Wilmington's Crow Hill restaurant closes

Talk about double whammies.

As Caffe Phoenix prepares for its July 31 closing, the restaurant that took over the 9 Front St. space Caffe Phoenix originally filled served its last meal Sunday.

Crow Hill moved into the former Caffe Phoenix location in summer 2010, when Phoenix headed to the downtown corner of Front and Princess streets.

By September, Crow Hill owners Derrick Cook and his wife, Anna Sharma, transformed the space into one of the coolest spots downtown. Warm brown tones, blacksmith art and grand black-and-white photographs depicting bucolic scenes reflected the farm-to-table menu.

Cook, who came to Wilmington from Brooklyn, N.Y., blamed a poor economy for the closing, which was announced to staff Sunday night.

Cook and Sharma made changes to help the business along -- more casual menu selections and live music on weekends -- to no avail.

“We couldn’t dumb down the business anymore and still see our vision through,” Cook said.