Memorial Day marks the official kickoff of the summer season, and if this year’s holiday weekend was any indication of what’s ahead, summer 2015 will be a great time for area businesses.

“It was great!” said Betsy Clark, owner of Japanesque in Bethany Beach. “I would say there were more people here than most Memorial Days. We were forecasted to have great weather, and we did. I think that definitely helped bring them in.”

Clark said Japanesque was prepared for a busy weekend, given the predicted beautiful weather.

“We’re very optimistic about the summer. We think summer is going to be great,” she said. “We were celebrating 30 years of business. We had balloons, we’re giving free gifts, and all kinds of things all summer long. So it was kind of a kickoff for us.”

Bethany Beach Books also had a great weekend, according to Assistant Manager Amanda Zirn.

“We definitely thought it was a great weekend,” she said. “All of our sales were higher than last year, which was fantastic. Each day, we did better than the previous year’s,” she said. “We really think it was a great kickoff for the year, and we’re hoping it keeps up that way.”

Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kristie Maravalli said Chamber staff have heard from many members that it was a “booming weekend.”

“I don’t have official numbers, but it really seemed like there were a lot of people in town,” she said. “We operate the kiosk in downtown Bethany, and Friday through Monday we were able to distribute over 400 visitor discover guides. That was up from last year, and we were giving out a lot of information as well.”

The busy season was also felt inland, at Fat Tuna Grill in Millville.

“We were very busy,” said owner Karen Diakos. “We had a lot of families down here. We have a play place here, so a lot of them brought their kids down. That’s usually a sign of good weeks to follow.”

Diakos said that, while the season can be unpredictable, she hopes the strong start is an indicator of what’s to come.

“We saw a lot of return customers from last year, which was very nice. To see people we’ve seen in the past come back again, I think that’s a good thing for us. They remembered us and we remembered them. It’s really nice.”

Public Information Officer Cpl. Patrick Wiley of the South Bethany Police Department said the department’s numbers for Memorial Day 2015 were also up compared to last year’s.

“Overall, we had more calls for service this year, almost tripling the amount that we had last year,” said Wiley, noting an additional 17 calls for service this past holiday weekend.

Wiley said this Memorial Day, the department had a couple call about suspicious persons, as well as one call for under-age possession of alcohol and one for a disorderly person, whereas, last year, they did not have any.

“We were much busier this year than we were last year,” he said. “But they’re pretty much complaints that are consistent with the larger population that we have. Our population increases significantly during Memorial Day and the summer months.”

Maravalli said she’s optimistic for a busy summer that will continue to benefit the local economy.

“I think with Easter falling a little early and with the winter we had and the weekends we’ve had this spring, it looks like it’s going to be a great summer for all of us.”

Coastal Point • M. Patricia Titus: From left, DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan, Bethany Beach Mayor Jack Gordon and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper cut the ribbon on Bethany Beach’s Streetscape project.It was a day more than a decade in the making, as Bethany Beach town council members were joined by state and federal officials last Friday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony that officially opened the Town’s long-planned and, now, completed Streetscape project.

The redesign of a little more than two blocks that make up the town’s primary commercial district included the removal of overhead utility lines and the related poles; new lighting; reorganization of streetside parking, swapping angled parking to the exteriors of the street and parallel parking to the median; redefined bicycle lanes; wider sidewalks, free of the obstruction of utility poles; Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant curbs and crosswalks featuring inlaid brick; and changes aimed at calming traffic in an area with some of the heaviest pedestrian traffic in the state.

The idea behind Streetscape arose in 2001, with the Town’s beautification subcommittee. Numerous design ideas were floated over the years, with a mixed response from the council and the public. After considering public input on a series of initial designs, the committee did come up with a set of goals for the project:

• To improve the appearance of the streetscape, creating an “entry atmosphere” rather than that of a street just intended for travel;

• To relieve sidewalk congestion;

• To protect the street’s business community — primarily through protecting parking as much as possible; the fear being that if parking is lost, the “high-end” businesses would soon move out, leaving the commercial district filled with boarded-up storefronts and T-shirt shops; and

• To control traffic.

But even with those goals in mind, the Town had a difficult time reaching a consensus on what a design should look like. Discussion at various points included a one-lane street, one-way traffic, back-in parking and a traffic circle — none of which garnered strong overall support. The need for a bicycle lane and the goal for parking availability were also hot topics during the discussions.

Without a strong consensus for any of the proposed designs, the project languished until the council in 2008 found consensus on an “as is” design concept that included only minimal changes. In 2009, they requested that state transportation officials consider the project, but it stayed on the shelf as possible funding was awaited.

Finally, in 2011, funding was made available, and the council approved a final design, leading to the awarding of a construction contract in December 2012 and the start of actual construction in February 2013. Work largely ceased during the next two summer seasons and was sporadically delayed over the winters due to poor weather, with the goal for its completion set for Memorial Day weekend of 2015.

That deadline was met in recent weeks, as the project was deemed substantially complete, pending a final inspection on the work and on ADA compliance. A side project included the complete repaving and reconstruction of the roadway and sidewalks in the 200 block of Garfield Parkway this winter.

Ribbon-cutting

celebrates collaboration that brought project

to fruition

The overall cost of the Streetscape project was $2,352,444.04, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), with funding on an 80/20 split between federal and state funding, on top of the Town’s own contributions, including the $1.4 million cost to move utilities underground.

The number of government entities involved in the project or celebrating its potential impact was evident at the ribbon-cutting last week. DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan, Gov. Jack Markell, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, U.S. Rep. John Carney, Bethany Beach Mayor Jack Gordon, state Sen. Gerald Hocker, state Rep. Ron Gray, Sussex County Councilmen George Cole and Robert Arlett, and Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kristie Maravalli cut the red-, white-and-blue ribbon on the morning of Friday, May 22, ahead of the anticipated arrival of thousands of holiday visitors.

Bethany Beach Town Council members Lew Killmer, Jerry Dorfman, Joe Healy, Bruce Frye and Rosemary Hardiman, and Town Manager Cliff Graviet were also in attendance, along with a number of local residents and businesspeople, and even some visitors stopped to hear from the assembled officials.

One theme of those speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony was the importance of sharing the costs of infrastructure projects and working at all levels of government to bring them to fruition.

“Our congressional delegation, working with the governor, had found the resources to make this project a reality,” said Bethany Beach Mayor Jack Gordon of the news that finally got the project started. “And that the governor, working with DelDOT, was able to find that match. And the result is what you see today, with the completion of this project.”

“This project is a great example of what we can achieve when officials from the federal, state, county and municipal governments all work together for the same goal,” said Cohan. “We are only here today because in Delaware we have a governor and federal elected officials who work tirelessly to make projects like this possible,” she said.

“The Bethany Beach Streetscape provides a safe and welcoming environment for our residents and for those who visit the beach,” Markell said. “It is a great example of how investing in our infrastructure benefits us all, making Delaware a safer, healthier, more inviting place.”

Carper said he was proud the federal government was able to help fund such an important project for the beach resort region.

“The Bethany Beach Streetscape project used federal and state dollars to make walking, biking and driving around this world-renowned beach town safer and easier,” Carper said. “Infrastructure improvements not only help keep our residents and tourist safe, but they improve the flow of business, adding to the economy. That’s what I call a win-win.”

Carney also spoke about the partnerships that made the project possible.

“The Bethany Beach Streetscape project will bring much needed improvements to infrastructure and pedestrian safety on the Garfield Parkway, while also creating a healthier and more enjoyable environment for residents and visitors. This project will be a major improvement to Bethany Beach, and I’m very excited that partners from the municipal, state and federal governments have come together to make this possible.”

Representing the numerous businesses along the Streetscape project, Maravalli said that the project will help local businesses a great deal.

“Garfield Parkway is the most recognized and congested street in the Quiet Resorts. The Streetscape Project allows for better pedestrian and cyclist access,” she said. “Not only is downtown Bethany Beach safer to navigate, the improvements enhance its beauty and uniqueness.”

Killmer offered his perspective on the day that was so many years in the making, saying, “It’s like having a baby. Afterward, you kind of step back and enjoy the product.”

Project’s completion

caps enhancements

of downtown Bethany

Along with the Streetscape project itself, the improvements to downtown Bethany Beach in the last decade have included additional parking in the 200 block of Garfield Parkway, in two lots the Town had used as part of a revenue-sharing agreement with the owner but recently decided to purchase and improve, more than offsetting a small loss of parking from the project itself.

There has also been work to enhance median and sidewalk plantings, construction of a small park next to town hall, public wireless Internet access there and along the boardwalk, replacement of wooden boardwalk boards with a longer-lived engineered product, use of accessibility-enhancing Mobi mats at dune crossings and the addition of changeable signage at the bathhouse/lifeguard station.

Additionally, the Town has removed most of its parking meters, in favor of centralized parking paystations; established consolidated areas for newspaper racks, replaced the boardwalk clock and enhanced the bandstand itself. That caps the larger beach reconstruction project that created a new dune and widened the beach.

Beyond those public projects, the former Blue Surf Motel has been reborn as a combined storefront/condominium project, while the Bethany Arms Motel has been replaced by the new Bethany Beach Ocean Suites hotel, due to open in the coming weeks.

Coastal Point • R. Chris Clark: Restauranteur Steve Hagen shucks oysters at the raw bar of his fourth Off The Hook venture — Hooked Up Ale House in Millville.You know them all by name — mostly, because they’re all kind of the same.

First, there was Off the Hook in Bethany Beach. Before long, Just Hooked followed in Fenwick Island. Then, more success. More restaurants. More puns. Eventually, Hooked opened up in Ocean City, Md.

But just when you thought Steve Hagen and the Off the Hook Restaurant Group were running out of names, they’re at it again — launching Hooked Up Ale House & Raw Bar in Millville this week, their fourth restaurant in just six years.

And, this time, there’s a real hook.

“It’s totally different than anything else that we’re doing,” said Hagen of the new venture. “We want to take the same concept of fresh products and original sets and put them into things that appeal to everything and everybody.”

While Hagen’s first three restaurants, of course, all offer their fair share of variety in terms of both menu and atmosphere, Hooked Up aims to break the mold by offering a more casual gastropub setting.

And with 24 beers on draft, 24 screens, the NFL “Sunday Ticket,” a long and lively raw bar, a game room equipped with pool tables and murals dedicated to local teams, and plenty of seating — the approach is not only new for the OTH Group but, according to Hagen, the local area in general.

“We felt like there was a need for it in the community,” he said of the sports bar-like setting. “Obviously, we’ll be specializing in the local games — every single one of the Ravens games, every single one of the ’Skins games, every Eagles games — everybody will be well-represented.”

The pub menu is also set to reflect the relaxed atmosphere, staying true to the signature “farm, ocean, table” approach responsible for the group’s continued success, and putting a sports-bar spin on it.

In addition to the raw bar and steamer menu, “Triple-B” wings tossed in a bourbon-glaze, bacon, and blue cheese; kung-pow calamari with peppers and chopped cashews; boardwalk-style hand-cut french fries; and pork belly corndogs are just some of the light-fare items patrons can start off with.

For lunch, the truffled-cheesesteak subs on delivered-fresh-daily Philadelphia bread, the California BLT with fried avocado, and the “Ridiculous Ruben” on rye straight from New York steal the show — but don’t forget the award-winning truffle burger.

“We’re definitely gonna have our truffle burger,” Hagen said of the burger ranked among the best in Maryland by Thrillist.

The menu also features homemade soup and fresh salad choices, such as Texas short-rib chili with black garlic croutons. But there are also options — and dining space — for those looking for a more traditional sit-down lunch or dinner.

“You’ll have entrées also,” said Hagen. “We’re gonna have nice ribs here. We’ll have a bone-in cowboy steak.”

Keeping in gastropub style, Hooked Up will feature a daily happy hour, with not only beer, wine, and drink specials, but $5 burgers, nachos, steamed shrimp, fried pickles, wings specials and more.

“We’ve got a huge happy hour,” Hagen noted. “We’ll always have a tap designated for $2 pints.”

For the rest of 24 tap handles, they’ll feature plenty of local favorites on draft, with crafts from breweries including Burley Oak, 16-Mile and Third Wave, and continuing to bring in others as they become available.

Even before the grand opening on Monday, Hagen’s newest venture had already seen overwhelming anticipation from local patrons who have been supporting his vision for years — which, for him, is what’s made it all possible.

“More than anything, we’re humbled by the support we get from the community, in every single way,” he said. “It’s awesome, because it goes from that spot where it feels like family — that’s how familiar it ends up being. They just support us, through anything and everything.”

It’s that support that highlights the local area for Hagen — something that revitalized him now more than 10 years ago, allowing him to free himself from a life of addiction and to instead put his efforts into his passion for the culinary arts — going from once being somewhat of a “lost boy” to establishing a new name for himself behind the word “Hook.”

“To go from where I came to being successful in something that we absolutely love doing — we surround ourselves with great people,” he said of his personal journey and a restaurant group that has gone from just 50 to more than 700 seats. “We love putting out good food. We love the service that we put out. We put out a restaurant group that people seem to enjoy.

“We’ve got phenomenal chefs, phenomenal managers, phenomenal servers, bartenders, hostesses, you name it — you can’t do this stuff by yourself — every single person brings something to the table. That’s the cool thing.”

Hooked Up is located at 38069 Town Center Drive, #19-20, in the Millville Town Center. For more information call the restaurant at (302) 539-4111, or check out the full menu on their Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/HookedUpMillville.

Coastal Point • Submitted: FlutterBy House held it’s ribbon-cutting event on Friday, May 15. The new store is located at 31854 James Lowe Road.Vine’s Creek Nursery is bringing big changes to its Frankford location. Its new building, the FlutterBy House, offers both unique shopping and picturesque views 8 miles west of Bethany Beach, just off of Omar Road. A ribbon-cutting to celebrate the shop’s opening was held on Friday, May 15, with a grand opening ceremony the next day that featured a live butterfly release.

“I’d like to introduce our new home and garden store at Vine’s Creek Nursery: The FlutterBy House,” said owner Tom Lowe, “It’s a unique store with unique gifts and foods. We’re very excited about it.”

The FlutterBy House offers everything from lamps and wreaths to birdhouses, sunhats, wind chimes and other décor. Also in stock are fresh Amish baked goods, including pies, breads, cakes, sticky buns, whoopie pies, fudge, gourmet popcorn, cookies, cream cheese spreads and more.

“I was very lucky to find a distributer who will drop it off every week.” said manager Becky Jones.

The fresh Amish goods are delivered straight from Lancaster every Thursday. After shopping and sampling, customers can relax on the front porch and take in the scenery or head out back to a very special garden that will be located just behind the FlutterBy House.

“We’re going to have a big walkthrough butterfly garden,” Jones explained, “There will be benches and a fountain so people can be in the garden.”

The FlutterBy House, located at 31854 James Lowe Road, east of Frankford, is open Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (302) 732-6159.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Jennifer and Rich Spinks are ready to open the doors to GiggleBugs Early Learning Center in Millsboro.Early education has become a hot topic for parents, with a goal of getting children started on a good path. That’s why GiggleBugs Early Learning Center hopes to fill a gap for children ages 3 months to 12 years in Millsboro.

“This is my home county. This is my passion. I’ve known since a very young age that I’ve wanted to open my own center,” said owner Jennifer Spinks.

Jennifer and Rich Spinks bring years of experience to the table, having operated three similar centers in West Virginia.

“At our center in West Virginia, we had some start with us at 6 weeks and stay with us through the school-age program,” Spinks said.

After moving to Sussex County, they saw a need for local educational childcare.

“They’re full with waitlists,” Spinks said of other centers. “There are families that are unable to provide high-quality centers for their children.”

Families from Selbyville to Georgetown have shown an interest in enrolling, Spinks said.

Full-time care is available for children 3 months to 5 years. Afterschool programs include ages 5 to 12. The center is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

GiggleBugs was scheduled to open on June 1, with its own waiting list for the youngest age bracket. But some openings remained for ages 3, 4 and above.

The center is licensed for 112 children total, and all children must be enrolled. The center does not allow drop-ins.

GiggleBugs was specifically built as an educational center — not just a daycare — so the large classrooms are connected by wide hallways with water fountains. Using the Creative Curriculum, children aren’t just in daycare. They’re in an educational program with age-appropriate activities.

“The children think they’re having fun and playing all the time,” but everything is geared toward to specific developmental skills, Spinks said.

The mission is to “encourage development of the whole child,” including physical, cognitive, social/emotional and language development. “GiggleBugs promotes hands-on active exploration, small-group instruction and positive interaction with highly qualified teachers,” their website says.

Children will get regular progress reports.

Instructors are required to have Delaware First credentials issued by the state’s Department of Education, which reflects a certain amount of coursework and training.

With three playgrounds, children can play in an appropriate-sized area, from the babies’ soft rubber ground to the larger swings and slides.

Artist John Donato created his signature whimsical paintings at child-height in every hallway. With a dashed yellow line down the middle of the halls, children have a bright indoor roadway.

“On rainy days, they can use their little wheeled vehicles to get some play in our hallways,” Spinks said.

Summer camp programs are available fulltime for the warmer months. That includes meals, snacks, field trips and fun theme weeks, such as edible art, camping out, the Olympics and mad scientists.

The center also boasts secure key-coded entrances.

Parents can ask about the modified purchase-of-care slots.

GiggleBugs Early Learning Center is located in Millsboro at 213 West State Street. Learn more by calling (302) 934-KIDS, visiting www.gigglebugs.net or emailing jennifer@gigglebugs.net.

IR agriculture students help GiggleBugs

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Indian River High School agri-science students put their skills to the test, helping landscape the GiggleBugs property.High-schoolers were some of the first students at GiggleBugs early learning center, as Indian River High School’s agri-science department agreed to help GiggleBugs with landscaping.

From mulching to shrubbery, students took the landscape plan and implemented that design on the ground. “All you would do if you owned your own landscaping business,” explained teacher Jennifer Cordrey.

They learned how to do the work in the classroom, but now got to practice in the real world.

“My budget got a little tight, and it’s a real blessing to have them,” GiggleBugs owner Jennifer Spinks said of the IRHS students.

Coastal Point photos • R. Chris Clark: Brent Poffenberger, Tom Neville, chamber members and patrons celebrate at the grand opening and ribbon cutting of Bethany Boathouse on June 18. Bethany Boathouse is located across the street from their other venture, The Cottage Cafe.The sun was out, the live music was playing, and all hands were on deck when one of the area’s most unique venues held its official grand opening near Bethany Beach last Thursday.

“We wanted to build something that we thought would fit into the community, something that really matches the nature of this area,” said Brent Poffenberger, co-owner of Bethany’s newest watering hole, Bethany Boathouse.

The latest venture from Poffenberger and Tom Neville — who also own the Cottage Café, located across from Boathouse on the west side of Route 1 — the family-friendly restaurant and bar was designed to resemble a historic lifesaving station, and features both an indoor bar and the outdoor Gazebo Bar, in addition to both outdoor and indoor seating.

“People have been looking for something like this in the area, waiting for it,” said Boathouse General Manger Rich Beaney. “This is gonna be a destination.”

“Everyone who I’ve talked to has said that this is exactly what Bethany needed,” added Poffenberger. “We’re not trying to be Dewey Beach. We’re not trying to be Ocean City. We’re trying to just bring a little bit more excitement to Bethany Beach and do it in a classy, fun way.”

But the excitement and fun doesn’t come solely by way of the nautically-themed atmosphere, including the water view from the pond and fountain out front — and it isn’t just for the adults. either. Not only will Boathouse feature live music every day, but it also offers an area for kids to enjoy, complete with a pirate ship and sandpit.

“It’s very family-oriented,” Poffenberger said. “We expect a lot of people will come off the beach. We have a kids’ play area. Your kids can be entertained while you’re listening to music. We provide a fun atmosphere.”

While they’re enjoying the entertainment and views, customers can also enjoy a full bar, featuring both domestic and local craft selections on tap, wines from Cupcake and 10 Span, an assortment of fresh fruit crushes, custom frozen concoctions — including the Bethany Beach Cool’ada, with coconut rum, pineapple and mango — and house specialties, such as the Boathouse Bloody Mary and Sunrise Mimosa.

Whether it’s light fare, lunch or dinner, there’s just as much to choose from on the menu —including beach favorites such as steamed shrimp, crab claws, clam strips, mussels and crab-artichoke dip, venturing into fresh-from-the-garden salads, custom burgers and sandwiches, and an array of tacos and entrée platters.

“Our ribs are slow-cooked and out-off-this-world, as is our fried chicken,” said Beaney. “It couldn’t be any better. Anybody that orders it just raves about it.”

Despite being just a stone’s throw from the Cottage Café, Poffenberger and Neville’s new establishment stands on its own. In fact, the only similarities, aside from the same award-winning crabcake, is their commitment to hospitality.

“The only thing that I would say is similar is our commitment to hospitality and guests,” Poffenberger said, comparing the two restaurants. “We’re trying to provide the most friendly staff and just a great time — that’s the atmosphere we’re trying to create.”

“Our staff is energetic and excited about doing that. We’re real fortunate,” added Beaney. “We were real happy with the people that we brought in. Everybody’s attitude is over-the-top. Guest relations come first — that’s our No. 1 concern.”

That “over-the-top” excitement from the staff and commitment to ensuring that patrons are having a good time has led to the positive feedback that the Boathouse has received not only at the official opening party, but since opening its doors on May 28.

“It’s been very strong right out of the gate,” said Beaney of the response so far. “From the first people we had come in, the response has been very positive.”

“We look at this as an amenity to the area,” Poffenberger added. “It worked out better than we could have imagined.”

Bethany Boathouse is located at 39817 Hickman Plaza Road in Bethany Beach. The restaurant and bar are open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, from noon to 1 a.m. For more information, visit the website at www.bethanyboathouse.com or call (302) 616-2593. For a schedule of upcoming live music performances, visit www.facebook.com/bethanyboathouse.

Coastal Point photos • R. Chris Clark: The Jetty Deli & Coffee Shop held its ribbon cutting and grand opening event on Tuesday, June 30.You’ve picked up your fresh popcorn. You’ve ordered your boardwalk french fries and you’ve even washed them down with a few of your favorite local cocktails. But, according the owners of the new Jetty Deli & Coffee Shop, you’ve still got one more thing to mark off on your culinary checklist before leaving the Bethany Beach boardwalk.

“We want to be the sandwich experience here in town — it’s for the professional sandwich-eater,” said Jetty head chef and co-owner Robbie Bedell. “We want the people from out of town to get the local experience.”

A Sussex County native and chef in the area for 22 years, Bedell teamed up with Ba Roos Ice Cream business partner Matt Merrick, Bethany Beach Books’ owner Jackie Inman Burns and lifelong friend Matt Burns to do just that — opening the doors to the team’s new venture earlier this month.

“Instead of a New York-style deli or a Philadelphia-style deli, we did a Delaware-style deli — all local everything,” added Burns. “Matt’s a great organizer, Robbie’s an amazing chef — it just works out.”

“We’re trying to keep quality year-round businesses in downtown Bethany,” added Inman Burns. “We want to make sure that the locals have a great place that you can eat year ’round.”

While some of the signature sandwiches — such New York-style Rubens, and the “beef on weck” served on a fresh-baked kummelweck roll with aus ju and topped with horseradish — are reminiscent of the Big Apple, and “whiz wit” or “wit out” cheesesteaks speak of Philadelphia, the rest of the menu is all homegrown, and made up of local ingredients.

The bagels from K&H are delivered from Lewes daily. The ingredients for smoothies and salads are being grown on local farms. The butcher operates in Dagsboro, and the rockfish for the fish tacos and fresh crabmeat for the crabcakes come from local fishermen.

“The sandwiches are all things that I would serve to myself or to my family,” Bedell explained. “When it comes time for me to explain to you what you’re eating, I can give it you, from the bread that’s been freshly baked, the meat that’s been freshly delivered and the vegetables that come freshly to us. If anybody has a question about any of the food that we do here, ‘I don’t know’ is never going to be an answer.”

Noting the blacked rockfish tacos served with pico de gallo and shredded cabbage on grilled tortillas as being a house favorite so far, Bedell also said that other dishes, including the Delaware Crab Soup and On the Rocks salad with “grilled and chilled” shrimp, crabmeat and rockfish, have been popular for those looking for lighter-fare options.

“Everybody can get something. You have your health foods then you have your cheesesteaks, smoothies, doughnuts, muffins — it’s got everything you want,” Burns explained.

“We have beachgoers in mind. You want something quick, you want something hearty, but you don’t want something super-unhealthy,” said Bedell. “If you want a half a cheesesteak and a salad, we do that here, as well.”

The menu keeps those beachgoers in mind all the way from breakfast to late-night snacks, offering their entire menu all day — from scrapple-, egg-and-cheese sandwiches in the morning, to soon offering fried Twinkles on a stick and fried Oreos topped with fresh-made Hopkins Farm Creamery ice cream at night.

“You wanna come in and get waffles at 6 o’clock, come on in,” said Merrick. “We’re super casual — flip-flops and T-shirts… Kids are coming in with skimboards.”

Desserts may be the newest items making their way to the menu, but don’t forget the sandwich specials, either.

“Our favorite show is ‘Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives,’ so we’ll have some of those sandwiches, too,” said Merrick. “We’ll do stuff like that and some other sandwiches from around the country, really. We’re just getting started.”

“We’re really trying to listen for what people want and then turn around and provide it,” added Bedell. “This is a dream for us that we’ve been contemplating over the years. We understand the culture and the mindset of the people in the area — it’s kind of been the perfect team of all four of us. It all came together.”

The Jetty Deli & Coffee Shop is located at 97 Garfield Parkway, just below Mango’s, on the Bethany Beach boardwalk. It is open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily. For more information, check out the Jetty’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jettydeli or call the shop at (302) 616-2169.

Special to the Coastal Point • Christina Weaver: Lanta Conaway, left, Brett Conaway, center, and Don Conaway, right, run the Fenwick Island Dairy Queen as a family business, with Lanta and Don’s other son, Don “D.C.” Conaway, and their daughter, Candace. A new favorite at the shop is a triple chocolate brownie à la mode, while the 60-year history of the DQ in Fenwick Island is clearly on display in a local history book.The Dairy Queen is one of the very few businesses in Fenwick Island that has been in the same location for more than 60 years. It was opened by Virgil Willey in 1952. Willey was the school principal in Bridgeville, and he opened and closed the “treat store,” as it was known, according to the school summer vacation schedule.

Lanta Conaway bought the store 10 years ago to be a family business. She and her husband, Don Conaway, are both Realtors and have lived in Fenwick Island all their lives. In fact, Lanta’s grandparents on both sides lived there.

“I remember when it was just a walk-up with a single window,” she said. “I even worked here as a teenager for a while. At first, they just sold vanilla, chocolate and twist cones — always with a curly-Q on top — and then milkshakes and malts, followed by banana splits. It was always called soft-serve, as real ice cream has 4-percent milk and ours is 2-percent milk.”

“They built this structure to last,” said Don Conaway. “The concrete was dug into the ground and the later additions to accommodate the open flame brazier, and then eat-in seating, are equally sound. Even in the 1962 storm, when many of the local cottages were destroyed, and recently during Sandy, no damage was done here.”

The Conaway’s have two sons, Don (known as “D.C.”) and Brett, who are the store’s managers, and their daughter, Candace, is the bookkeeper.

“We hear the local buzz when I post the opening date on the outside sign,” said Brett Conaway who also first worked there as a teenager. “People tell me they look forward to it being their first sign that summer really is coming. And then, when I announce the closing date in October, we see an influx of customers wanting their last Blizzard of the year.”

“The sign I put up that people like best is ‘Keep Crying Until Daddy Pulls Over,’” he added.

Dairy Queen created the Blizzard in 1985, and ever since it has been the favorite item sold. “Upside Down, Right Thick” was the slogan, and to this day every Blizzard sold gets turned over to prove it’s the real thing. Its deliciousness is tested only by the taster!

“The original flavors were Oreo, Butterfinger, strawberry and M&M,” said Brett. “Now there are over 40 flavors, and the Oreo is still the most popular, followed by Reese’s. In October, the special flavor of the month is pumpkin pie, and people love that, too.”

For interested customers, a poster depicting the history of the Blizzard is hanging on the wall.

This year, Dairy Queen has introduced a new treat that the Conaway family thinks will be another winning item on the menu: triple chocolate brownie à la mode!

“It is part of a new line called DQ Bakes, hot and cold! There’s also apple tart and fudge-stuffed chocolate chip cookie, all served à la mode. They are sinfully good!” said Lanta Conaway. Later, she admitted that, despite being surrounded by sweet treats, her favorite item on the menu is a chili-dog!

Another staple of the Fenwick Island Dairy Queen is teenage workers.

“I like to hire them at 14, when it’s their first summer job and keep them until they’re finished high school,” said Don Conaway.

“I like training them, too,” said Brett Conaway. “They work hard and have fun. It’s really a great job for them.”

Another staple at the store is the presence of Fenwick Island lifeguards, some of whom have also worked there.

“It’s so close to the beach, and it’s quick in and out,” said Zoe Gage. “I’ll usually have a cheeseburger or chicken strips for lunch and then come back at night for a Blizzard.”

Sunny Kondova was the Conaway family’s first employee when they took over 10 years ago. She came from Bulgaria on a work-travel visa and liked the job and the area so much that she stayed.

“They are nice people to work for. It’s fun. Everyone is friendly, and the customers love what we serve,” said Kondova.

What more can one ask?

Oh, yes — I’ll sit outside under one of those cheerful umbrellas and have a sinful triple chocolate brownie à la mode, please!

You never know what you’re going to stumble upon at Dana’s Pantry. But to Dana Banks, who also owns The Parkway restaurant right down the block, that’s kind of the point.

“Originally, I wanted to have 100 percent what I wanted to have in my pantry — but then I started thinking about other gifts,” said Banks, who opened the doors at the shop’s Bethany boardwalk location last month. “It’s about finding cool things that you’re not going to see anywhere else.”

Equating the shop to Bethany Beach’s answer to somewhat of a Williams-Sonoma-type store, Banks said Dana’s Pantry carries a wide array of items for beachgoers’ own pantries and more. From soaps, shampoos and lotions from Savannah Bee, to cooking products from Stonewall Kitchen, and to anything one might need for a cocktail party — chances are Dana’s Pantry has it on the shelves.

“We have some fun gourmet items,” Banks explained. “It’s just kind of eclectic. It’s like a country-farmhouse feel. Everything for your beach house — just for when people are here and they go, ‘Where can I get that?’”

In addition to bar items, such as martini glasses, portable wine glasses, wine keys, strainers, muddlers and all kinds of drink mixes, the shop also carries party favors, such as drinking games and wine bags, to go along with plenty of bar and beach snacks.

For beachgoers looking for a snack, there are Taite’s cookies, crab salsa, jerky, gluten-free snacks, chocolates, specialty peanut butter, jams and crackers. And for dinner guests, there are capers, sardines, olives and much more.

All the sauces and snacks have, of course, been hand-picked by Banks herself, who’s been testing them in her kitchen to see what she likes best.

“The key lime juice I use in my key lime pie. The coconut milk I use in a lot of my stuff. The siracha sauce I use, the chipotle…” said Banks. “I’ve been incorporating and trying a lot of the products in with my cooking — like, I did pork chops with the maple-chipotle barbecue sauce. I did a fig jam with an apple butter… Different things. I use the peanut butter for the peanut butter burger at The Parkway.”

But unique food and drink items are not the only things to be found when browsing the store. There are also some items that one might not find in the typical pantry, including custom-made soy candles, “Home T’s” shirts and mats displaying home state pride, sunscreens from Coola, and even a pet section.

“My passion is people enjoying themselves when they come in here, and finding something that they like,” Banks explained. “It’s discovering something.”

While Banks, of course, still has a kitchen to run at The Parkway, she said she’s enjoyed her time being able to run the shop, talk with the customers and find new items to bring it.

“I really enjoy it. You get to talk to people on a different level,” she said. “This was a lot of fun to put together. I know that I’m going to keep adding, it’s going to evolve.”

Banks went on to note that, like The Parkway, Dana’s Pantry will remain open seven days a week throughout September before dialing the hours back for the second-season, but they’ll still be open when people are in town throughout the off-season, she assured.

The shop is located at 98 Garfield Parkway, Unit #108, in the Blue Surf building on the Bethany boardwalk, and is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the summer. For more information, check out their Facebook page or call (302) 616-2657.

Coastal Point • Tripp Colonell Joe and Cat Godleski are the new owners of Tom & Terry's Seafood Market in Ocean View, carrying on a proud tradition and bringing some new concepts, too.Tradition runs deep at Tom & Terry’s Seafood Market in Ocean View.

For 32 years, Tom and Mary Ellen Ball provided local patrons with the highest quality seafood that they could bring in. Not only have the crabcakes been made with the same recipe for more than 20 years — they’ve been made by the same person. And not only do the employees keep coming back, summer after summer, but now so do some of their kids.

So when it came time to retire, the Balls went to Joe and Cat Godleski, who they knew would be able to not only carry on the tradition they had built but carry it forward for the next generation.

“I originally met Tom and Mary Ellen when I moved back here after college. That was my first restaurant gig down here, was at Tom & Terry’s on [Route] 54,” said Joe Godleski. “We kept in touch over the years, and last year they asked Cat and I if we wanted to buy the place. They wanted to retire.”

Not only had Joe gotten his culinary start with the Balls, but Cat had also been joining them at the Fenwick Island Farmer’s Market through the years, with her homemade desserts from her former bakeshop, Beach Sweets. They had even carried her signature Beach Sweets Salsa in the store. With that in mind, the Balls’ decision may have been a no-brainer, and, for the Godleskis, it was a dream come true.

“It’s was kind of a dream of mine,” Joe Godleski explained. “We kept the name. We want to keep doing what they have done since 1983 and build on that.”

“We’re honored that they even approached us,” added Cat Godleski. “We want to keep it up and take it little bit further, the next generation of Tom & Terry’s.”

While the Godleskis will continue to offer everything that people have come to expect at Tom & Terry’s — whether it be fresh fish, Maryland steamed crabs, dayboat scallops, oysters, mussels, or even local produce — the “next generation of Tom & Terry’s" is bringing a few twists.

In adding items including their house-made salads, soups and desserts, the goal is to provide customers with whatever they need to prepare their dinner.

“They can stop here and pick up everything for dinner, instead of making a couple different stops,” said Joe Godleski. “They can just come here and get their meal taken care of for the night.”

“It’s a lot to host a meal. You want them to enjoy it,” said Cat Godleski. “Anything you need to prepare your fish, you can get it all here. Come in and we’ll help you, and you can go home and take all the credit for it and be a rockstar.”

And not only will they get you set up for dinner, right down to the Old Bay, they’ll even tell you how to properly cook it or recommend just the right sauce.

“Once you learn the techniques, then you don’t need a recipe,” said Godleski, noting that cooking demos may be next on the Tom & Terry’s horizon. “It’s fresh, simple food — it doesn’t need a lot of help.”

Other future plans for the market include expanding the bakeshop and catering for holiday events, whether it be small dinner parties or family-reunion crab feasts.

“We’re willing to accommodate special orders if you’re trying to pull off a Christmas party or anything at all,” Cat Godleski said. “With Beach Sweets, we did a lot of catering up through Christmas and the holidays, so we want to be able to continue to do that.”

For right now, however, the new generation of Tom & Terry’s is set to continue a long-standing tradition of excellence.

“We want to be known for having the best fish at the beach,” said Joe Godleski. “We just want to hold the highest quality standards that we can.”

Tom & Terry’s Seafood Market is located on 30447 Cedar Neck Road in Ocean View and is open daily at 10 a.m. For a full menu, visit www.tomandterrys
market.com. For gluten-free crabcake requests, or when ordering steamed crabs, make sure to call ahead to the store, at (302) 539-4311. For off-season catering, contact the market through their Facebook page.

Coastal Point • Tripp Colonell: Christian Heneghan and Erin Dresler-Looper behind the counter of Drifting Grounds, Bethany Beach's newest coffee house.When Christian Heneghan was looking for a local roaster to supply the beans for Drifting Grounds, the new coffee shop on Route 26 in Bethany Beach, he had two main requirements: he wanted a roaster big enough to be able to offer high-quality, unique beans for his brews, but also wanted one that was small enough to be able to cater to his requests directly. That’s exactly what he found with Homestead Coffee Roasters.

“I wanted good and interesting beans, and then I wanted someone who would work with me,” Heneghan explained. “These guys are big enough that they can handle the summer rush, and they’re small enough where I won’t get lost in the shuffle.”

With the Delaware River Valley-based roasters bringing the beans, Heneghan has been brewing up the roasts from Guatemala, Columbia, Honduras and beyond — with one goal in mind.

“My goal is to have the best coffee around,” said Heneghan. “What I’ve seen in the industry is people demanding better-quality products.”

To ensure the quality of the products being offered, Heneghan has made frequent trips up to Homestead’s headquarters to not only discuss what kinds of roasts he wants to offer, but to go over what the customers are saying about it, as well.

“I take their advice on a lot of things, but then I go my own direction, depending on how the community’s feeling,” Heneghan explained. “I’ve gone up there a couple times and talked about what I want to do and how I want to do it. I want to be unique — coffee is a lot like wine in terms of where you get the beans from and the flavors you want.”

As a result, Drifting Grounds is able to offer all the drinks that the big chains can, and some of Heneghan’s specialty drinks, as well, serving up everything from cold brews on tap, milk-based drinks and espresso, to just regular cups of joe.

They’re also offering non-coffee items, as well — from drinks including hot tea, juices and packaged drinks, to gluten-free snacks, fruit, baked goods from Bake My Day in Fenwick Island, and sweets from Sweet Disposition in Selbyville.

“I want to have everything for every level,” Heneghan said regarding coffee drinkers. “We do basically everything that the big chains do, but we use high-quality beans.”

So far, teaming up with Homestead has worked out well, but Heneghan has also teamed up with his brother — who, along with his father and uncles, helped him reinvent the space next to WaWa on Route 26, making it into two separate shops, so that his brother could move his toy store, Yesterday’s Fun, next door.

“My brother and I worked out kind of a deal — rather than one big space, we cut it into two half the size. We can fill it better. This is the perfect size for a coffeehouse,” said Heneghan. “We used a lot of what was in the previous structure, and we rearranged it. We took what we could, and then we just kind of made it our own — it’s nice because families can come in here and sit down.”

With the more efficient space, Heneghan has big plans, looking to establish Drifting Grounds as hub for local art shows, game nights, acoustic music, or whatever other venues present themselves.

“We’re gonna try to be local. We’re gonna try to be year-round,” he said. “It’s working out great so far.”

The shop is located at 786-A Garfield Parkway (Route 26) next to the WaWa in Bethany Beach, and is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call the shop at (302) 829-1551 or visit their website at www.driftinggrounds.com.

ResortQuest Real Estate announced this week that Richard “Rich” Flaim has joined the firm’s Bethany Beach/Hickman Beach Plaza West office on Coastal Highway near Bethany Beach.

Licensed since 2006, Flaim specializes in listing and selling Delaware resort real estate from Slaughter Beach to Fenwick Island. Before embarking on his real estate career, Flaim was a civil engineering land surveyor for Merestone Consultants in Rehoboth Beach, where he participated in the layout of the new Rehoboth Beach streetscape, including the location of the lighthouse in the circle. He also worked in the medical field as an orthopedic X-ray technologist at Orthopedic Associates of Southern Delaware.

Flaim can be contacted at (302) 541-8785 or online at http://RFlaim.ResortQuestDE.com.

The Beebe Medical Foundation announced this week that it will hold a new fundraising raffle, for a 2015 Jeep Wrangler donated by Megee Motors of Georgetown. All the proceeds from the Jeep raffle will benefit Beebe Healthcare’s Tunnell Cancer Center, located at the Beebe Health Campus on John J. Williams Highway (Route 24) in Rehoboth Beach.

Tickets cost $10 each, or $50 for six or $100 for a dozen. Tickets are available Monday through Friday at the Beebe Medical Foundation on 902 Savannah Road, or by calling (302) 644-2900, and at Megee Motors in Georgetown. The drawing will be Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016.

“What a wonderful and exciting gift the Tunnell Cancer has received from Terry and Vanessa Megee,” said Tom Protack, director of Development for the Beebe Medical Foundation. “Every family has been touched by cancer in some way, and buying raffle tickets is a fun and easy way for everyone to support our local, award-winning Tunnell Cancer Center.”

Terry Megee was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of Beebe Healthcare.

“Vanessa and my family are thrilled to partner with Beebe,” he said. “It is amazing to see how fast Sussex County has grown since 1948, when my Dad started our car dealership, and Beebe has equally kept up with the growth by meeting the needs of one of the fastest-growing counties in the country. Our hope is that everyone will try a chance at winning a new ride, while supporting our local cancer center.”

The Jeep will be appearing at more than 18 community events in Sussex County through the end of December. To volunteer to help sell tickets or request the Jeep to be at a community event, contact the Beebe Medical Foundation at (302) 644-2900.

The Beebe Medical Foundation was established in 1989, with the sole mission to raise philanthropic support for Beebe Healthcare. The foundation’s office is located at 902 Savannah Road, Lewes, DE 19958. For more information, contact the Beebe Medical Foundation at (302) 644-2900 or visit the website at www.beebehealthcare.org/foundation.

Coastal Point • R. Chris Clark: Christine Hinz with Chrisinte’s Consignments mascot, Evelyn, pose for a photo in the Ocean View shop.From wine night every Thursday in the off-season, to group trips up to New York City and the shop’s mascot — a dog named Evelyn — Christine’s Consignments in Ocean View is not your average consignment shop.

But that just might be the reason for the store’s success. Since opening the doors in 2010, owner Christine Hinz has even been able to open up a second location in Rehoboth, catering to men’s clothing. So to celebrate the store’s five-year anniversary, she’s rewarding the customers who have made it all possible with a 25 percent off sale for Labor Day weekend.

“The whole store — everything’s going to be 25 percent off,” Hinz explained. “I’ve never done that before, and I won’t do that again until my 10-year anniversary.”

Under the tagline “A trendy to place to shop,” the Ocean View location caters to local women and carries items ranging from women’s clothing and shoes to an array of jewelry, handbags, home decor and even furniture — offering some of the top names in designer merchandise, without the designer price tags.

“I’m very selective. We love designer,” she said. “We love Louis Vuitton, Tori Burch. We get a lot of Coach, Cole Hahn. Then we have a lot of sterling silver jewelry and some gold.”

Heinz went on to say that, while not all the clothing is designer, she still looks for more popular brands and items that are newer. In fact, some of the clothing found around the shop even still has the original tags. And with the large assortment of both consigners and shoppers, whether it’s evening wear or dinnerware, at Christine’s, there’s always something new.

“We get new items in every single day,” Hinz said. “The whole store is changed every week. Clothes and shoes go by season. Now we’re in the fall season — all the boots are coming in. Ugg boots are coming in like crazy.”

“Everything is a surprise. Look what I found right here for my South Carolina girlfriend,” said Bethany Beach resident and Christine’s Consignments regular Kathy Megyeri, holding up a unique carrying-case made from a South Carolina license plate. “Every day is an adventure. Every week she has new things. You never know what you’re going to find.”

According to Ocean View resident Peggy Burkat, the store’s popularity is also good for consigners — who collect 50 percent of the merchandise’s sale price.

“I am a consigner, so I bring bags clothes and stuff like that. I have some sterling silver jewelry that I bring — I do real well,” Burkat said. “My daughter, who lives in New Jersey, brings me stuff to bring here. She says it’s the best place. It’s really great. It’s a great little place.”

Burkat went on to note that, with events like the wine nights, New York trips and just the everyday interactions in the shop, Christine’s Consignments is more than just a store to its customers.

“It’s a good place to come,” Burkat said. “Everyone is very friendly, very nice people. The people working for her are really nice, everybody that works here.”

“A lot of friendships have been forged here. It’s just an amazing place,” added Hinz. “We have a lot of fun. I have the best staff — the greatest staff ever.”

For more about Christine’s Consignments, check out their website at www.christinesconsignments.net or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/christinesconsignmentsatrendyplacetoshop.

To become a consigner, call the Bethany Beach store at (302) 829-1425 or the Rehoboth store at (302) 226-1126, or visit the Rehoboth location at 200 Rehoboth Avenue. To take advantage of the Labor Day sale, visit the Ocean View location at 42 Atlantic Avenue. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays, but will be extending Sunday hours for Labor Day.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Emilie Bonano recently joined the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce as the communications manager.As soon as Emilie Bonano realized that she enjoyed marketing, she wanted to do that in a tourist location. That makes her new position as communications manager for the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce even more fitting.

What is the role of communications manager? “It’s all-encompassing,” she said. She’ll handle all press releases, newsletters, social media and email lists, but also creating, developing and selling ads for Chamber publications.

“Working for such a wonderful organization that really brings all of the tourism businesses together all in one, and being able to make this community united and getting the [word] out there for everyone” really excited her about this job, she said.

Bonano said she wanted to join a group that makes people and tourists “feel at home when they visit,” and get “the community united, and getting our tourists here going to the businesses that are members of the Chamber.”

The Chamber staff was delighted with her experience in marketing, event planning and recruiting.

“Emilie is the complete package for a Chamber position such as this,” said her new boss, Chamber Executive Director Kristie Maravelli.

Bonano is ahead of the learning curve, having the experience to do her job, plus collaborate on Chamber projects.

She and her fiancé just moved to Bethany Beach from the Baltimore area. Until they start building their dream home, she’ll be planning a wedding, relaxing on the beach, and playing and watching sports.

“I’m very happy to be here,” she said.

Bonano had applied for this position several months earlier, but she hadn’t relocated to the shore yet. That outweighed her excellent phone interview.

“When I hung up the phone, I thought, ‘At some point, this person is going to be on our team,’” Maravalli said. “It was a connection right away.”

The previous communications manager only served briefly before being offered her own dream job at the Center for Inland Bays.

“You always hate to see good people go,” Maravalli said, but Bonano is stepping up to the plate. “She started last Tuesday (Aug. 25) and hit the ground running.”

Bonano is disembarking from two years in the University of Maryland’s Enrollment Management department, where she coordinated and marketed events at College Park. Doing anything to get “Maryland’s name out there,” Bonano planned events for groups ranging from 300 to sometimes 3,000 guests.

Before that, as a marketing and events associate for T. Rowe Price, she planned events for corporate entities, clients and the community. She even worked with the global offices to plan events in Australia (although she never got an excuse to visit that continent).

Growing up in Hagerstown, Md., she went to Dickinson College, then to Johns Hopkins Carey Business School for a master’s degree in marketing.

Coastal Point • R. Chris Clark: Danny Somoza and Donna Serafina combined their efforts to bring 99 Sea Level to reality for a trio of partners, Dick Heidenberger, Steve Montgomery and Jim Weisgerber. The restaurant is located in the new Bethany Beach Ocean Suites.For Dick Heidenberger, taking the helm of Bethany Beach’s newest oceanfront restaurant was a move that made a lot of sense.

The endeavor began back in January as a conversation with Jack Burbage, owner of the new Bethany Beach Ocean Suites/Residence Inn. Burbage is also Heidenberger’s landlord at the Bethany Beach eateries Mango’s and Bethany Blues. Once he took a look at the hotel that was still under construction and the plans for the restaurant space, Heidenberger said, he decided to jump onboard.

The rest of the winter brought a flurry of preparations for Heidenberger and partners Steve Montgomery and Jim Weisgerber, Heidenberger said. The trio quickly began assembling a team of people to bring their vision to life. A crucial part of that process was hiring chef Danny Somoza and director of operations Donna Serafina.

“The two of them really put together our playbook here,” Heidenberger said.

That playbook includes a “very innovative menu” that features the freshest ingredients possible. To that end, 99 Sea Level works with a number of local food producers — including, but not limited to: Adkins Produce of Millsboro, Bennett Orchards of Frankford, Fishkiller Lobster Shack of Dagsboro and Sea Eagle Fish Company of Selbyville, in addition to farms and seafood companies from all over the Delmarva Peninsula.

From wild-caught salmon to free-range chicken, the menu features the freshest ingredients available, Heidenberger said. And from those ingredients, “everything that is served here is made fresh, in-house,” he said.

The crowning touch on the 99 Sea Level menu is the Seafood Tower, designed to be as beautiful to look at as it is to eat. The tower comes in three sizes and features blue-point Chincoteague oysters, steamed shrimp, Broadwater clams, steamed Prince Edward Island mussels and steamed Alaskan crab clusters.

The location of the restaurant, which seats 90 inside and 100 outside, is a huge part of what makes it unique — steps from the boardwalk and the dunes, it is one of a very few oceanfront restaurants in the Bethany Beach area. The wide porch, graced with elegant columns and fitted very simply with potted palms, was cool and pleasant even on a recent hot, humid afternoon, with ceiling fans adding to the breeze from the ocean.

Heidenberger touts 99 Sea Level’s raw bar, which will be open year-round, as an important asset. Menu items currently include many seafood appetizers, such as fish tacos and Hooper’s Island blue crab flatbread. Dinner entrees include popular beach fare, such as crabcakes, as well as a bouillabaisse brimming with local seafood, pasta dishes, beef and chicken dishes.

The lunch menu at 99 Sea Level features a unique and hearty array of sandwiches, as well as lobster bisque showcasing lobster from Fishkiller’s, as well as salads that focus on creative combinations of ingredients.

“Family sides” add fun and flexibility to meal choices, with selections including lobster mac-and-cheese and shoestring truffle fries, which can be shared with others at the table.

Heidenberger said being connected to the new Marriott brings a level of sophistication to the location that will benefit surrounding businesses.

“It’s great for the town of Bethany Beach,” he said, adding that “the Marriott network is very strong,” bringing potential customers to the hotel and restaurant, as well as the surrounding businesses — customers who might not have previously considered a stay in Bethany Beach.

Now that he’s had a bit of a chance to catch his breath after jumping in at the height of the summer season, Heidenberger said he is looking ahead to the off-season.

“We’re really excited to be here. We really don’t know what to expect,” he added, as far as flow of business through the fall and winter months, since the location is so unique. “We’re looking forward to a strong off-season.”

For Serafina, who worked for Heidenberger at the Starboard before pursuing other career paths of her own, the chance to come on board at the start of such a unique business was exciting.

“It doesn’t feel like work,” she said. “It’s been fun for both of us.”

Once porch seating is not possible due to the weather, the focus will be on the indoor space, located on the first floor of the Marriott. With soaring ceilings, oversized prints of historic Bethany Beach photographs and modern-but-inviting furnishings, the space seems to connect the past and future of the beach town.

Heidenberger said the Marriott promises to be a popular destination for conferences and other gatherings, from fundraisers to weddings, and he is upbeat about the prospects those will bring to neighboring businesses and to Bethany Beach in general.

Lunch at 99 Sea Level is served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; happy hour runs from 3 to 5 p.m. and dinner is served from 4 to 10:30 p.m. The restaurant’s name refers to its address — 99 Atlantic Avenue. For more information, call the restaurant at (302) 539-0299.

Coastal Point • Submitted: NorthEast Seafood Kitchen offers a patio dining area, as well as an interior dining room.When SoDel Concepts opened NorthEast Seafood Kitchen in May 2005, the restaurant was a bit of a gamble. Chef Matt Haley, founder of SoDel Concepts, had a solid history of success in the hospitality industry. However, NorthEast Seafood Kitchen is located in a strip mall in Ocean View, which in 2005 was just starting to experience growth. It was just a few miles from Route 1, but would residents and tourists venture inland?

They did and they do.

“NorthEast Seafood Kitchen might be the greatest SoDel success story,” said Scott Kammerer, the current president and CEO of SoDel Concepts, which owns eight coastal restaurants, Plate Catering, Big Thunder Roadside Kitchen, a food truck, and hospitality management and consulting divisions. “Today, it’s an incredibly busy year-round restaurant, and it has an incredibly loyal clientele, who support the restaurant and the staff.”

On Friday, Oct. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m., the restaurant is celebrating its milestone anniversary with happy-hour drink specials, appetizers and the debut of a commemorative video, which will be shown on the half-hour during that time period. The video was created by W. Films and SoDel Films, and was directed by Rob Waters.

NorthEast Seafood Kitchen was inspired by the quaint seaside eateries that pepper the New England coast, Kammerer noted. Several items have been on the menu for a decade, including Ipswich clams, salmon over baked beans, the lobster roll, the lobster BLT, lobster macaroni-and-cheese, clam dip, oatmeal pie with cinnamon whipped cream and caramel sauce, and fruit crisp.

The restaurant has grown over the years to include a landscaped courtyard — home to many lobster dinners. The 2,000-square-foot expansion in 2014 added 42 extra seats, 14 of which are at a bar that features craft beer from local breweries and craft cocktails.

A number of employees who worked at NorthEast Seafood Kitchen are still with SoDel Concepts, including Lindsey Jacona, now the comptroller; Andrea Medford, now an administer for SoDel; Jason Dietterick, now the chef at Bluecoast Seafood Grill; Andrew Dickinson, the company’s graphic designer; and Elodia Morales, a prep cook.

The celebration on Oct. 2 is deserved, Kammerer said.

“NorthEast Seafood Kitchen is now a destination restaurant for people living and visiting the area round it,” he said. “And it’s an anchor in a great community.”

For additional information, visit sodelconcepts.com.

Coastal Point photos • Bob Bertram: G&E Hocker’s and Hocker’s Super Center have added another food trailer to their existing two, to offer the more choices for those looking for a BBQ catering service.G&E Supermarket and Hocker’s Super Center have been Hocker-family-owned and -operated businesses for more than 50 years. Along with its deli, supercenter, gas station and convenience store, Hocker’s also offers catering services.

Last month, Hocker’s added a new food trailer to its Hocker’s BBQ fleet, continuing to expand their catering business.

“It’s just another avenue of our business where we like to diversify,” said Gerry Hocker. “The downturn of the economy kind of affected everybody. We were affected, as well, with our businesses. We looked into where we could diversify and what we could expand into, and avenues we could take that our competition couldn’t.”

“You have a lot of competition come in. You have to do things that your competition can’t, being that we’re locally owned,” added Greg Hocker. “We can branch out and do those other things that the other brand stores can’t do.”

Greg Hocker said the catering business and barbecue trailer started small but have continued to grow.

“People start asking about certain things that we had never even thought about making,” said Greg Hocker. “We started experimenting and making it, and now we can make pretty much just about anything anybody wants.”

It was those constant requests that caused Hocker’s to expand their catering capabilities.

“I always felt bad for pulling the trailer off of our parking lot to go to another event, and then our local customers who want Hocker’s BBQ, we were either not there or had our smaller trailer set up offering a very, very limited [menu].

“We were having people leaving our parking lot and coming to private events, trying to buy certain products from us.”

“The times our trailer had been pulled off of our Hocker’s parking lot, we were starting to get disappointed customers,” added Gerry Hocker. “We were at a point where the trailer needed to be at two places at one time, and that can’t happen. So we had to expand.”

The completely custom trailer includes a freezer, a cooler and fryers, among other amenities, and is 42 feet long from the tongue to the rear.

“We’re able to offer so much more with this trailer than we’ve ever been able to offer before,” said Greg Hocker of the BBQ trailer that primarily offered pit beef, pulled pork, ribs and hot dogs.

As an added bonus, Hocker said that, being in the grocery business, their catering abilities are seemingly endless.

“It’s nice having grocery stores that have so many suppliers. That gives me the ability, if you want something we don’t carry, I would do research and start preparing. I always do experiments just to make sure it’s good,” said Greg Hocker. “We’ve had people contact us about doing sushi-grade tuna for an event. I have suppliers that I can order that from.”

With their new rig, Hocker’s Catering & Events can serve hand-cut French fries fried in peanut oil, chicken tenders, funnel cakes and more.

“We can serve crabcakes, with our store-made crabcakes. For special events, we can even do our hot fresh fried chicken. We can do pretty much anything with this trailer.”

To test the new state-of-the-art trailer, a day after the trailer was delivered, Hocker’s staff drove it to Harrington to christen it at the Delaware Junction Country Music Festival.

“We ordered it, hoping it would be here for that event,” said Gerry Hocker.

“I really thank our employees for stepping up and helping us get through Delta Junction,” added Greg Hocker of their phenomenal staff.

Hocker said it was such a success that they definitely plan to return to Delaware Junction next year.

“We served a lot of people. We had a lot of compliments,” he said. “We even booked a couple of catering jobs for people who had never had had us before.”

Hocker said they received numerous compliments regarding their famous barbecue.

“It’s always nice to have a new customer come up and try your food for the first time,” said Greg Hocker, noting they almost sold out of brisket at Delaware Junction. “The responses we’ve gotten, even from the people who aren’t even from around here, were really, really, really good. We had quite a few people brag on the pulled pork and the brisket.”

This weekend, the trailer will be at the ’Boro Bash on Sept. 19. It will also be at the Millville Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 3 and Coast Day on Oct. 4. In the future, they hope to attend the Firefly and Big Barrel music festivals.

Those interested in having Hocker’s cater an event can call Hocker’s dedicated catering line.

“They will speak to my wife, and she will get the dates and things like that,” explained Greg Hocker. “She’ll ask them what they’re looking for, or if they want a package deal, and she’ll quote it out. We can do either drop off, you can pick it up yourself, or we can man the entire event.”

“When people call us for bookings and ask us what we can do, our question back to them is, ‘What is it that you’re wanting?’ And, most of the time, we’ve been able to provide exactly what they want,” added Gerry Hocker, noting that customers will need a confirmed headcount prior to the day of the event.

Along with their catering services, Hocker’s also now offers event planning.

“Another thing we’ve gotten into is event planning — we can do the tables, chairs, tents, lighting, dance floor, the linens. We can pretty much do everything now,” said Greg Hocker. “We’ve really, really focused on wedding cakes, and we have a tremendous lady doing cakes. Now, we can pretty much do everything but D.J.”

Hocker’s has continued to try and set itself apart with specialty offerings, such as homemade barbecue and in-house deer processing.

“We started the smokehouse for deer processing, but then it became so much more than processing,” said Greg Hocker.

“It’s been rather interesting,” said Gerry Hocker. “We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from it.”

Having served the community for more than half a century, the Hocker family say they love what they do, and what it brings to the area where they were born and raised.

“I’ve always loved food. When I was younger, I would get off the school bus and help Mom cook dinner and stuff like that,” Greg Hocker said, adding with a laugh, “I think my wife appreciates it, because I cook dinner just about every night.

“We grew up in it. It’s in our blood, to pass on the tradition and stay in the family business and keep it going as long as the local support us.”

“It’s thanks to the loyalty of our customers we’re still here,” added Gerry Hocker.

For Hocker’s Catering & Events inquires, call Hocker’s BBQ at (302) 858-1211.

Coastal Point • R. Chris Clark: Hocker’s new digital sign is the first install of the MX board in the country. It allows ads to be uploaded to it via iPhone or even rotate through an RSS feed.
There’s been a change in scenery along Route 26 in Clarksville in recent weeks, with Hocker’s Super Center’s revamped billboard at the corner of Routes 26 and 17.

Hocker said the digital billboard received approval on the county, state and federal levels prior to its installation.

“It has been a four-year process. I went through every proper channel I needed to go through to get 100 percent approved,” said Gerry Hocker. “I first started with the County, and got approval from the County. Then I had to get approval from the State. There were a lot of meetings. It took a lot of time.

“I went through every proper channel… Looking back now, I don’t know how I did it… other than determination, perseverance and respect.”

The billboard, which was upgraded in August, is a state-of-the-art, double-sided digital billboard, with each side measuring 300 square feet, and is available for rental by interested parties or advertisers.

Hocker said he knew he wanted the billboard, which had previously been occupied by vinyl advertising, to be digital from the very beginning.

“When you get any Board of Adjustment variance approval, you have 12 months to begin your construction. Knowing I would not have all of my permits in place for the digital, I had the structure designed and made as if it was going to be a digital billboard, because they have to withstand the weight,” he explained. “That structure was structurally made for a digital billboard, but to safeguard my permit, I had to erect the structure and just put in vinyl.”

Although it was a long process, Hocker said there was an unforeseen advantage to waiting for proper approvals.

“The Watchfire company… just came out with a brand-new technology, an LED model. I was the very first install of their MX board,” said Hocker. “If there’s an advantage to going through the process for four years, [it's that] I’ve been able to be a part of the most advanced billboard technology that’s on the market today.

“Had I gotten all my permits four years ago, I would not have had that opportunity... The day after I got it installed, I got a call and was told we were the very first MX board to be installed in the country, because the technology had just come out. That’s why the board tends to have a crisp clarity. The graphics are just phenomenal.”

Hocker said that, while an average digital billboard has about a 10-year lifespan, the MX-class board is guaranteed for 20 years.

“It’s part of the new technology.”

The board is capable of being changed at the swipe of an iPhone and allows advertisers to take advantage of the new technology.

“The capabilities of this board are incredible. I can upload ads, view ads and log into the billboard from my iPhone if I want.”

Hocker said that, being in the static billboard business since 2000, he’s always encouraged his advertisers to create an ad that would have longevity.

“With the cost of your vinyl, you had to be able to say something on that vinyl for 12 months. So you had to be able to say that one message that could stay up there for 12 months or longer.

“The good thing about digital is it gives you the flexibility. You can say anything you want to say at any point in time you want to say it. You can design your ads to certain days of the week, certain months, a certain time of day.

“You may want a particular ad to run between just 10 and 12 during the day, and then between 1 and 4 advertise something totally different. It’s 100 percent immediate. The immediacy and timeliness are the advantage of digital. If an advertiser doesn’t have multiple things to say, then digital isn’t for them.”

Those advertising on the new digital billboard are being encouraged to upload at least six advertisements that can rotate; however, Hocker said there is no limit to how many ads are within their library.

Advertisers can even get creative with RSS feeds — a format for delivering regularly changing web content.

“If a media company wants to advertise their breaking news or headline news, or whatever song might be playing on the radio at that instant, that board is capable of doing that.”

The digital billboard runs 24-7, with each advertiser getting a full rotation.

“I want somebody to feel like they’re getting the true value,” said Hocker. “I don’t want any of our advertisers to not see the benefit of it. We’re in business, too. Our main priority is our stores. That’s a heart of what we do. Certainly I know what it’s like to make decisions with advertising. I want people to feel the true value of being on any of our signs.”

Hocker said he wants to have a mixture of advertisers on both the eastbound- and westbound-facing signs.

“I’m trying to get a mix — anywhere from restaurants to homebuilders to insurance companies,” he said. “It’s a different medium to reach different customers in a different way.”

The process, said Hocker, has been a learning experience for him and his family’s business.

“I had one chance to do it right. Certainly, someone had to be the first at doing something,” he said, noting Hocker’s was in a similar situation when they wanted to get County approval to sell their in-house-made barbecue from their food truck, on their property.

“We were the very first to go through the whole process. The approval process we had to go through [for our food trucks] was so ridiculous that then the County changed it.”

Hocker noted that, in the wake of the County’s recent off-premises sign moratorium, their digital board has been referenced; however, he said he believes the County’s issues lie more with on-premises signs, rather than off-premises ones.

“But certainly our board was not a result of the moratorium,” he said. “I’m a fan of doing billboards with the proper approvals…

“I think, as of right now — just because it has been such a long process for us — as of right now, we are the only off-premise digital billboard in Sussex County. Not that it was intended for that. I think I was just a little bit ahead of the times. And since we did the two digitals, back-to-back, I think I was the second and third digital billboard to be in the state of Delaware.”

As his family has deep roots in its community, Hocker said, it was important to him to keep the sign attractive.

“I wanted to make sure it wasn’t distasteful,” he said. “We love the community we live in. Our business is here, and certainly we didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”

Hocker said he wasn’t sure what kind of reaction the signs would garner from locals and visitors but was pleased with the positive response.

“I’ve probably gotten more positive feedback on this than all of the static boards combined… I’m very pleased. Just the positive feedback that I’ve received from potential advertisers, and I want it to be a sign that people want to look at.”

Hocker’s Super Center is located at 34960 Atlantic Avenue in Clarksville. Those interested in advertising opportunities may email Hockeroutdoor@gmail.com.

Coastal Point • Submitted: Joshua Bam and Benjamin Gichner of Benchmark Legal.The benefits and challenges of a workplace with a mix of generations is well-known. What can make the blend interesting is that a few common stereotypes continue to exist, as people attribute certain characteristics to certain age groups.

For example, Baby Boomers (ages 50 to mid-60s) are supposed to be old-school; members of Gen X (ages 35 to 50) are supposed to be self-entitled; and members of Gen Y (ages 18 to 35) are supposed to be to be lazy and aloof.

Then there’s Zack, Sean and Ben from Sussex County, who refuse to be part of the stereotype. They’re Gen Y professionals building their businesses from the ground-up, and, no, they’re not just selling lemonade for nickels.

Zack King grew-up in Ocean View. He’s a member of Gen Y, at 27.

King currently owns his own restaurant and distillery on Route 1. He built Delaware Distilling Company from the ground up in 2012. Now he runs a successful restaurant and distills more than a dozen spirits for use in the restaurant and for retail sale and distribution.

“I like to surround myself with people that are dedicated, hardworking and passionate about what they do, regardless of the generation,” said King. “We have key employees from 25 to 65 years old, and it works. I’m not saying we don’t have our share of turnover, like most businesses in the area. It’s just important to recognize talent and keep those people happy.”

King’s spirits have won a few awards already, and the Gen Y professional has given presentations in front of local entrepreneurs, some of which have made it onto YouTube.

At first glance, it may not seem possible that a 27-year-old could build such a business with a distillery and all the paperwork that comes with it, but that’s exactly what King has done.

“There’s not really a school where you can go and learn this kind of stuff,” he said. “I basically go out on my own and have to learn what I’m doing. Getting permits, running the business, dealing with state and federal authorities — I just had to figure it out.”

King stays busy. On the phone, callers can hear others calling his name for help in the background. He doesn’t have much time these days to contemplate the meaning of “aloof.”

“Learning the distillation is an entire process on its own,” he said. “It’s self-taught and took a lot of dedication. The challenge of that has been interesting, especially in the quality and variety of our spirits.”

King’s business went from using only a few bottles of alcohol at his restaurant to distributing thousands of cases through a network of distributors in Delaware, Maryland, D.C., and New Jersey. He’s hoping to find the right access point on the West Coast to let his product loose in those markets, too.

“I know a Delaware attorney who’s setup practice in Seattle. When the time is right,” he said, “we’ll begin distributing out there. I think our spirits will make a lot of good impressions on the West Coast. They’re ready for what we’re doing.”

Building business in a new generation

In a world with Skype, unlimited domestic calling and easy access to e-mail, Gen Y professionals often aren’t interested in state borders or conversations about distance. King’s fearlessness to do business cross-country, unafraid of the size of the world, is shared by Sean Cummings of 714 Decor LLC.

Cummings is another Gen Y professional running his own successful business in Sussex County. He works with a legal counsel, the same Delaware attorney who has setup a practice in Seattle.

Cummings is from Ocean View. He’s 26 years old and started 714 Decor LLC in 2014. His company designs and manufactures unique furniture and other pieces of art.

“I just do what I love and make sure to surround myself with the right people,” he said. “It’s a steep learning curve, but I’m making it happen, and it’s been totally worth it.” Cummings is already looking to expand.

It may not be a surprise that 714 Décor is doing so well with Cummings behind the wheel, though. He comes from a family of local business builders.

His father, Mike Cummings of Miken Builders, started his own local business in 1985. Mike Cummings is a Baby Boomer who’s been growing his business for generations.

“We’re not just in there to do construction,” Mike Cummings said on the company’s website. “We try to see what the needs are for our clients and create a need for us.”

The senior Cummings’ business is doing well, too, and as Sean Cummings continues to help grow the family business, 714 Décor is growing its own roots in Sussex County.

“We’re not stereotypes,” Sean Cummings said. “We’re just regular people with dreams. We aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty.”

Busting the Gen Y stereotype

With Sean Cummings’ attorney handling the legal side of his business, he has more time to focus on his passion. His Delaware attorney based in Seattle is Ben Gichner, also from Ocean View. Gichner is currently licensed to practice in Delaware and Washington state. Several of his clients are from Sussex County.

“I set up Benchmark Legal so we could offer something most attorneys cannot: national opportunities for our clients, like Sean. If a Delaware business wants to expand its reach to the West Coast, or vice-versa, we can make important connections for moving forward. Both coasts are unique in what they offer, and now our clients have access to both.”

Gichner turns 28 this year, which puts him nearly in the middle of Gen Y. He attended law school in Pennsylvania and practiced in Delaware for about a year before starting his practice on the West Coast.

He still travels to Delaware often, to visit family and friends, and meet with current clients in person. He said working with clients remotely hasn’t been an issue so far. Sean Cummings agreed.

“Ben’s connected me with some great professionals on the West Coast, too,” he said. “It’s just nice to know we don’t have to be defined by our location. It’s a better way to do business.”

Gichner said the firm is doing well, but he won’t go into detail. When asked about his experience with Gen Y stereotypes, he says he’s definitely seen it in the past.

“Some people assume that because my hair isn’t gray, I don’t know what I’m doing. But being part of Generation Y doesn’t really say anything about me,” he said. “In fact, we’re doing things differently, better, and in our own way. We’re excited for the challenges, passionate about our business and invested in the work we do. Our clients like that about us.”

Gichner has been friends with King and Sean Cummings for most of his life.

“They’re both really intelligent,” Gichner said. “They’ve built serious businesses from the ground up. Knowing locals like this has pushed me in my own way, too.”

Maybe it’s the beaches or the coastal air, but the next generation of entrepreneurs and professionals coming out of Sussex County isn’t interested in conforming to stereotypes. They’ve created a stereotype of their own.