Top recent business news

Feb. 13--Serving coffee with a smile

WILMINGTON -- Malik Bullock's warm smile welcomed customers inside the small shop tucked within the corner of Kerr and Wrightsville avenues.

"Welcome to Beau's Coffee," Bullock said. "How may I help you?" Bullock works as a cashier at Beau's, a unique coffee shop designed to give individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities a job. It's Bullock's first job.

"I like saying 'good morning' and 'goodnight' to the customers," Bullock said.

Bullock has an intellectual disability that can make social interactions difficult.

Amy Wright, founder of Beau's Coffee, said the shop is a way to help folks like Bullock by integrating people with disabilities into the workforce.

Local doctors turned inventors

WILMINGTON -- As a longtime eye surgeon, Alan Brown is used to encountering problems. And when a solution isn't readily available, don't be surprised if he invents one.

With multiple patents under his belt, Brown, owner of both the Surgical Eye Care clinical practice and medical device company Surgilum, has devised tools that not only aid his own office but those of colleagues around the world as well. Brown is one of a handful of area doctors with an entrepreneurial streak that have brought a product to market in recent years.

"Physicians are really trained and paid to fix problems," Brown said. "Usually we look to industry to solve problems, but since I was 7 years old I've been inventing. Dad was a tinkerer. It's just kind of in the genetics."

From the StarNews to MSNBC

NEW YORK CITY -- Robert Demetrious, 28, has come a long way since he worked as a freelancer for the StarNews and then journalist and producer for WECT.

Today, the Ashley High School graduate is a producer for the MSNBC morning show "Morning Joe." He works from 2 until 10 p.m. setting up the show for the next day.

Demetrious researches topics and prepares info sheets to help the hosts as they explore a variety of topics. For that day, he'd also prepared "one sheets," as he calls them, on GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and for an interview with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Arts center nice, but needs more use

BRUNSWICK COUNTY -- The Leland Cultural Arts Center is a high-quality facility, but more people need to use it.

Town officials say the facility, at 1212 Magnolia Village Way near the Magnolia Greens entrance, has been a success since opening in March. But they acknowledge they want more people to take advantage of it for classes and private events.

"Year one was always going to be kind of getting the door open, getting the word out," said Niel Brooks, the town's parks and recreation director.

Outreach can be difficult in Leland, Brooks added, because the town lacks any true local media and doesn't provide water service to many of its residents, thus losing the ability to include flyers in mailers.

___

(c)2016 the Star-News (Wilmington, N.C.)

Visit the Star-News (Wilmington, N.C.) at www.starnewsonline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.