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From the archives: A Wilmington shopping center gets a major boost from a grocery store

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From the archives: A Wilmington shopping center gets a major boost from a grocery store

By the late 1980s, a Wilmington shopping center was looking for its next big anchor. To make it happen, it turned back to a familiar type of place.

According to a story in the Dec. 8, 1989, edition of the Wilmington Morning Star, work was set to begin in 60 days on a Harris Teeter grocery store at Long Leaf Mall. The center lost Winn-Dixie in 1986 and since then mall merchants had anxiously awaited a new store to help generate more traffic.

Harris Teeter planned to open at the end of the year, but construction problems caused delays. Instead, it looked to open in summer 1990. The store was set to replace a Harris Teeter on College Road at Oleander Drive.

The mall’s owners saw Harris Teeter’s arrival as a chance to renovate the rest of the complex similar to the grocery store’s designs.

Harris Teeter, which has seven locations in New Hanover County, is still at Long Leaf Mall and joined by other large tenants such as Gabe’s department store and Big Lots. Several restaurants are also Long Leaf Mall, including Papa Murphy’s pizza, Jimmy John’s and Tokyo Express Grill.

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