Once it gets too raw for Hanging Rock and the ball fields at King Central Park sit empty until spring, where does a November Saturday in King go?
For a lot of the Triad, the answer has meant driving down US 52 into Winston-Salem. That has changed. The shopping center on Kingscote Way, off Moore Road, now has a bakery that opens at 7 a.m., an indoor golf lounge that stays open until midnight on Saturdays, and a takeout counter in between. For Gentry Farm households, that's a full rainy-day plan without leaving King.
Three tenants and a lot of empty glass
The useful baseline comes from an earlier Stokes News report on King's Crossing Market Center. According to that report, an Edward Jones branch had moved into second-floor office space by March 25. It was formed when two local branches combined, one from Main Street in King and one from Broad Street in Rural Hall. Across the way, Parry + Pearl Beauty & Wellness Suites and Marcella's Sweet'ery had ground-floor storefronts, with grand openings scheduled for April 12.
The same report gave the vacancy count. The units had been for lease since 2023, and 12 first-floor retail units and six upstairs office units were still empty. At that point it was a new building with a sign, a financial advisor and a couple of reasons to stop.
The 2026 version has a different mix of doors, and those doors have hours that line up into a full day.
152 Kingscote Way was announced as a bagel shop
In February 2024, QSR Magazine reported that Bagel Boss, a New York bagel brand, planned its first North Carolina location at 152 Kingscote Way, with an opening expected later that year.
Today, 152 Kingscote Way is the address of Virtual 9, an indoor golf simulator lounge. The King Chamber of Commerce included it in its new-business roundup, which The Stokes News published in June 2026. Two local families run it together: Jeff and Ashley Fansler and William and Alicia Jessup.
The lounge has four TruGolf simulator bays. Golf is only part of it. The same screens run Rally Baseball, Slapshot Hockey, Bowl-a-rama, Field Goal Frenzy, HOOPS, cornhole and Zombie Dodgeball. That matters if your group includes a 9-year-old or a friend who has never held a driver. The site also lists weekly leagues, lessons and practice with swing data, private events, and a bar for people who come along and don't play.
The hours are what make it a winter option. Virtual 9 lists these times:
- Monday through Thursday, 2 to 10 p.m.
- Friday, 2 p.m. to midnight
- Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight
- Sunday, 2 to 7 p.m.
That 10 a.m. Saturday start is the only morning slot of the week. If you want a bay before lunch, Saturday is the day. Bays and memberships are booked online from the lounge's site.
The bakery that replaced a bakery
Two doors down, the corner that opened as Marcella's Sweet'ery is a bakery again under a different name. As The Stokes News reported in June 2026, Susette Marot of Defining Desserts took over the former Marcella's location at 162 Kingscote Way #107. It's her first storefront.
The same article says Defining Desserts officially started in 2018. Marot spent seven and a half years baking in a ten-by-ten kitchen at home before moving to Kingscote Way. If you shopped the YMCA Farmers' Market, you may already know her toffee chip scones, which The Stokes News called a city favorite.
The case leans European. According to the article, Marot makes her own ganache and fillings, and nearly everything is made from scratch. A few items worth knowing by name:
- Toffee chip scones, the item she built her market following on
- Peanut buttercup brownies
- Butter pecan baklava from her son, Luke Marot, who also makes shortbreads and granola and designs the shop's signs and labels
- Almondesse, made with almond flour, for customers who need a gluten-free option
- Bear claws, which are not gluten-free
She also makes trays for weddings and special events and will bake cupcakes by request. Holiday orders are close, so that's useful to know now.
The June 2026 article listed hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and closed Sunday and Monday. Small bakeries adjust hours with the seasons, so check before you plan a morning around a scone.
Unit 104 covers dinner
The third piece is in the same building. Kazoku Express takes orders online for pickup and delivery from 162 Kingscote Way, Unit 104. Defining Desserts closes at 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Virtual 9 stays open until midnight, so Kazoku is how the evening gets fed without a second drive. Order ahead from the menu on its site and pick it up on the way home.
Where Wisteria fits
The fourth stop is downtown, and it opens the day. The King Chamber of Commerce recognized Wisteria Coffee Co. on Sept. 11. The Stokes News ran the Chamber's photos, with a caption describing it as a cafe and roaster at 537 S. Main St.
Wisteria's website lists weekday hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekend hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can order online. The latte menu offers house vanilla, caramel, lavender and local honey, with oat and almond milk. Wisteria also sells five-pound wholesale bags in blend or single-origin options. That's handy if your office or church group goes through a lot of coffee.
Wisteria is open on Sunday mornings. Defining Desserts is closed Sundays and Virtual 9 doesn't open until 2 p.m., so Wisteria is the one stop on this list that covers a Sunday morning.
How the hours line up
Here are the posted hours for the three spots that publish them. They show which days work for which plan.
| Wisteria Coffee Co. | Defining Desserts | Virtual 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 7 a.m.–5 p.m. | Closed | 2–10 p.m. |
| Tuesday–Wednesday | 7 a.m.–5 p.m. | 7 a.m.–3 p.m. | 2–10 p.m. |
| Thursday | 7 a.m.–5 p.m. | 7 a.m.–7 p.m. | 2–10 p.m. |
| Friday | 7 a.m.–5 p.m. | 7 a.m.–7 p.m. | 2 p.m.–midnight |
| Saturday | 8 a.m.–3 p.m. | 7 a.m.–7 p.m. | 10 a.m.–midnight |
| Sunday | 8 a.m.–3 p.m. | Closed | 2–7 p.m. |
On Saturday, all three are open together from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the longest shared window of the week. A wet Saturday could run like this:
- 8 a.m. Lattes on South Main at Wisteria.
- 9:30 a.m. Over to Kingscote Way for scones and a box of brownies at Defining Desserts, before the case thins out.
- 10 a.m. A reserved bay at Virtual 9 when it opens, with golf for whoever wants a round and Bowl-a-rama or Slapshot Hockey for the rest.
- Evening. Order from Kazoku Express for pickup, or go back to Virtual 9 for a later session. It's open until midnight on Saturdays.
Thursday and Friday work for after-work plans. The bakery stays open until 7 p.m. on both nights, and Virtual 9 opens at 2 p.m.
The rest of the building, and the rest of King
That earlier count of 12 empty retail units was the starting point. In 2026, the King's Crossing doors with posted hours add up to a coffee-to-midnight Saturday.
The city is also planning for the rest of King. An April 2026 City Council agenda included work with Kimley-Horn on a new Comprehensive Plan, along with a five-year Strategic and Economic Development Plan for Downtown King. A City of King planning board agenda lists a Comprehensive Plan community charrette for Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Recreation Acres Community Building, 107 White Road. If you have opinions about what King's commercial areas should look like in a few years, that session is where to share them.
Gentry Farm sits less than five minutes from downtown King. If you're weighing how much of your weekend can stay in town, or want a second opinion on what's changing around Moore Road and South Main, Banner Team Properties follows those changes closely. Call or message the Banner Team. Let's talk about your next move.
