YoSake and Husk reopen after fire at Roudabush building in Wilmington, NC
When new owners took over popular downtown Wilmington shops YoSake and The Husk, located in the historic Roudabush seed store at the corner of Front and Market Streets, they said they had plans for a new concept that would be located on the third floor.
That was in late April. Until the opening, Clayton Gsell and his business partner Kevin Keatts, the head coach of NC State’s basketball team, planned to operate the existing restaurants as usual. But those plans changed a bit when a fire on July 16 forced both YoSake and The Husk to temporarily close.
“The only bright spot is that our third floor escaped unscathed, so we are happy to be able to continue with our renovations,” the owners said in a social media update on the fire.
Meanwhile, renovations are mostly complete for all concepts. Gsell and Keatts hosted a soft opening event for the third-floor Tempo 33 Piano Bar and Lounge this week and plan to open to the public on Friday and Saturday. YoSake is also set to reopen this weekend, Gsell said, subject to some final details. And The Husk is now open with limited capacity.
“It was an incredibly small fire. … It was mostly water damage,” he said. Because of this, some seating in the Husk and the restroom area are still closed off, but high-quality portable facilities are available until final repairs are completed, hopefully in about two weeks.
The partnership between Gsell and Keatts has been in place for about a year and began before Keatts’ success when he led his team to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament in the spring of 2024.
Gsell said the two had met before but reconnected when they were both interested in opening a piano bar.
“We have a similar philosophy in business and customer service,” Gsell said. “And we both enjoy coaching people in our own ways. For me, it’s about helping people with the motivation to achieve their goals.”
Before planning the opening, Gsell said the couple frequently conducted market research in downtown Wilmington and realized there was a need for an upscale piano bar serving craft cocktails.
When the opportunity to buy YoSake, Husk and the third floor space arose, they were intrigued by the idea of offering so many entertainment options in one place – from soccer and basketball games on the ground floor to restaurants on the first floor to a place where people could end the evening at Tempo 33.
Despite the change of ownership and the circumstances surrounding the fire, Gsell says they managed to keep a large proportion of their employees in the company.
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Allison Ballard is the food and hospitality reporter for StarNews. Reach her at [email protected]
