FIRST ON 3: Urban food market coming to Downtown Wilmington

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Downtown Wilmington is known for the riverfront, delicious restaurants, the boom brewery industry and now another unique business heading to Front Street.

Fresh produce, breads, meats and seafood will soon be a little more convenient for those living, traveling or working downtown. A food market called Farmin’ on Front is will be opening in a few months.

“A lot of people know us from our retail store (Carolina Farmin’) we had on Market Street in August 2011,” Marketing and Sales Director Randall Heath said. “We had the store for two years and vacated, but since we have moved to the Farmin’ Creative Campus.”

Farmin’ Brands currently works with about 100 area restaurants and country clubs.

“We bring in all these raw materials from local farms and other producers in the area,” Heath said. “We have a creative team that uses those items to make different things like soups, salads, sandwiches, breads, pastries. We package and prepare those items., then distribute them back out into the market via our wholesale division.”

Now all those local products that usually wind up in commercial kitchens can be in yours. An urban food market coming to downtown means big growth for the company.

“We are looking to add on 15 to 20 people for the new opportunities in downtown Wilmington, but we are also going to have to have the team at the Creative Campus to produce and supply this store,” Farmin’ Brands President Ben Long said.

The location of the market is 143 North Front Street, which A Second Time Around resale shop recently left.

“We love the windows out front so hopefully you’ll be able to come in and see the excitement going on in our store,” Director of Retail Development and Special Projects Jonny Alexander said.

The store is set to open in early summer.