A local serial entrepreneur will be opening North Carolina’s first Natural Life store on Saturday, November 2 at Durham’s Patterson Place shopping center. The natural health and wellness store is located in 1,770 square feet of space in suite 101 at 3511 Witherspoon Boulevard. Pickett Sprouse Commercial Real Estate broker Anna Jenkins represented local franchise owner Dan Berlin in the lease.
Natural Life offers CBD, Kratom, Kava, athletic performance-based products, and other alternative health solutions. The brand can be found throughout the United States, with the Durham location being its 30th store.
“We focus a lot on natural alternative remedies,” said Berlin. “If you have aches and pains or other ailments going on, you might go out to the store and pick up some acetaminophen or some ibuprofen or something else that's made in the lab. Everything that we have in the Natural Life store is all natural, largely whole plant-based alternatives.”
Berlin has experience with a variety of start-ups ranging from technology consulting to food trucks and restaurants. He says he chose to invest in Natural Life because he wanted to help his family and community suffering from common ailments.
“It was kind of serendipitous because several friends of mine had recently turned me on to some of the alternatives to pharmaceutical options,” said Berlin. “It’s really interesting stuff, and it’s safe, legal, and in many cases, more effective than some of the lab-made pharmaceuticals that are out there. When the idea of Natural Life came across my desk, I was immediately interested, and I hope to open more of these throughout North Carolina.”
The store’s grand opening ribbon cutting will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday with many of its vendors on hand. All products sold by Natural Life are third-party tested and have strict quality-control measures in place. In addition, all outlets are staffed by a certified wellness coach who helps to educate and inform customers about the options available to them.
“Dan wanted his store to be conveniently located for people in both Chapel Hill and Durham,” said Anna Jenkins. “This was a challenge because retail availability in Durham is at a record low, and there is a growing demand for retail space, which can be difficult for new businesses. The location at Patterson Place is a good fit for the store’s needs and allows it to be extremely accessible to both its younger and older customers.”
The term for the lease is five years. TradeMark Properties Senior Vice Presidents Brian Grabowski and Shelley Bhatia, CCIM oversee leasing for Patterson Place.