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Delaware Cape Region History in Photographs

Lou Ianire’s Restaurant was a popular Lewes spot

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEAN T. BRYAN
May 27, 2025

Lou Ianire’s Restaurant was a popular spot along the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal in Lewes for a few decades in the mid- to late-20th century. Opening in 1959, the restaurant was a hub for live music. It closed in 1980. It was owned and operated by Lou and his wife Dolores. The building was home to a few other restaurants, including Lewes Canal House, before it was razed in 1986 to make way for the Inn at Canal Square. 

The Ianires were also partners in R&L Liquors on Second Street. They purchased it in a partnership with their daughter Carol Garner and her husband Ron. The business was named R for Ron and L for Lou. They sold the liquor store to Joe Stewart and Ted Becker in 1999. Ironically, Stewart and Becker also purchased the Inn at Canal Square from the original owners on the site of Lou Ianire’s Restaurant. 

Lou died in 1991. 

An old menu from Lou Ianire's Restaurant. PHOTO COURTESY OF TRISH MEDD
The intersection of Front Street and Savannah Road in Lewes in the early 1970s looking westward from Gills Neck Road. Today, Dogfish Inn stands just outside the frame to left, while the bike corral at the drawbridge is in the green area to the right. Lou Ianiere’s Restaurant can be seen in the distance on Front Street. PHOTO COURTESY OF LEWES HISTORICAL SOCIETY - GEORGE NOCITO COLLECTION
  • Delaware Cape Region History in Photographs, published every Tuesday in the Cape Gazette, features historical photos from Delaware's Cape Region - particularly - and from throughout Sussex County and Delaware generally.

    Readers are invited to submit photos of historic interest. They can be mailed to the Cape Gazette at PO Box 213, Lewes, DE 19958, or via email to newsroom@capegazette.com.
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