Drift coffee shop owners bringing cafe to Hanover Center

Brothers Ben and Michael Powell, shown in their Wrightsville Beach cafe, plan to open a sixth location of their coffee and cafe business, Drift, at Hanover Center in midtown Wilmington. (File photo)

Midtown Wilmington will soon get the Drift.

The owners of Drift Coffee & Kitchen, brothers Michael and Ben Powell, plan to open a cafe serving high-end coffee and a full menu at Hanover Center, 3501 Oleander Drive.

"That part of town is somewhere that we’ve targeted as a good place to be and serve an unmet need," Michael Powell said Tuesday. "There aren't really any independent coffee shops there."

Hanover Center, anchored by Harris Teeter, Hobby Lobby, Books-A-Million and Staples, was originally built in the 1950s and has been the subject of an ongoing transformation. The changes include new tenants, with more on the way, and luxury apartments under construction behind the center.

The new Drift cafe will open in a 2,200-square-foot space formerly occupied by Antonio's Pizza & Pasta. The establishment will be the Powells' sixth location since launching their first Drift coffee shop in 2015 in Ocean Isle Beach.

Since then, they've opened other Drift spots in Autumn Hall, Mayfaire Town Center, downtown Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach. The Wrightsville Beach and downtown Drift locations opened last year.

Michael Powell said the brothers felt they were in solid enough financial shape with a top-notch kitchen and administrative staff to brew up a Drift in an area of Wilmington where customers have wanted one. He said they hope to open the midtown Drift by the end of the year.

"The next stage for us is branching outside of Wilmington, but we want to continue to operate responsibly, take care of our team here and make sure we're executing for our guests as well as we can," he said.

The new Drift is one of several new tenants at or coming to Hanover Center. National discount retailer Homesense is coming to 24,000 square feet in the former home of Stein Mart.

Recently Pedego Electric Bikes opened at the center and Stretch Zone signed a lease to fill the last space within the former Rite Aid storefront, said Randy Kelley, of Wrightsville Beach-based Harbour Real Estate Partners, one of the owners of the Hanover Center in a joint venture with ShopCore. Stretch Zone is a stretching studio that offers practitioner-assisted stretching sessions with patented equipment. 

In addition to more leases in the works, "we are also finalizing our façade remodel scope/budget, which will bring a much-needed refresh to the storefronts and monument signage," Kelley said in an email Tuesday.

He said the first phase of The Flats at Hanover, a 262-unit apartment community behind the center, is expected to be complete in August with the second phase done in October.