A good kind of Debacle

For chef Michael Rodriguez and business partner Debbie Holmes, this Debacle is a dream come true.

Debacle, 20 Baltimore Ave., is now open at Celebration Mall in the space formerly occupied by Jam Bistro, and serves as the culmination of a career working in the restaurant business for Rodriguez and Holmes.

“I always had a dream to run my own place,” Holmes said. “I came upon this from a friend of mine. I came and looked at it and just thought it was my turn.”

“I’ve always worked as a chef,” Rodriguez said. “I told her, I didn’t want to work at a restaurant unless I was the owner. The opportunity came up. It was one of my dreams.”

Rodriguez was formerly the chef at Café Sole, among other places, and Holmes described the food at Debacle as casual and creative.

“It’s a fusion of different ethnicities, different areas. Southwest. Hispanic. Latin. Asian. What I’m good at doing is fusing a lot of different things together. It pretty much bounces all over the place,” Rodriguez said.

Among the menu items are manicotti, filet mignon, blackened mahi-mahi and Vietnamese spring rolls. Rodriguez said one of the light fare items is a Delmarva platter, which includes chicken salad seasoned with Old Bay, oysters and cole slaw.

Debacle also has kids meals for $5, and Holmes said the restaurant is avoiding French fries to give kids healthier options such as fresh potatoes and vegetables. Rodriguez said kids could have pizza, chicken and fish; Holmes said kids could also have items off the regular menu in smaller portions.

Rodriguez and Holmes took over the building in June and have worked quickly to get ready to open. The duo did all the interior work themselves, not using outside contractors.

“When we came in here it was dark, dingy and black. I just had visions of brightness. Just cheer it up, brighten it up as much as possible to make it more inviting,” Holmes said.

As for the name…

“Debacle in the restaurant world, just when you think everything is perfect, something goes astray or something goes wrong. I say it everyday of my life, or I would say the last 29 years I’ve been in the business. My dream was, if I ever opened my own place, I was going to call it Debacle. Plus, my name’s in it,” Holmes said.

Debacle will be open on weekdays from 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with happy hour from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The restaurant will serve brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information on Debacle, call 212-2050