The first step of a multiphase process that, if approved, will ultimately lead to a new restaurant at the site of Hammerheads in Dewey Beach moved forward July 9, with a unanimous town council vote to refer a rezoning request to the planning and zoning commission.

Restaurateur Steve “Monty” Montgomery brought forth the application to rezone a property at 26 Bellevue St. from residential to business. 

Plans call for the property, which sits behind Hammerheads, to be merged with the Hammerheads property for increased space to enlarge the kitchen, Montgomery said. 

The property is under contract to settle in September, Montgomery said, with plans to open the new restaurant in May 2022. 

Bells and whistles of the proposed restaurant will be revealed at future public hearings, Montgomery said, noting his business partner in the venture is builder Chris Schell.

Town Counsel Fred Townsend said the process requires council to refer the rezoning application to the planning commission for a public hearing and recommendation on a draft ordinance for rezoning. Then, commissioners will conduct a public hearing and vote on the issue, he said.

The property must be rezoned before it is consolidated, Townsend said, but combining the two properties would be an administrative decision and would not require a public hearing. Afterward, designs for the restaurant will go through the town’s public conditional-use approval process, he said.

The planning and zoning commission has scheduled a public hearing and meeting on the rezoning application for 5:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 6, at the Lifesaving Station, 1 Dagsworthy Ave.