From the moon to Venus and beyond
It’s not like Executive Chef Pete McMahon doesn’t have anything to do. After all, Highway One LP only owns and operates 5 restaurants/night clubs in Dewey Beach. And Pete’s in charge of them all.
But it’s all in a day’s work for this friendly erstwhile restaurateur whose grandfather worked at New York’s Russian Tea Room for more than 25 years. Pete earned his culinary degree from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI, and has been thriving on food service for over 29 years. Thirteen of those years were spent at Rehoboth’s Blue Moon, where his flair for keeping the fine-dining menu “beach friendly” helped contribute to their outstanding reputation today.
In 2005 he left the Blue Moon to partner with Highway One’s Alex Pires at JD Shuckers near Lewes. Pete quickly realized he wasn’t on Baltimore Avenue any more. Shuckers’ location and homegrown clientele defined it as a neighborhood eatery with no patience for high-falutin’ cookery. He rose to the occasion, evolving the restaurant into a fun and flirty family place sporting a raw bar and local entertainment. His resourcefulness paid off: He and Pires sold their shares after five years and walked away debt-free. You don’t hear that every day.
When Venus on the Half Shell morphed into Ivy, Pete, along with co-owner John Snow, revamped the menu and gave the place a face lift by capitalizing on the bay view. This year’s new chef, Aileen Delario, stays with Pete’s Dewey Beach philosophy: “Keep it upscale, but not over the top.” Wearing more hats than just his white toque, Pete revamped the look and the menu at the Rusty Rudder, while Northbeach, Jimmy’s Grille and Ivy continue as some of Dewey’s favorite watering holes.
On any given summer’s day, Pete can be found managing the huge buffet and menu at Rusty Rudder, overseeing the waterfront cachet of Ivy while simultaneously cranking out (in Pires’ words) “happy beach food” just a few hundred feet away at Northbeach. At the height of the season, Highway One Partnership will employ over 550 people to feed and entertain up to 2500 Dewey Beach visitors daily. With four different price points and levels of culinary execution, Chef McMahon has his work cut out for him. And he’s got a lot more surprises in store for Dewey diners. Of course, The Foodie will keep you informed.
