Potbelly Opens In Mayfaire As Owners Eye Growth

Wilmington’s second Potbelly sandwich shop opened Friday – a milestone franchise owners Brent Brouse and his wife, Michele Brouse, have been working towards for years.

“It’s been quite the meandering journey,” Brent Brouse said about their path to opening the second Potbelly. The new restaurant is located at 6818 Parker Farm Drive in a building formerly occupied by SunTrust Bank.

The Brouses have been eyeing the building for a Potbelly since before the bank branch closed in 2020. Brent Brouse said the Mayfaire building was initially intended to be Potbelly’s first Wilmington location. However, zoning and technical issues delayed those plans.

For example, banks and food establishments have different setback requirements from residential neighborhoods. Because the building is within 800 feet of the Cambridge Village neighborhood, the Brouses had to secure a zoning variance before plans for the restaurant could move forward.

The Brouses opened Wilmington’s first Potbelly location at 2515 S. 17th St. in Wilmington in July 2020.

They formally submitted plans to upfit the second location last summer and secured the needed permits early this year. Despite the setbacks, Brent Brouse said the building is ideal from an operational standpoint because it has ample parking, room for a drive-thru and is located in the heart of Mayfaire.

At just over 3,000 square feet, the new location will be one of the chain’s largest restaurants nationwide, Brent Brouse said. Most Potbelly locations have between 1,500 to 1,800 square feet.

Founded in 1977 in Chicago, Potbelly today has more than 340 company-owned locations across the U.S., with an additional 80 shops owned by franchisees, according to company officials. The chain, known for its warm sandwiches, salads and hand-scooped ice cream shakes, became a favorite of Brent Brouse when he lived in Chicago and worked at Potbelly in the early 2000s.

After moving back to North Carolina in 2012, Brent Brouse contemplated opening a restaurant but didn’t want to jump into owning a full-service eatery.

“This was actually a great fit because I loved it as a customer,” he said.

In 2018, the Brouses signed a development agreement to bring at least 13 Potbelly locations to the Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Greenville, North Carolina markets. The completion of a second Wilmington location is an important stepping stone in that larger plan, according to Brent Brouse.

“We’re going to aggressively grow, but this was such an important store to that growth plan,” he said. “And because it was taking so long to come online, it really was inhibiting our growth in other markets.”

The Brouses want to bring more Potbellies to the Cape Fear region, eyeing areas like Porters Neck, Leland and neighborhoods around the University of North Carolina Wilmington. But finding the right spot is critical.

“If I can’t find the right location, I’m not gonna force it,” Brent Brouse said. “That’s probably my biggest obstacle … is finding the right piece of real estate.”

Upfitting the former bank building in Mayfaire was an “entire gut job,” which included converting the bank’s vault into a walk-in cooler, upgrading the building’s duct system and adding more parking and HVAC capacity, among other changes.

The new restaurant can seat about 60 inside and 30 outside and features a room separate from the main dining room for conferences or other events. Brent Brouse said 25 to 30 employees will staff the restaurant, which will also offer catering and an in-house delivery service for the surrounding area.

The restaurant will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Brent Brouse said he expects the new restaurant to see a longer lunch and more dinner service than the 17th Street location, which tends to see a more robust lunch crowd.

“We’re hoping we can capitalize on the number of businesses in the area, the people that reside in the area,” Brent Brouse said.