She plays a saloonkeeper who also drives the stage.

• Position: People - Barbara Weetman notes that City Stage includes the Level 5 bar - Biography

Barbara Weetman wanted out of Los Angeles. As an actress, it was the logical place to live. But the cost of living was driving her crazy. Neither Weetman nor her husband, Gil Johnson, who also acts, wanted to raise their son, Cole, there. So when they heard Wilmington had a burgeoning film business, they decided to move. "We got tired of doing the Hollywood shuffle," constantly competing for parts against hundreds of other actors.

That was six years ago, and since coming to Wilmington, they have gone from being struggling actors to part owners of two businesses that are helping transform Wilmington from a wannabe Savannah to an up-and-coming East Coast city.

Blue Post, which opened three years ago, is a pool hail for yuppies, with low lights, a mishmash of old furniture, 15 imported beers and microbrews on tap, 40 more in the bottle and a jukebox that features Elvis, Sinatra and Johnny Cash. City Stage, which opened two years ago, is a venue for local theater. But even Weetman says that the real draw is Level 5, the bar on the roof. "On the majority of the plays, we break even or make a little profit. But then you've got a couple hundred people at the bar at intermission and after the show." Both businesses are profitable and were initially funded with their savings and bank loans.

When...