When developers wanted to buy out Farrell’s farmland where he worked, they made him an offer that was just too good to refuse. So while the bulldozers rumbled through Raleigh to clear the way for a new shopping center, Farrell dismantled the interior of his 150-year-old farmhouse piece by piece and reassembled it inside the 100-year-old Culligan building in downtown Morehead City.

“I’ve been coming down here for years,” Farrell says. “I love fishing and the water, and it’s just a great location.”

Now he’s back in business, producing all manner of art and advertising, and things have never been better. That’s because Farrell knows an open secret about the Crystal Coast:

If you build it, they will come.

It doesn’t hurt to have miles of beautiful sandy beaches nearby either.

In an area blessed with natural beauty that makes it a paradise for sportsmen and tourists alike, there’s no shortage of visitors looking to spend their hard-earned cash on the Crystal Coast. And there’s also no shortage of enterprising entrepreneurs willing to compete for that hard-earned cash.

Carteret County is enjoying is enjoying a surge of new businesses popping up all over, from fine dining and art to natural tourism and high-end electronics.

“We are experiencing a retail revival of sorts, as new commercial projects come on line and existing structures are rehabilitated for new uses,” says Mike Wagoner, president of the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce.

“The combination of big-box stores and chain operations, along with specialty shops and family-owned businesses, is somewhat unique to our area. It all adds to the excitement of the shopping experience here.”

Wagoner is right on the money, in more ways than one. In just the past year, Carteret County has added almost 1,000 jobs to the local workforce, a number that only goes up in the summer months of high tourism. When the tourists roll in, upwards of 3,000 jobs are created to fill the need for service.

One of those new jobs belongs to Andy Hopper, who wants his service to be first-class. Along with his business partners, Mike Santos and Kevin Brighton, Hopper recently opened the doors to Chef’s 105, an offshoot of the popular Chef’s 505 up the road in Greenville.

While the two restaurants share some things in common, Chef’s 105 is an American grill with a distinctly local flavor. “We have a lot of meat dishes, and we use a lot of local seafood,” Hopper says.

Hopper calls the meals his staff cooks up in their wood-burning grill “contemporary casual.” His customers call it delicious.

Like Farrell, Hopper is another recent addition to the Crystal Coast. Although he’s from North Carolina originally, the idea of opening up Chef’s 105 lured Hopper back from Chicago, where he had been living and working. “[The Crystal Coast] just seemed to be a perfect fit for us,” Hopper says. “It just really suited our personalities.”

While dining and the arts are big draws for the discriminating traveler, businesspeople aren’t overlooking the area’s biggest attraction: the water. The state has always promoted responsible enjoyment of the area’s abundant waterways and coastline, including the recent and notable multi-million dollar expansion of the State Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores.

But the private sector isn’t just sitting on its hands; there are plenty of people who are looking for a unique waterfront experience the public agencies just can’t provide.

That’s why there are people like Dawn Keller. She’s the operator of the recently opened Pirate Queen Paddling. Her company offers fun for the entire family, especially for those who are swashbucklers at heart. Offering two-hour tours, Pirate Queen takes youngsters in their best pirate outfits to a little island off shore where they are given maps to find the “buried treasure.”

That’s why there are companies like True World Marine. While children might settle for paddle boats and buried treasure, there are plenty of adults with some real gold to spend who would gladly trade it in for some fun and sun on the
high seas.

New Jersey-based True World recently snapped up some property near Beaufort, where they plan to build their 28-foot cuddy cabin hand-laid fiberglass diesel-powered fishing boats, as well as other future models.

“The Crystal Coast has a great reputation for fishing, and we believe our boats could fill a niche for both inshore and offshore fishermen,” says Patrick Kirkbride, True World Marine’s human resources manager. “The weather in North Carolina is quite favorable for our industry, and with the new North Carolina Marine Training and Education Center at Carteret Community College, we will be able to continue training current, as well as new, employees.”

It’s really no mystery what brings tourists year after year to the Crystal Coast. It’s an easy place to fall in love with. And tourists who become enamored with the area and what it has to offer become repeat tourists. And for many, it’s not that big of a leap from “repeat tourist” to “resident.”

New houses are popping up like wildflowers around the coast and sound, as developers race to sell potential residents on their new, exclusive communities. It’s an opportunity Jeffery Milligan’s company couldn’t pass up.

As senior vice president of Landquest, a successful waterfront development company, Milligan helped oversee the creation of Bogue Watch, the latest of 22 distinct housing communities stretching from New England to the Carolinas. “We are excited to bring this quality, traditional waterfront site to the area and are grateful to the surrounding community for their support,” Milligan says.

He’s not alone. Bogue Watch is just one of several new developments catering to those who enjoy golfing, fishing, boating or just plain taking it easy in the laid-back atmosphere of a waterfront community.

With new home sites with names like Tiffany Wood and Visions for Coquina Cay, there are plenty of opportunities for newcomers to start calling the Crystal Coast home.

New residents bring even more growth to the area beyond the restaurants and shops that cater to a mainly seasonal tourist crowd.

One just has to drive down U.S. 70 through Morehead City to find examples of new retailers and shopping centers going up or being renovated.

Over at the Chamber of Commerce, you’ll find a smile on Mike Wagoner’s face. “The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well here in Carteret County,” Wagoner says. “Carteret County is the mini-hub of business and commerce in our coastal region, where people continue to seize the opportunity to invest.”

And that’s good news for investors and gourmands alike.