Thursday, March 28, 2024

Eternal Sunshine Cafe, gift shop now open on Village Road in Leland

Eternal Sunshine Cafe opens its second location in Leland Tuesday.

LELAND — Eternal Sunshine Cafe is now open for business in Leland. The highly-anticipated cafe serves craft breakfast dishes and specialty drinks.

Leland marks the cafe’s second location; its first opened off Racine Drive in Wilmington in 2013.

Related: Eternal Sunshine Cafe’s plan to shine on Village Road in Leland

Eternal Sunshine Cafe takes over the former Blue Star Kitchen and Bar location at a strip mall on Village Road, previously home to long-time local favorite Charlie Macgrooders. What Macgrooders used as a catering space will now occupy LunaBelle Gift Shop & Gallery, Eternal Sunshine Cafe’s new gift shop.

Michael Pellegrino, Eternal Sunshine Cafe’s owner, said the gift shop will keep up roughly the same business hours as the cafe. Operating hours at the gift shop are still being worked out, Pellegrino said, but the cafe will likely be open between 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and open at 8 a.m. on Sundays.

The Leland location will feature the same menu as Eternal Sunshine Cafe’s Wilmington location. Pellegrino has long-term plans to franchise the business, with Leland serving as the first stop on this goal.

He’s confident his kitchen and customer-facing staff are ready to welcome new customers at the 85-seat capacity cafe. “We have a lot of skill in there, a lot of passion in there, a lot of pride in there,” Pellegrino said. “Up front as well. We’ve got a super team.”

LunaBelle Gift Shop & Gallery

Next door to the cafe, LunaBelle Gift Shop & Gallery will feature a range of handmade art, clothing, and gifts. LunaBelle’s owner and Pellegrino’s girlfriend Chelsea Pherson said the collection will rorate with different featured artists.

“I’m lucky to have been able to be a part of it and brought into the rest of the family that they already have,” Pherson said of joining the Eternal Sunshine Cafe team.

LunaBelle will open with the exclusive works of legally blind Leland artist Nancy Jernigan,  Chrissy Crater’s surreal breakfast-inspired oil paintings, pottery by Emily Tippett, and more. Prints and originals by Gaeten Lowrie, the artist behind the cafe’s psychedelic-styled mural, are also on display in the gift shop.

What’s ahead

Pellegrino is working on a new menu set to roll out in a few months. The new menu is sure to feature additional vegetarian options, including a soy sausage option and a meatless chicken and waffles dish Pelligrino is still working out.

Eternal Sunshine Cafe’s liquor license is still a week or so out. But soon enough, patrons of the Leland location can expect specialty mimosas and local beer.

Located at 117 Village Road in Leland, Eternal Sunshine Cafe officially opens Tuesday. Keep up with Eternal Sunshine Cafe and LunaBelle Gift Shop & Gallery on Facebook.

Check out Eternal Sunshine Cafe’s menu below. Click to enlarge:


Send tips and comments to Johanna Ferebee at johanna@localvoicemedia.com

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