Shannon Colburn promoted to manager of Bluecoast Seafood Grill

Scott Kammerer, CEO of SoDel Concepts, announced the recent promotion of Shannon Colburn to general manager of Bluecoast Seafood Grill in Bethany Beach, one of the company’s eight restaurants along the Delaware coast. “Shannon has been with SoDel Concepts since day one,” Kammerer said.

Colburn was just 19 when founder Matt Haley hired her to work at the restaurant in 2001. In addition to working with Haley, Colburn also traveled with him on numerous philanthropic missions to Nepal and Nicaragua. Bitten by the travel bug, she resisted taking a management position in the past so she could leave her options open for the next journey. She accepted the job after Haley’s sudden death in August, when her experience and skill were especially valuable.

“Shannon has a unique and important understanding of what Matt and SoDel Concepts is all about,” Kammerer said. “She knows what he wanted for our restaurants, for our company and for our community. She was the natural choice to run Matt’s most prized restaurant.”

Colburn has worked at nearly all eight SoDel restaurants. “Matt created a culture that demanded high quality and hard work, as well as the expectation to give back to those less fortunate,” she said. “I am honored to become the general manager of Bluecoast. It gives me the opportunity to perpetuate Matt’s legacy.”

SoDel Concepts was founded by Matt Haley, a Washington, D.C. native who moved to the beach in the late 1990s to start what became a successful restaurant group. He also founded the Matt Haley Companies, which includes Haley/Kammerer, a hospitality consulting firm; Highwater Management, a hospitality management company; and a line of gourmet food products. Haley passed away in August 2014, and Scott Kammerer became president of SoDel Concepts and CEO of the Matt Haley Companies.

SoDel Concepts’ restaurants include Fish On in Lewes; Lupo di Mare and Papa Grande’s Coastal Taqueria in Rehoboth Beach; Matt’s Fish Camp and Bluecoast Seafood Grill in Bethany Beach; Northeast Seafood Kitchen in Ocean View; and Catch 54 and the first Papa Grande’s in Fenwick Island. It also includes Plate Catering and Big Thunder Roadside Kitchen, a food truck and traveling catering kitchen.

For more information, go to www.sodelconcepts.com.