New Businesses in the North Brunswick Area – Part 1

by Justin WilliamsJan 1, 2019North Brunswick

Charlie Graingers – Leland

Why was 2018 the right time to open your business? We felt the community needed a restaurant with a more diverse menu. We offer foods that other restaurants in Leland do not offer, making us unique.

What made Leland the ideal location for you? It’s my hometown! My grandfather owned and operated a restaurant in Leland at a time when there were very few restaurant options. It had a hometown feel, and we wanted to bring that environment to a restaurant in Leland. It is a convenient location with another business I own, so we can keep abreast of the needs of our employees and the awesome people who visit regularly. We want to have that “hometown” feel.

What services/products do you offer? The primary items on our menu are hotdogs, beef brisket, BBQ, pork chops, ribs, chicken salad, soups, baked potatoes, collards, mac & cheese. We offer catering services for any size event or party. ‘

What separates you from the competition? Our menu items are made fresh daily, made from scratch! The brisket and BBQ are smoked. We have a great location, a different menu, we serve beer but maintain a very friendly family environment. We Jove seeing happy families.
What has been your leading success so far? The response from the community that visits our restaurant. Everyone loves the food and the warm environment. Our patrons are truly our success story.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome? Marketing ourselves to the community. Letting the community know what we offer great food at the restaurant, but also getting the word out that we do bulk orders for events, parties and we do catering.

What can we anticipate from you in the future? We are always trying new menu items and welcome suggestions from the community. We want to do more catering and we are working on a food truck to travel to community events so that we can reach more people.

College Hunks- Moving and Junk Removal

Why was 2018 the right time to open your business? Yes, many factors proved positive in opening during the summer of 2018 to include an improved economy and the continued robust growth of the housing market in Brunswick County.
What made Leland the ideal location for you? Leland is a great location due to the proximity of the bypass and the ability to head South down 17 and/or North on Hwy 140. The Leland business community is very supportive along with the N Brunswick Chamber of Commerce.
What services/products do you offer? Our company, College HUNKS Hauling Junk and Moving, offers on-site removal of unwanted items for donation or disposal. Secondly, we are a full service Moving Company. Often times, the two go hand in hand as individuals and families that are moving have items they do not wish to move to the new location.
What separates you from the competition? HUNKS – Honest Uniformed Nice Knowledgable Service. We take a lot of pride in giving our customers a Stress-Free experience. Our on-line reviews speak to the performance of our team. Since opening in June of 2018, we have over 270 reviews and a 4.9 customer rating on Listen 360 and over 25 Google Reviews with a 5 Star Rating.
What has been your leading success so far? In short order, the performance of our TEAM has set franchise records. We have controlled our growth to make sure our HUNKS are well trained and our performance is consistent. This is important in maintaining high customer satisfaction reviews and that will assist us in our continued growth as here in the Cape Fear Region.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome? Hurricane Florence. We had to evacuate our Junk & Move Trucks to keep them out of harms way and this lead to a shut down of our business for ten days. Upon return, the demand for our service, both debris removal and move, was overwhelming. We were able to meet the challenge while maintaining extraordinary customer performance reviews. This was not easy task, but the HUNKS “hunkered” down to get it done!
What can we anticipate from you in the future? We are hoping to expand our availability in 2019 by adding 1 – 2 additional move trucks. This will lead to additional employment opportunities as our company grows and promotion opportunities for current HUNK team members. We are still laser focused on controlling expansion and growth so that we will not overpromise and underdeliver on performance. Our goal of premium value and customer service delivery is our top priority.

Computer Warriors

Why was 2018 the right time to open your business? Timing is important, but when you have a great product or service that people need and want, I feel that it is your obligation to serve as many clients as possible, as soon as possible, without sacrificing your quality. We were at the stage that we had worked out strong systems, processes, and training, and wanted to grow the business and serve more of our community. Also, we wanted to get established in Leland before any other competitors decided to do the same.

What made Leland the ideal location for you? I own a home in Leland, and started Computer Warriors out of my garage in that home, located in Mallory Creek Plantation of HWY 133S. I used to have clients meet me at my home, and at their house, and in random parking lots actually. Leland was the birthplace of Computer Warriors, and I have wanted to open a location in the Harris Teeter shopping center for probably 4 or 5 years, but we were never ready to do so financially. I also saw that there were no retail establishments like ours offering the products and services we offer in the area, such as phone repair and computer sales / repair, and we wanted to be available for the community so people didn’t have to go over the bridge for these services.

What services/products do you offer? We offer computer repair services, phone repair, microsoldering, a good selection of laptops and desktops for sale. We perform in-home service calls for technology needs, ranging from home networking, computer troubleshooting, and universal remote control setups. Our tagline is that “we keep you connected, one device at a time!” Our sister company, Computer Warriors IT Support, provides B2B IT Support services and Managed Services to our clients, and “We’re in I.T. Together!”
What separates you from the competition? I think our level of caring and attention to detail, along with speed of repairs. We realize that getting devices repaired quickly and back to the client as soon as possible is so important, because these devices we fix are the gateway people have to keep them connected to their families, community, and businesses. Downtime is frustrating, and we have worked very hard to systemize our processes so we can be thorough, accurate, but also extremely timely in our repairs. If you check our reviews, you can see how much our clients appreciate this. Between our 3 locations, we currently have over 1250 5-star reviews with a rating of 4.9 or 5.0 out of 5.0!

What has been your leading success so far? I think our culture and team members have created this success with their ability to connect with others. We strive to hire people who are talented in their field, of course, but we focus on the human aspect. We want to make sure our team members have a high degree of emotional intelligence and empathy, so they can relate with our clients in more meaningful ways. We want to break the mold or stereotype of being those geeky guys who have zero people skills and will talk down to you since you don’t understand technology like they do. Unfortunately, we run into these types when we are hiring, and do our best to avoid them.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome? Honestly, the biggest challenge as a business owner is overcoming my own limiting beliefs and mindset. This has changed greatly over the years, but it is a constant struggle to grow and develop myself, because at the end of the day, I am the only thing holding my company back from being successful. What I’m willing to tolerate, what I believe is possible, what I’m willing to accept from others, etc.

What can we anticipate from you in the future? You can expect for us to constantly be reinventing ourselves, anticipating what our clients need, and moving in that direction. We will strive to offer 5-star customer service and will grow our retail store to offer a greater variety of computers and accessories to make a more convenient, one-stop shopping experience when it comes to technology. We will also be offering more educational services through seminars, classes, and teaching, to help our communities understand how to utilize their technology to make their lives better.

Harrington Village

Why was 2018 the right time to open your business? Leland is growing with leaps and bounds. There is a high demand for quality and affordable housing.
What made Leland the ideal location for you? “I am a believer in the Leland area and have dedicated the past 15 years of my career to building here. People want to have an environment where they can eat, shop, sleep, dine and have a nice comfortable place to walk. This is what we are giving them,” Logan said in a recent release
What services/products do you offer? We are a stunning new mixed use urban development in the heart of Leland. Our apartment homes come complete with high-end finishes and luxurious amenities designed for a picture-perfect lifestyle. Convenience and comfort are key at Harrington Village where you can “live, work and play…” relax by the resort-style pool, or enjoy the cool shade under the veranda with TVs and lounge area. Need to work while the family plays? The well appointed media room will keep you on track with work/school, and is equipped with Mac, PC’s and printers. Unwind with friends in the billiard/gaming room. All this and a Starbucks Barista Station. Other amenities on-site include a playground, 24-hour fitness and yoga studio, fitness-on-demand service with barre bar, cyber café, bark park, pet wash stations, on-site laundry facility, and valet trash.
What separates you from the competition? This is not your traditional residential-only apartment complex… this is a new, healthy way of life which is highly sought after in today’s rental market! We are helping our residents support their lifestyle goals, not only their housing needs. Our community creates a little town in the heart of Leland with almost 30,000 SF of mixed-use commercial space on the ground floor of three buildings. Elevators access the apartments above. Harrington Village is not only a beautiful place to live, but also offers unparalleled amenities and the convenience of having shoppes, restaurants, and local businesses right next door.
What has been your leading success so far? Location, Location, Location! Harrington Village is located on Village Rd., one half mile west of the most heavily traveled artery in Northern Brunswick County, the approach to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge accessing Wilmington, NC and the Route 17/Route 421 bypass around Wilmington. NC to Interstate 40/140. The central location makes it easy to commute to work and visit the many area beaches and recreational attractions of southeastern NC.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome? Customers with immediate housing needs we have not been able to meet due to our community being under construction has been a challenge our team has had to overcome. Hurricane Florence also contributed to challenges as damaged buildings delayed construction and scheduled move in dates. Fortunately, our teams pushed forward and were able to move residents in the middle of October 2018.
What can we anticipate from you in the future? Harrington Village is currently breaking ground for phase II of the project and Harrington Square is in the final construction stages to open (getting schedule date from construction). We will be working hard to make the vision of this one of a kind, upscale, urban , walkable town become a reality!

Locals Tavern

Why was 2018 the right time to open your business? The space became available in 2018. The previous occupants had established a great clientele. We wanted to continue to expand on what has become a “locals” hangout.
2. What made Leland the ideal location for you? With the growth of the Leland area, we wanted to open a location that the owners reside in, as well as our customers.

3. What services/products do you offer?We are a full/bar restaurant with a late night menu, open 7 days a week. We offer daily specials and nightly entertainment 5 of the days that we are open.

4. What separates you from the competition? For starters, we are not a franchise. All food is made to order. We have live entertainment, the NFL ticket and we offer weekend shuttle service for our customers.

5. What has been your leading success so far? Our intention was to create an environment that is family friendly in a laid back atmosphere.

6. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome? We didn’t have a lot of bar/restaurant experience as owners so we had to learn the rules & regulations surrounding this industry.

7. What can we anticipate from you in the future? We will be introducing a new menu in the coming months. As well as changing the look of the entertainment area to allow full enjoyment of our pool tournaments and live bands. Stay tuned!