Trading Spaces, Downtown Southern Pines Gets Active

"The lack of stock here speaks to the stability of here. The real estate commercial market is strong - even the office space market," said George Manley of Bell Manley Properties. "We are not in the same frenzy as the residential market. But if you look around, we are stable and we are vibrant. People are out and it is busy."

Bambu Boba Cafe, which opened in the former Nosh restaurant on Broad Street last summer, is combining its operations with Steve's TK Pizza & Subs and moving to the larger space where Meat & Greek was located at 290 West Pennsylvania Ave.

Owners James Lam and his wife, Keena, and sister-in-law Vivi Vonghom, who also own Mai Phi on U.S. 1, are calling their new concept The Block. They're toying with an East/West menu that would have pizza, subs and wings on one side and items like boba, pho, potstickers and bahn mi on the other.

""The popularity of our Asian menu has picked up quite a bit, and we hear a lot about people choosing it as a healthier option," Lam said.

Meat & Greek's owners Brittany and Oresti Arsi have kept their popular food trucks on the road since closing their brick-and-mortar restaurant last summer. They also offer catering from their new home base at 1010 N. May Street in Southern Pines.

Meanwhile, Jaya's Indian Cuisine will move into the former Bambu space on Broad Street in May, three years after opening their takeout-only locations on North May Street. Owners Ekambaram Elamaran (Maran, for short) and Jayarani Elamaran have been looking for the right place to offer dine-in service for several months.

"I'm very excited to get in this place and offer food that people can enjoy here or to-go," Maran says. Plans include expansion of the much-loved lassi lineup and a continued focus on daily specials, but "not a big menu - just simple, and great."

Jaya's will remain open at its current spot at 1020 N. May St. until the new restaurant is ready, and the couple will also continue to operate their catering/food truck business.

Around the corner back in downtown Southern Pines, Janelle Canino of C Cups Cupcakery is relocating from her original location on West Pennsylvania Avenue to the former Taylor David Salon space at 125 NE Broad St.

"It's a few hundred square feet larger so that gives us some room. We loved our spot on East Penn but we have outgrown it," Canino said. "We are shooting to open at the new location in the middle of May to coincide with our 10-year anniversary."

C Cups opened in 2011, the name inspired by Canino's mother who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The business reached profitability within a few months and in 2019, she opened a second, small-batch bakery location in the Pinehurst Department Store building in the village.

"The vacancies are close to zero in our downtowns," Manley said. "A lot of these businesses, like Jaya's, already have a great following. This will be a good move for them."

Bell Manley Properties also brokered the deals to assist Sundi McLaughlin with moving her popular Broad Street retail store, Mockingbird, a few doors down to the former Framer's Cottage location. Another local family-owned business, Furniture of the Pines, opened a smaller, niche store called DAHR where Mockingbird had been.

"Local businesses are changing the look of downtown, tenant by tenant."

Reprinted from The Pilot Wednesday April 28, 2021.