So many restaurants, so little time!

Nowhere is my little catchphrase truer than at this tiny resort with the big restaurant presence. And it’s getting even bigger for 2017. For example, Bluecoast Rehoboth has already risen from what was just a vacant lot last week! SoDel Concepts boss Scott Kammerer is making his restaurant group’s 10th installation his personal project, working elbow-to-elbow with the on-site contractors and builders to ensure that Bluecoast Rehoboth remains true to the proud reputation of Bluecoast Bethany Beach. There will be a spacious outdoor dining area, a stage for live entertainment, and more seats than just about any other SoDel Concepts owned and operated eatery to date. Of course there’s a whole lot more to do, but it’s exciting to see it taking shape in such a short period of time. Keep up the good work, Scott! 

In the little Lewes triangle where Wescoats, Savannah and Clay roads intersect, new construction will soon morph into Kaisy’s Delights No. 2. The downtown Rehoboth Beach Kaisy’s is the dream of Thierry, Nathalie and Chloe Langer, who emigrated to the United States from France; they chose Rehoboth and Lewes to introduce their cherished dessert, coffee and breakfast concept. The centerpiece of Kaisy’s Delights is a pancake-like confection called a Kaiserschmarrn. Roughly translated into “the Kaiser’s mess,” it is basically a sweetened, sliced pancake. Optional toppings add an even tastier dimension. According to Thierry, the dish derives its name from Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I and his purported attachment to the sweet treat. 

Thierry never misses the chance to say, “It’s always time for a Kaisy!”, but Kaisy’s Delights is much more than the Kaiserschmarrn. Like Rehoboth, the Lewes operation will offer breakfast sandwiches, homemade soups and a long list of coffee items. One of the big plusses in Lewes will be a drive-through. As the 2017 season approaches, this will offer Lewes a similar in-car opportunity that Rehoboth now enjoys with its new drive-through Starbucks. Thierry projects a late-March grand opening. 

Oenophile and entrepreneur Joe Lertch has quite a job on his hands converting the old Espuma on S. First Street into Rehoboth’s new upscale and upbeat wine bar. Like his existing Vineyard Wine Bar & Bistro in the bayside community of Havre de Grace, Md., the new Rehoboth location will pour boutique, family estate and artisan-made wines from around the world. Even better news is that Joe and his team will offer an extensive selection of over 70 wines by the glass and by the half glass, showcasing not only familiar grapes but unique grapes from remote parts of the world. For the past five years, the Havre de Grace location has received the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for one of the most outstanding restaurant wine lists in the world. 

The Vineyard’s bistro menu centers around small plates and specialty items designed to accompany the great wine selection. Joe is looking for a late spring opening. 

By the time you read this, chances are that Joe Baker and Chris Bisaha of Henlopen City Oyster House will have given birth to the new Blue Hen in the Wilmington Avenue-side lobby of the Avenue Inn. The recently crowned Delaware Restaurateurs of the Year and their team singlehandedly made Henlopen City Oyster House one of Rehoboth’s go-to spots for great seafood, and they will certainly do the same at The Avenue, with more of a focus on non-seafood items. The Blue Hen is about the same size as the existing HCOH, but with no raw bar. But they will have the same philosophy that made HCOH so popular (just TRY getting a seat at happy hour!). 

That “...so little time!” thing is kicking in as I quickly run out of ink, but keep an eye on this page as summer approaches. I’ll keep you up to date on everything food and drink here at the beach.