Back Porch Café co-founder to perform in Rehoboth July 29

More than 40 years after she founded The Back Porch Café with Victor Pisapia and her former husband Ted Fisher, Libby York is slated to make her return to Rehoboth Beach and sing jazz with John Ewart and his band from 7 to 10 p.m., Friday, July 29.

Since York sold her share of the business in the early '80s, she's gone on to work professionally as a jazz singer, based in Chicago, Ill., and Key West, Fla., but nearly 10 years have passed since her last visit to perform at the Rehoboth Jazz Festival, and the singer says she's looking forward to returning to her old stomping grounds.

"Just knowing I'm going to be returning brings back so many memories of the early days," York said. "I'm looking forward to walking the Boardwalk and taking a swim, and eating that good Eastern Shore food. And scrapple, I haven't had scrapple in so long!"

Before she opened The Back Porch Café, York was a middle school English teacher in Milford and Pisapia taught social studies in Wilmington. They both worked as servers in the summer, selling standard fare such as Captain's Platters at The Dinner Bell Inn when they dreamed up their own concept of farm-to-table dining around the same time the revolution in dining was happening on the West Coast, she said.

"We were really the first ones who had farm to table food and all the wonderful Delaware farmers would bring us their beautiful produce," York said. "It was around the same time Alice Waters was doing it in Berkley, but we just made what we liked, and that's the way we liked to eat; it was fresh foods."

Recalling the early years, the co-founder said that when they opened The Back Porch Café in the former Hotel Marvel in 1974, no one had much restaurant experience, but their individual skills were complementary and somehow they made it work.

"We were very lucky that the three of us had different skills. At the beginning, I did a lot of the soups and salads, and I spent a lot of time behind the line," she said. "Ted did the books and his business experience came in very much handy."

But really, York said, the success of The Back Porch Café was due in large part to their community of friends and family in Rehoboth and Milford, where she lived with Fisher until they split and she moved on to become a jazz singer in New York City.

"Ruth Emmert at the Dinner Bell Inn was such an inspiration. She started serving soldiers in her living room in World War II, and she was like the grande dame and had such beautiful taste," York said. "Justice Randy Holland did all our legal work as a lawyer, and wonderful local figures like Butch McQuay would help us out and deliver produce."

Current co-owner Keith Fitzgerald has been a mainstay at the restaurant since that first summer and said many members of the original group still stay in contact.

"It's been pretty interesting," Fitzgerald said. "A lot of water goes under the bridge, but the good news is a lot of us stay in touch, 40-some years later. There is a good feeling of longevity about it."

Libby York will be performing standards and selections from her newest album, "Memoir," when she appears July 29.

For more information or reservations, call The Back Porch Café at 302-227-3674 or go to www.backporchcafe.com.