Regular Friday night patrons of Debbie Malenfant's downtown deli and wine bar are accustomed to good live entertainment. Each Friday evening, dozens gather at the City Wine Sellar Bakery Deli & Wine Bar to watch some of the area's most popular musicians perform.

Friday night the tables were turned, however, as City Wine Sellar customers became part of the show.

Justin Falls/The Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Musician 'Dr. Tom' Vinick (center) speaks Friday with Deborah Holt (left), producer of UNC-TV?s 'North Carolina Weekend,' and videographer Alan Brown at the City Wine Sellar in Elizabeth City. City Wine Sellar will be featured in an upcoming episode of 'North Carolina Weekend.'

Justin Falls/The Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Videographer Alan Brown for the North Carolina Weekend program on UNC-TV gets video of Mayor Steve Atkinson (center) with his wife Joan beside him and friends Vern Smith (left) and Jan Lauten while covering a story on the City Wine Cellar on Water Street Friday.

A film crew from UNC-TV's "North Carolina Weekend" was in attendance shooting footage of the popular nightspot for an upcoming segment on Elizabeth City for the public television program.

Deborah Holt, the host and producer of "North Carolina Weekend," said her program likes to showcase attractions in different parts of the state. She said she wanted to profile an attraction in coastal North Carolina, but discovered that most are better suited to be filmed in the summertime.

Holt said she decided to showcase the City Wine Sellar, which offers year-round entertainment, after reading about it on the Elizabeth City Area Convention & Visitors Bureau's Web site.

"I try to find a place that offers an interesting atmosphere, something that would appeal to adults 30-and-over, a place that has good food and live music, or some element of entertainment," she said.

Holt said she will occasionally feature just a restaurant if the food is outstanding, but she usually targets attractions with some form of entertainment.

"When I come to a place, it's because it's got a nice mix of what you need for an evening out. I want to eat something good," Holt said. "I want it to be in an interesting or comfortable atmosphere, and I want to be entertained.

I try to find places like that that are kind of unique."

Malenfant was thrilled that Holt chose to profile her business for "North Carolina Weekend."

"It's exciting, but a little nerve-racking at the same time," she said Friday afternoon. "You want to make sure everything is perfect. You know, on film things may or may not look a little different."

Malenfant said Holt called her out of the blue about doing the segment.

"You can't say 'no' to something like that," she said.

Malenfant said she purposely didn't advertise the fact that Friday's live entertainment would be filmed because she wanted the segment on the City Wine Sellar to look natural.

"I wanted it to be a normal Friday night with normal customers," she said. "I kind of wanted to make sure we weren't overwhelmed, that (Holt) could just talk to some regulars."

Being featured on "North Carolina Weekend" can be beneficial. Holt said regular viewers will sometimes travel many miles to visit the places that are showcased.

"We have viewers from all over the state, in addition to South Carolina and parts of Virginia, parts of Tennessee. We even have them as far as Florida," Holt said. "It is entirely possible that someone could see (the City Wine Sellar segment) and say, 'Hey, I want to take a trip to Elizabeth City.'"

The City Wine Sellar won't be the only Elizabeth City attraction featured on Holt's program, however. Holt and her cameraman were also scheduled to shoot film footage on Saturday at Arts of the Albemarle at 11:30 a.m. and at Port Discover at 2 p.m.

A few years ago, "North Carolina Weekend" actually featured a segment on Arts of the Albemarle when it was still called the Pasquotank Arts Council. So the visit this weekend wasn't Holt's first to the area.

"Now that we've switched over to high-definition television, a lot of stories we've covered, we're going to do them again so we can get a vivid picture," Holt explained.

Now in its fifth season, "North Carolina Weekend" is the most watched original production on UNC-TV, Holt said. Viewers get hooked after watching the program, she said.

"We have a lot of loyal viewers," Holt said. "When new viewers watch, they get attracted because, I think, it's just a formula for success: highlighting all the wonderful places in our state to enjoy over the weekend."

Holt said the Outer Banks will be the next region featured on the show.

"We don't have the luxury of a big travel budget to skirt around town and find places (to showcase)," she said. "When we come to a place, we keep our ears open and talk to as many people as possible. I'm so glad for the Internet. I go online to dig as much as possible."

Locally, "North Carolina Weekend" is broadcast on Time Warner Cable's Channel 2 on Thursdays at 9 p.m. and Fridays at 8 p.m. The segment on Elizabeth City is scheduled to air on March 27-28.