Rehoboth Ale House opening second location north of Dewey
Rehoboth Ale House owner Adam Newman is opening a location on the highway. However, he emphasized during an interview Feb. 15, he is not joining the list of restaurants leaving downtown.
“It’s the first question I get asked when people find out about the second location,” said Newman. “I’m trying to be clear we’re just opening a second location.”
Newman opened the Rehoboth Ale House on the ocean block of Wilmington Avenue in May 2016. The second location will be in the space that was the longtime home of the Captain’s Table. Most recently, it was home to the Forgotten Mile Ale House. Newman made the announcement on the restaurant’s Facebook page Feb. 8.
During the interview, Newman said the expansion has been in the works since before COVID, but discussions stalled because he had to make sure the original location was taken care of. All things considered, he said, his downtown restaurant did pretty well last summer, so discussions with the owner of the highway building resumed this past fall.
“We made it work and there was a lot of local support,” he said, of the downtown location.
Newman said the new restaurant will feature 24 beers on draft and the menu will feature some of the Rehoboth Ale House favorites, but will be expanded. The kitchen is three times the size of the one downtown, so there are more options, he said.
Newman said he plans to install a stage for live music when the time is right. It’s been successful downtown and he thinks it will be successful for the new location too, he said.
Newman said nothing is for certain with the new location, but it’s something he won’t know for sure unless he tries.
“It’s a gamble, but if we gamble correctly it will work out,” he said.
Looking to improve his odds, Newman said he’ll bring consistency to the operation. Customers want quality food and regular hours, he said.
“It’s helped us downtown and I think it will help us here, too,” he said.
Newman said the anticipated opening will be sometime in April. He said the previous occupants did a good job renovating the space, but there are some things he would like to do to make it reflective of the Rehoboth Ale House. A fresh coat of paint, more televisions, and a few other things, he said.
For more information on the second Rehoboth Ale House, 20859 Coastal Highway, go to rehobothalehouse.com, call 302-278-7433 or email info@rehobothalehouse.com.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
