This former Brunswick County restaurant is being repurposed
A former restaurant building in Shallotte will soon be repurposed into a funeral home.
Since the popular Chance's Steak and Sea restaurant closed in April 2023, its former home at 4690 East Coast Lane in Shallotte has sat empty. But seemingly not for much longer.
At its March meeting, the Shallotte Board of Aldermen approved a special use permit allowing the property, which is located in the town's highway business zoning district, to be used as a funeral home.
The property has been a restaurant space since 2012, housing Chance's Steak and Sea most recently and operating originally as a Golden Corral. The restaurant's former owner, David Chance, cited the difficult labor market as one of the reasons for the spring 2023 closure.
According to a real estate listing, the building offers 7,900 square feet of retail space just off U.S. 17. The building was renovated in 2020. According to the listing, the space is poised for a restaurant to move in but could also function as a doctor's office, car lot or other retail space.
To operate as a funeral home, a special use permit was required.
White Funeral Home and Cremation Service is set to move its Shallotte location to the East Coast Drive property. The funeral home has been part of the Brunswick County community for over 70 years.
According to its website, the business began as Coble Ward-Smith Funeral Service at its Bolivia location before the company merged with Peacock-Newnam and White Funeral Service of Southport and White Funeral and Cremation Service of Shallotte in 2015.
The Shallotte location is currently located off Express Drive, but the company looks to move operations to the former restaurant space. SCI Shared Resources, LLC, submitted the application for the special use permit. The funeral home is part of the Dignity Memorial network, which is owned by the LLC.
Before the permit could be granted, the applicant had to prove the use would be in harmony with the surrounding uses. While there are other types of businesses around, such as the nearby Smithfield's Chicken 'N Bar-B-Q, the applicant noted there are two other funeral homes located close by: Brunswick Funeral Service and Peoples Funeral Home.
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Alderman Larry Harrelson owns a property adjacent to the site, so he recused himself from the discussion and vote. The board ultimately voted unanimously to grant the special use permit.
Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter/X @jameybcross.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Restaurant space in Shallotte, NC, to see new use
