Meet The Food Entrepreneurs of Block Eatz: Life Is Better With Gelato
Genesis Block is partnering with local food entrepreneurs and Cape Fear Community College to launch Block Eatz. Located at the McKeithan Center on North Campus, Block Eatz is a food hall incubator and commissary kitchen that will help local food entrepreneurs get established and expand their business. The exciting food hall concept is slated to open this fall semester.
Let’s take a look the food entrepreneurs taking residence at Block Eatz.
Company Name: Cafe Frutta Fresca Gelato
CEO/Owner: Lisa Meeting
Description: Cafe Frutta Fresca Gelato is a Gelateria (Italian Ice Cream) shop, restaurant, bakery, pizzeria, and retail souvenir shop in one in Sneads Ferry, NC. They serve delicious European food, soups, pizza, panini sandwiches, crepes, quiche, fresh salads, as well as scrumptious desserts, gelato, ice cream and sorbet, pastries, specialty coffees like espresso and cappuccino, teas, gelato shakes, sorbet smoothies, handmade chocolates and much more.
Website: https://www.cafefruttafresca.com/
GB: What motivated you to apply for and become a member of Block Eatz?
LM: We have been in the gelato manufacturing and restaurant business since 2017 in Onslow County. We applied to be a part of Block Eatz, so we can successfully expand our business into the Wilmington area. Opening a new location is very expensive, and requires a lot of resources as well as advertising to get the word out to draw in customers. Starting out with Block Eatz helps to reduce those barriers.
GB: As a local food entrepreneur, what are your biggest challenges?
LM: The lack of funding to grow our business and expand our production capacity as well as not having enough employees for our business have been our biggest challenges.
GB: What do you expect to gain from your experience in Block Eatz?
LM: Being a part of Block Eatz will help us break into the market without having to invest a lot of capital. It will also give us the opportunity to get a feel for demand for our products and services in Wilmington while helping to position our brand in the market, before we open a brick and mortar store in the area. Through Block Eatz, we will have a chance to work with culinary students who could potentially become members of our team once we transition out of the program space into our own location in the area.
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Greater Wilmington Business Journal: https://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/insights/girardnewkirk/237
