Top Delaware chef joins The Pines American bistro as partner

Lion Gardner is a new partner at The Pines restaurant in downtown Rehoboth Beach.

Best known as chef and co-owner of the iconic Blue Moon in downtown Rehoboth Beach from 2008-19, Gardner has joined The Pines to help reconceive it into an American bistro-style dining establishment.

Gardner is already a partner of Second Block Hospitality, along with The Pines ownership group of David Gonce, Bob Suppies and Tyler Townsend. As a founding partner of Second Block Hospitality, Gardner helped develop and open Drift Seafood & Raw Bar in August 2022, and more recently, the pan-Asian Bodhi Kitchen in summer 2023.

"In the ‘90s, when I first started cooking in Rehoboth Beach, it was still very much a seasonal beach town," Gardner said. “Today, customers have higher expectations in terms of service, decor, creativity, food quality and certainly consistency. The food in this area has always been very good, and I am excited to now be part of The Pines and helping bring in an American bistro concept to the area.”

“Upon opening, The Pines quickly became part of the fabric of Rehoboth Beach, but also became part of the people's lives, where they come to celebrate milestones and share cherished moments with friends and family. Now after five years, The Pines will undergo exciting changes with Gardner leading the efforts in creating new menus and the bistro-style concept,” said Townsend.

“The American bistro concept speaks more to the atmosphere and approach than it does to the specific dishes on the menu. Like Bodhi and Drift, Lion’s primary focus will be on the food, but the wonderful thing about our group is that we get to collaborate on all aspects of the businesses,” said Suppies.