Zero commercial space for rent in Rehoboth Beach

All of the commercial properties in Rehoboth Beach may not be open for business, but according to Rehoboth Beach Main Street, there are no commercial properties available for rent in all of the city.

The downtown business advocate group announced the surprising number in its July newsletter.

“We are happy to report that Rehoboth Beach’s commercial vacancy rate is Zero! 0! Congratulations to all the businesses in town – those that have been with us for a while and those that are new this summer,” said the newsletter, which came out June 24.

Rehoboth Beach Main Street Executive Director Dan Slagle said he’s excited and happy to be able to say there are no commercial vacancies. 

“It means things are moving forward from the pandemic,” said Slagle, in an interview July 6. “This is a wonderful community, and we’re still growing.”

Commissioners Susan Gay and Jay Lagree commented on the statistic during a workshop July 2.

“This is incredible news, especially in light of what we’ve experienced over the past 15 months,” said Gay. “When agonizing over shutdowns this time last year, who would have thought we’d be celebrating this milestone today?”

Gay recognized that in addition to the pandemic, there have been a couple of iconic businesses – Nicola Pizza and The Pond – to announce they were leaving downtown over the past year. Change is hard, and the city will mourn the loss of those businesses, but it should also celebrate their success and be proud it was Rehoboth that facilitated those achievements, she said.

“The important part to me was that those businesses didn’t shut down. They left because they outgrew their small space in our small city. In other words, they were successful, and they got their start right here in Rehoboth Beach,” said Gay.

Lagree, who was not a commissioner at the time, said he remembers watching and listening to folks predict doom and gloom for Rehoboth Beach if the city didn’t change its ways.

“By golly, we’re doing OK after all,” said Lagree.

Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce President Carol Everhart said she had seen the statistic, but couldn’t confirm it. However, she said, there’s definitely limited availability.

“Driving around, there appear to be far fewer than there were not too long ago,” said Everhart. “Clearly there are less vacancies.”

Everhart, who has been with the chamber for three decades, said it’s been 10 years since she’s seen vacancy rates this low within city limits. She said there could be a couple of factors – rents have been lowered, or coming out of the pandemic, people want to go into business for themselves.

“Nationwide, we’re seeing that the pandemic created a bunch of entrepreneurs and maybe that’s happening here,” she said. “It’s definitely a positive.”

While not able to confirm the vacancy rate, Everhart said visitation to Rehoboth Beach is through the roof. The city’s hotels and motels are almost all 100 percent full, she said.

“That’s something I’ve not seen before,” said Everhart. “We’re very popular right now. I’m happy to see it.”