Adding spice to Wilmington's food scene

An appreciation for culinary arts, and tea, led Gary and Sue Coleman to open a store in downtown Wilmington that’s filled with exotic spices, olive oils and other hard-to-find cooking needs. The couple opened Cape Fear Spice Merchants at 20 Market St. in November 2014, after Gary took an early retirement from the Food and Drug Administration.

“I have a passion for all things cooking related,” Gary said. His culinary background includes everything from inspecting restaurants and food manufacturing plants to working under celebrity chef Rick Bayless, who is known for his Frontera restaurants and his show "Mexico — One Plate at a Time."

And while Sue, a certified public accountant, still works as a project manager for a philanthropic accounting software company, she also has her own taste-bud-related passions.

“She loves tea, and won’t even taste coffee,” he said. Her own adventures led her to learn from some of the best chefs in the Provence region of France. They both are Level II Tea Sommeliers.

“We have watched the trend of Wilmington becoming a true foodie town,” Gary said. With all the new and established restaurants stepping up to meet the demands of the growing foodie community, he said they hope to make it easier for both the home cook and professional chef to be able to smell and taste spices, herbs, salts, California oils and balsamic vinegars and teas from around the world. The store is part of a small chain, many of which are in Michigan. North Carolina also has another shop in Asheville.

The couple met after they moved to the Wilmington area. Sue came from the Washington, D.C., area to be closer to the beach. Gary helped open the FDA’s Counterterrorism Office at the State Port of Wilmington. They married on Carolina Beach.

Already the shop has exceeded their initial expectations.

“We, of course, hope for continued growth,” he said. Right now, they are working to increase their house-made spice blends and teas and are evaluating their offerings to stay in step with food, tea and coffee trends.

“We want to ensure that we are providing our customers the most up-to-date and hard-to-find products,” Gary said. They’re planning to add a hot and iced tea bar, and a series of education events focused on spices and teas.