Goolee’s Grille gets the day started

As many great restaurants as Rehoboth Beach has, there aren't many that specialize in the most important meal of the day: breakfast.

Goolee's Grille, 11 S. First St., is a breakfast-only place that opened in November after owner George “Goolee” Stakias relocated from Ocean City, Md., where he’d operated the original Goolee’s Grill since 2004. Stakias said sold the Ocean City location in July because he wanted a year-round restaurant.

“There’s not a whole lot of breakfast places in town anyway,” he said of Rehoboth.

Stakias said the coconut French toast, blueberry pancakes and crab omelet have all been early hits with the Rehoboth crowd. Goolee’s also offers made-to-order eggs, omelets, chipped beef, bacon, ham and scrapple.

Goolee’s was recently approved for a permit of compliance with the city to serve alcoholic drinks. The restaurant has all the approvals from the city and the state, and Stakias said service should begin soon.

He said Goolee’s would offer six or seven signature drinks that will go with breakfast, such as mimosas, Bloody Marys and Irish coffee.

“Limited. I just want to be able to offer the most requested breakfast drinks,” he said.

Opening in the offseason, Stakias said business so far has been a bit up and down, but he is looking forward to the warmer weather and more people. The inside of the restaurant has a diner-type feel and one of the new touches is the tile "Goolee's Grille" on the front counter.

As for the name, Stakias said Goolee’s is his nickname; Goolee is a play on the Greek word for Georgie.

“When you give people a great product, they love you no matter where you go,” he said.

Goolee’s Grille is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday through Monday. For more information, call 302-227-7653.