Southport Magazine

Walking into Haven, at 307 N. Howe Street in Southport, is like stepping into a little piece of Italy. Well, to be honest, the table modeled on a half a Fiat outside kind of sets the mood. Haven offers gelato, Italian wines, local beers, espresso and grab-and-go food items, all in a welcoming Continental atmosphere. It’s all so perfectly put together I was shocked when co-owner David Truglio said that neither he nor his partner Bev Hammond had any food service experience. “But I’m Italian,” he shrugged as if that explained it all, and having married into an Italian family myself, to me it did. For the rest of you, we spoke to Bev about creating what they are proud to say is a real Haven for the community.

So, briefly, how would you describe Haven to someone who hasn’t been? 

Haven is a welcoming and comfortable place to sit and talk with a friend, enjoy a game of bocce or cornhole, listen to live music, and most importantly, to enjoy new and old friends’ company. We very consciously chose to place a large farm table as our primary indoor seating — the goal was to encourage folks to talk to one another and in fact there have been many instances of people organically starting conversations with strangers and leaving as new friends. 

We offer something for everyone: some small bites (sandwiches, snacks, desserts. charcuterie), Italian wines, local craft beers, and authentic made-in-Italy gelato.

What led you to start this journey into the food service business?  

It was a very impulsive decision. We saw the building go up for sale and David had long wanted to open a business downtown so we made an offer on it without having a real plan for the type of establishment it would become. We investigated myriad potential types of food and drink concepts and ultimately settled on an Italian theme with true Italian gelato, Italian wines and local craft beers. We knew we would also provide grab and go food options since that is a need that doesn’t exist elsewhere in Southport.

Why The Haven? Does the name hold a special meaning for you?

We invested a huge effort in searching for a name that would, in one or two words, define our business. We went through dozens of options, asked friend’s opinions, and one day we just said out loud “what is the perfect word to describe our haven” That’s when we realized “haven” was going to be the name of our business. It has absolutely nothing to do with Safe Haven — if we had done this anywhere else in the country it would still be called Haven. We have a definition hanging on our wall that is essentially our mission statement. I took the first two bullets from the dictionary and then we wrote the others. We do believe we have succeeded in creating a space that is comfortable and welcoming to all.

We are family friendly, dog friendly, and welcome folks of all ages. Haven truly is a space for everyone.

You’re in the old Post Fabrics building. What drew you to this building and this neighborhood? 

The building was in our budget, and the size of the building and the great potential for exterior space were huge draws, as well as the downtown location. The minute we walked in to take a look at the building we could see the potential.  We did a major renovation, opening up the space and taking down the ceiling to make it more ‘airy.’ We couldn’t be happier with the results!

It was also extremely important to us to create an environment that fit into Southport, one that both lifelong residents and those new to the area can enjoy and feel like it’s the right vibe for the city.

Can you explain what gelato is, exactly, how it’s different from ice cream or frozen yogurt? 

Gelato is lower in fat because it uses primarily milk rather than cream, it requires less sugar, and is churned extremely slowly to blend all the flavors. We also believe in providing as many dietary options as possible so we always have at least five dairy-free sorbets, as well as nutritional data available for folks who may have gluten, soy, egg and other sensitivities. 

Why gelato?

There is nothing like it in the area, and gelato fit with our underlying Italian theme. We had considered homemade ice cream, since there really are no locally-made small batch creameries using only fresh fruits and flavors and no artificial ingredients.  The space was not conducive to that sort of endeavor so we started the hunt for the absolute best imported Gelato we could find.  It is exactly the same as the gelato one can purchase at a gelateria in Italy — it’s that good! We think it is a niche not currently filled in Southport. There are a few ice cream stands downtown and having gelato too gives folks the opportunity to have it all. Some days you may want a soft serve cone and others you may want to come to Haven for gelato. We are committed to supporting all of our Southport small businesses and are often directing folks to other restaurants and shops that may have what they are looking for. We truly believe that promoting other local businesses is good for everyone.

What sets your wine and beer selection apart?

We stock only Italian wines that are not found elsewhere in town, and we make an effort to have a great variety despite our small space. We are committed to only stocking local craft beers and we have developed relationships with many NC breweries. We offer free wine tasting on Tuesday evenings and free beer tastings on Friday evenings.  Additionally, we have been working on offering to our customers a wine (and possibly beer) club- it will be unique and different from other wine clubs in the area. More information on that will be available very soon!

Customers will sometimes suggest a brewery whose beers they enjoy and we follow up with those breweries to investigate the potential for adding them to our inventory. We love taking customer feedback into consideration.  We also offer one mainstream domestic option (currently Michelob Ultra) and one Italian option (Peroni).

We also stock craft soda, bottled water from Italy, locally made kombucha, non-alcoholic beer, fun boxed drinks, and canned wines.

How has your menu grown since you opened? Any additions planned for the near future?

We started slow, just gelato/beer/wine, and then added our grab and go sandwiches (‘grinders’ to us…we’re from the Northeast originally). We also started offering baked goods: cookies and bars made in-house, cake slices made by a local baker and even some gluten-free options.

We also offer truly Italian espresso drink options from LavAzza-  both hot and cold. Customers love the espresso — there is nothing else like it locally, a very smooth and delicious drink. It is never bitter and tastes nothing like American coffee.

We also offer alcoholic milkshakes, margarita floats, Prosecco floats and other fun drinks. Our pina colada alcoholic milkshake is so good!

What has been the biggest challenge so far?

By far the biggest challenge has been space, or really the lack of it. Our building is small, so it became super important to create efficiencies and creatively design all elements. David is great at envisioning what a space can become, and together we’ve designed a space that feels more spacious than its 900 square feet.  We also were intent on using repurposed elements as much as possible. Almost all the items in Haven were Facebook Marketplace or auction items that we gave new life to.  

It’s also been difficult to find the right work/life balance. We opened in April and committed to being open seven days a week through the summer with at least one of us on site every day. It’s been exhausting, but we’re proud of what we’ve built. Both of us work full-time jobs in addition to tag-teaming at Haven.

Lastly, deciding how and what to incorporate in terms of new products and new menu items is quite challenging. We decided early on that we did not want to be a restaurant and do made-to-order food, but we have recently incorporated pop-up flatbread nights, and are looking at adding some cold weather food options like soup.  

We are also looking at ways to expand and market ourselves as a bottle shop.

We’ve hosted several local civic organizations and recently we hosted a larger pre-wedding gathering and it was so much fun and so successful that we have decided to offer our space as a venue for others.   We saw how multiple generations were able to find something to love about Haven- the kids playing cornhole or building a jenga block castle, the adults enjoying a beverage and good conversation-  it was truly wonderful.  We can arrange for live music specific to your event, customize a menu of appetizers, handhelds and dessert, really we are very creative and accommodating,   We would love to be considered as a new event space for Southport!

Anything else you’d like to add? 

We have to give a shout out to our awesome staff and friends. We have so many friends that toiled alongside us to help Haven come to fruition. We’ve also been extremely lucky to have Ash Rayle working with us since day one, and he along with our other wonderful staff have all become part of our Haven family. Haven would absolutely not be a success without their wonderful customer service and attention to making sure every customer feels appreciated and welcome.