Our Story

IN 1917…

Mallie Griffin and others started a bank called the Farmers and Merchants Bank in the building at 1 N. Main Street.

The bank did fine for a few years; however, when the Great Depression came in 1929, the bank was about to go under. They decided to sell Farmers and Merchants Bank to the Bank of Wendell. Farmers and Merchants Bank lost their name in the merger.

The building was later home to Wendell Savings & Loan. The upper floors were occupied by doctors and a prosperous export tobacco company, E.R. Sykes &. Co. By being in the heart of downtown and one of the first buildings in Wendell, this building had been a center of commerce for the town.

Older people in town still refer to this building as the Savings & Loan building.

Dine-In or Take Out - Plus Delivery to 3rd St Social

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A Fresh Start

REVITALIZED

farmers-merchants-restaurant-bar-wendell-nc

In January 2019, Jennifer and Sigurd Westerlund acquired the old Farmers & Merchants bank building. After peeling back the layers inside and out (literally), they realized that the building had a rich history and would need a lot of TLC. Sigurd spent over one year working to restore the building’s former glory, with the goal of sharing it’s reclaimed beauty with everyone in the Town of Wendell. To realize that goal, Sigurd has partnered with experienced restauranteur Dave Schearer (owner of the well-known First Street Tavern in Clayton) to bring an eating and drinking establishment to downtown Wendell.