What’s old is new again, and vice versa ...
So many springtime openings, closings, re-openings, etc. here at the beach! How can you keep track of it all? Easy! Sit back, fasten your seat belt and read on:
After much sad drama and personal upheaval, the beloved Bramble & Brine has finally reopened. Chef/owner Joey Churchman tells me the dining room areas have been completely remodeled. Hint: some familiar faces will be returning to the bar and to the kitchen! I’ll let you be surprised.
Chef/owner Nate Leonard’s multiple Michelin stars are lighting up his new 208 Social in the old Stoney Lonen at 208 Second St. They turned the key last week and have been busy every night. Sticky ribs, a duo of dogs and a Philly cheese “skate” (think braised short rib, mushrooms and cippolinis drizzled with a parmesan fondue) are a few examples of what’s in store.
We’ve enjoyed Woody Voelker’s cooking at Rigby’s, so we expect the food at The Swell (formerly Big Sissies) to be at least as good. They opened this week, and I hope that mac ‘n’ cheese with the button mushrooms made it up the road to Henlopen Junction.
The guys at Zogg’s are full of surprises, and their latest acquisition is a gigantic woody-lookin’ food truck. Leave it to the Jacona brothers to call it Sea Hogg Street Eats & Catering. Like the Taco Reho truck and SoDel’s Big Thunder Roadside Kitchen, expect it to make appearances at events around town.
By the time you open this Cape Gazette and search frantically for my column (you DO do that, don’t you?), Thierry, Nathalie and Chloe Kaisy will have opened Kaisy’s Delights in First Street Station. And you don’t have to be able to pronounce kaiserschmarrn to order one (with a schmear of plum jelly) from their Austrian-garbed waitrons. Just behind Kaisy’s, look for Roy and Laura Eckrote’s Olive Orchard Bistro to open soon. You know the condiments will be delicious!
Joanne Ketler and Patricia Cipollone will throw a grand-opening party at their new Murph’s Beef & Ale Saturday, May 16, and you’re invited! Their new pub is located in the space that hosted the ill-fated PrimoHoagies near Signarama, DiLeo’s and The Swell.
The Safeway shopping center on the highway is abuzz with new activity! Gary and Lorraine Papp’s recently opened Palate seems to be pleasing palates up and down the beach. Just a few doors to the northeast, a new Saladworks will open in the next few months. Look for sandwiches, wraps, soups and … salads.
Greene Turtle’s William Frankis has brought the franchise crepe walkup Sofi’s Crepes to south Boardwalk. His son, Mitch, will turn out both savory and sweet crepes. Boardwalkers take heart: No knives, no forks. You’ll eat it like a burrito. On The Avenue, Grotto Gelato is about to morph into Dreamer Coffee & Juice Bar, courtesy of Adeline New York jewelry.
Lisa DiFebo Osias and her husband Jeff are taking the corner of First and Baltimore by storm. The newly revitalized spot is bright and fresh. If you have eaten at DiFebo’s in Bethany Beach, you know what to expect. You won’t be disappointed.
Mike & Steve Lucey (Six Paupers Pub in Hockessin and Ulysses Gastropub in Wilmington) are hard at work constructing the Forgotten Mile Ale House in the old Captain’s Table. The first thing they did was install three huge picture windows in the front. A brilliant idea! Hari and Orion Cameron are putting the finishing touches on their Baltimore Avenue Parthenon of Pasta, grandpa(MAC). Homemade soups, salads and specialty pastas will be the order of the day. Domino’s fans in Lewes will soon be able to dial themselves a pie from the new delivery installation between Tokyo Steakhouse and Home Depot.
As Dewey Beer Company prepares to open its doors in the next week or so, the Nage organization is putting together Crooked Hammock Brewpub in Lewes. A few doors north of Nage and Touch of Italy, Alex Pires and crew prepare to build yet another Jimmy’s Grille. Don’t expect Jimmy’s or the Hammock to open very soon. They are building from the ground up. In a week or so, Touch of Italy fans in Bethany Beach can visit Piccolino, their very own Touch of Italy “lite” in the Sea Colony Marketplace. TOI’s legendary desserts will be available, along with bagels, coffee and sandwiches.
I’ve filled up my allotted space, so check out RehobothFoodie.com for more of what’s happenin’ now.
