits.

May 2, 2023
Outer Banks children’s boutique celebrates 25 years; creative collective art and gift shop opens in Nags Head


The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony as part of Rock-A-Bye Baby’s celebration of a quarter-century in business.

Myra Ladd-Bone, Immediate Past Chairman of the Chamber Board and broker at Atlantic Realty congratulated Cindy Floyd for the 25th anniversary as your one-stop shop for baby and children’s clothes, gifts, accessories, and more at the Croatan Centre near milepost 14 on South Croatan Highway.

Their large selection of children’s and baby products includes popular brands and one-of-a-kind boutique items. Find out more at https://rockabyebabyobx.com/.


The chamber, along with sponsors Ace Hardware and Townebank/Towne Insurance, held a ribbon cutting for Artsy Octopus at 7128 S. Virginia Dare Trail in Nags Head.

Lynne Miles, Chamber Board Member and Administrator of Regional Operations for Outer Banks Health, congratulated store owners Maria Monds, Lauren Smith, and Michelle Smith.

This is a creative collective art and gift shop with 45 local artists.

They offer classes in Seaglass jewelry making and resin beach scenes. More classes to come soon. The shop has fused glass, resin art, sterling silver beach jewelry, photography, paintings, prints, gourmet spices and mixes, shell art, painted furniture, custom painted surfboards, custom home signs, needle felting and watercolor art, and commercial items.

April 21, 2023
Updates on Pioneer Theater, commercial projects in Elizabeth City; New boutique in Southern Shores

Reopening night is getting closer, as work on the historic movie house in Downtown Manteo continues. That includes bringing back a classic look.

Back in February, workers began tearing away the Tudor-style façade to examine the original front of the brick theater on Budleigh Street, and it was hoped that some of the original Art Deco-design marquee remained.

So now the The Basnight and Hatchell families, who  who purchased The Pioneer Theatre from the Creef family over the winter, are having a replica of the marquee constructed.

Andy Griffith at the marquee of the Pioneer Theatre in downtown Manteo ahead of the premiere of Face In The Crowd on July 16, 1957. [Aycock Brown Papers/Outer Banks History Center]
Managing partner of the group is Michael Basnight, who returned to the Outer Banks last summer after three-decades, and says they will bring back the Pioneer this May with mostly movies, but live music and community events and more are already on the schedule.

Construction of Petco continuing, apartment complex and convenience store in Elizabeth City on hold


Multiple commercial projects were submitted to City of Elizabeth City planners last year, with progress on one new business, while others are on hold.

According to the city’s Community Development Department, construction of a Petco at 117 Tanglewood Parkway South in front of Walmart is progressing steadily.

Halstead Apartments NC, LLC proposal for the construction of 8 apartment buildings totaling 168 units in the Stockbridge neighborhood is currently on hold after a Technical Review Committee meeting and no major movements have taken place.

A proposal for a Royal Farms convenience store on the northeast corner of Halstead Blvd Extension and Mount Everest Drive North is still in the review process.

New boutique opens in Southern Shores

Richard Hess, past chairman of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce board and Realtor at Sun Realty, congratulate Courtney Semones and Angie Gray (center) on the grand opening of Sojourn. [submitted photo]
The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, along with sponsors ACE Hardware and TowneBank/Towne Insurance, held a ribbon cutting on April 4 for Sojourn.

Courtney Semones and Angie Gray have opened the thoughtfully curated boutique at 1 Ocean Blvd, Unit 113, in Southern Shores.

Sojourn features women’s and men’s clothing, shoes, and accessories, as well as a fantastic collection of home goods and gifts for any celebration.

April 4, 2023
Elizabeth City bookstore, garden and gift shop, Nags Head restaurant all on the move

A trio of Greater Outer Banks businesses are either settling in or prepping to head to new locations.

After having to vacate their original Water Street storefront in Elizabeth City, and a brief stay at Kenyon Bailey Shopping Center on McArthur Drive, popular locally-owned Page After Page Bookstore is back in downtown at 104 South McMorrine Street.

Page After Page had their Grand Reopening during First Friday ArtWalk. Located in Kenyon Bailey’s new second location, they debuted a bunch of new features including a candy bar. Check out the new store in the video below from their Facebook page.

Kenyon Bailey Shopping Center, which had been located on McArthur Drive for decades, also has a new home at 1205 West Ehringhaus Street, while still featuring cute, trendy clothes, garden decorations and gifts.

Due to the weather over the weekend, they had to postpone their grand opening celebration to this Wednesday. Find out more at https://kenyonbaileyshopping.myshopify.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/kenyonbaileyshopping.

In Nags Head, Blue Moon Beach Grill announced on Sunday that their run at Surfside Plaza has come to end, as they get ready to head just down U.S. 158 to their stand-alone restaurant that’s been under construction for the past year.

Dune Street Grill and Raw Bar, named for the street that connects the Bypass and Beach Road adjacent to the Surfside Plaza, is currently scheduled to open in the corner space later this spring.

Ribbon cutting for new owners of Duck’s General Store

[submitted photo]

The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, along with Ribbon Cutting Sponsors ACE Hardware and TowneBank/Towne Insurance, held a ribbon cutting on March 9 at Duck’s General Store.

Jim Gilreath, Chairman of the Chamber Board and Attorney at Rose, Harrison, Gilreath & Powers, P.C. congratulated Heather Martin and Chris Costa for their new business ownership and membership with the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce.

Duck’s General Store is a popular gift shop located directly beside the famed restaurant, The Blue Point, and was purchased by Martin and Costa on November 22, 2022 from Kathy and Don Nye.

Both from Taunton, Massachusetts, Martin is a CPA and Costa is a regional sales manager for a large national beverage company.

Their store is filled with the work of several local artists, cedar fence post ducks, duck decoys, coastal-inspired home decor, OBX tees, sweatshirts, hats, and souvenirs, humorous cards and napkins, unique gifts, and tons of other fun items!

More info at www.shopduck.com or call them at 252-261-5579.

March 13, 2023
Nags Head independent insurance agency nears anniversary; shopping center welcomes new tenants, eatery

Basnight and Moran Insurance Agency. [submitted photo]

Transferring from one local couple to another, an independent insurance agency in Nags Head will soon be celebrating their first anniversary.

Husband and wife team of Allen Moran and Caroline Basnight purchased The Willey Agency from Fletcher and Linda Willey last April. But other then the change in name, the staff, phone numbers and offices at the Nags Head Professional Center are still the same.

Basnight and Moran Insurance Agency offers a full line of home, commercial, business and auto products through a variety of carriers.

“We have been working hard over the past few months to ensure the transition was seamless and uneventful for you,” Moran wrote in a March 3 email to clients. “We look forward to continuing the longstanding tradition of providing local, friendly, and professional service to the same standards you have known and trusted throughout the years.”

It’s been a busy offseason at Surfside Plaza in Nags Head, with a host of new occupants at the shopping center between the highways at milepost 13.

Surfside Plaza is the new home for OBX Toys and Engraving, Travelers Moon featuring crystals and gems, Dragonfly Art Gallery and Custom Framing, and Family Construction Company Window and Door Showroom.

And another change is coming later this spring, as the popular Blue Moon Beach Grill is almost ready to move into their new home just down the road, and a new eatery will soon take its spot.

Dune Street Grill and Raw Bar, named for the street that connects the Bypass and Beach Road adjacent to the center, is currently scheduled to open by May 1.

March 9, 2023
Discount bin store opens Saturday in Elizabeth City, Outer Banks Brewing Station sold


What some refer to as almost like a treasure hunt shopping experience, DaaBIN Store is opening its 17th location in the country on March 18 in the old Sears Hometown location on Ehringhaus Street in Elizabeth City.

DaaBIN features bins full of overstock and return items, commonly from major online and brick-and-mortar retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target, that is replaced with new stock every week.

“From electronics to household items, to clothing or toys, DaaBIN Store has it all. Anything sold in stores or online can make its way to DaaBins,” the company says on its website.

“A shipment of new product arrives weekly, we restock Daa supply on Thursday & Friday, and every Saturday we have a flash day sale. First come first serve. Every day following decreases in price until Wednesday when we have a fill your bag for $10 sale.”

DaaBins also has stores in Newport News, Rocky Mount, Wilson, Kinston and Graham, as well as Iowa, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

In a short, cryptic post Thursday afternoon on Facebook, the founders of Outer Banks Brewing Station in Kill Devil Hills announced they have sold the business.

No other details of a transaction, and Dare County property records do not yet reflect a sale of the restaurant and brewery that were constructed in 2001. Tax records show the assessed value of the property at $1,813,600.

“The Outer Banks Brewing Station restaurant and brewery began as a concept in 1992 while the founders, Eric Reece and Aubrey Davis were Peace Corps volunteers alongside Tina Mackenzie in Thailand,” according to their website’s About Us page. “Aubrey had grown up spending summers at his grandparents’ place on the Outer Banks, and felt it was the perfect place to start a brew pub.”

The Outer Banks Brewing Station is the first wind powered brewery in the United States, and first local business to produce wind power.

March 3, 2023
Grand opening celebration at locally-owned convenience store, ribbon cuttings at pair of new businesses

After changing hands and brands several times over the last decade, a convenience store along U.S. 158 is now in the hands of a pair of natives.

Ike and Rick’s Barco Food Mart reopened last fall, featuring Marathon fuel, Kripsy Crunchy Chicken, Hunt Brothers Pizza, N.C. Lottery games and more.

They have scheduled a formal grand opening on Friday, March 10 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., including a live radio broadcast during the midday, face painting and DJ spinning tunes in the afternoon.

The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce held a pair of ribbon cuttings over the last week of February, sponsored by ACE Hardware and TowneBank/Towne Insurance.

Landmark Sotheby’s International Realty is now open in Duck, representing the firm’s sixth office location, joining Wilmington, Southport, Ocean Isle Beach, Surf City and Morehead City.

Jim Gilreath, chairman of the chamber board and attorney at Rose, Harrison, Gilreath & Powers, P.C. congratulated Danny Malechuk, CEO and Broker, and Nick Phillips, Founder and Principle Broker, on their new business and membership with the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce.

Landmark Sotheby’s International Realty specializes in brokering luxury and lifestyle real estate, with properties receiving ultimate exposure to qualified buyers via Sotheby’s International Realty’s exclusive marketing channels. Watch the incredible marketing journey that a property takes when listed with the Sotheby’s International Realty brand.

Call them at 252-565-0091 or find them at www.landmarksothebysrealty.com.

John Denny, Chamber Board member and Business Development Manager at ACE Hardware congratulated Renee and Gavin Wente, owners of Loblolly Estate Event and Wedding Venue, on their new business and membership with the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce.

Loblolly Estate is a 31-acre wedding and event venue located in Jarvisburg, and believes every event deserves their full attention and comes with an earnest promise to make your event experience one of a kind.

Call them at 252-455-6536 or find them at www.loblollyestate.com.

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