About Us

Who we are, how we got started, and what’s next for Around the Corner.

How it all began.

A second generation Wilmingtonian (aka a local) posts in an online group looking for ways to support local businesses as for new years resolution and after 600 comments and a news story later, here we are.

We recognized a need for better ways to find businesses, support makers, and ultimately keep dollars local. Some businesses didn’t have a physical location, some businesses didn’t have dollars to compete with the likes of Amazon or build their own websites. How were businesses expected to compete? Furthermore, how could you be really intentional and conscious in where your dollars are going? Or what if you were looking for spaces where you knew you would feel welcome?

So Around the Corner was born.

Meet Maggie.

Maggie is the one-woman-show behind the operation that is Around the Corner. She leverages over a decade of marketing, content, and operations management experience to kick start this project and begin the process of connecting locals and visitors to local businesses. A born and raised local, her deep love for her town-turned-city and a passion for supporting local turned into a passion project that’s truly taken off.

If you invite Around the Corner to your shop or restaurant, it’s likely that she’ll be the one to show up, plus if you’re dog friendly, her dog Sylvie will likely also invite herself along too. When she isn’t sitting at her computer, she’s exploring the city, finding her next favorite local spot, and planning another adventure.

You can connect with Maggie online by finding @maggiependergrass on socials.

So what’s next?

Around the Corner is a living, breathing project that it will continue to evolve as we see a need to. Here’s the roadmap as it stands in January 2025.

  • Alpha Site - Launched Jan. ‘25 - Focuses on initial launch of business directory with basic information, search capabilities, and map visualization.

    • Community Forum - Launching Feb. ‘25 - Introduces a public forum (ex. Reddit / Facebook) for business networking, local referrals, visitor asks, etc. Currently in build mode!

  • Beta Site - Launching Q1/Q2 ‘25 - Updates the functionality and introduces more business control over profiles, potentially in app form. Evolves the community forum and introduces volunteer moderators.

    • Team Expansion - Want to be apart of the next phase of Around the Corner? We’ll be accepting volunteers in Q1/Q2. This project is built entirely off of volunteer work and is unpaid.