Bottle & Cork celebrates 80 years in Dewey

Dewey Beach’s Bottle & Cork celebrated its 80th anniversary with a party Aug. 26, and Dave Hewlett was ready to rock.

Hewlett, from Wilmington, was the first person in line. He and his wife Katie have been coming to the Bottle & Cork since the 1980s, and they were there to whoop it up like 20-somethings.

“It feels great,” said Dave.

“We’re going to relive some of our youth,” said Katie. “Which was a long time ago.”

Harry and Virginia “Ginger” Shaud opened the bar after buying Jack’s Café in 1936. It was time when Dewey was the end of the road, and the clientele who frequented the establishment liked it that way.

Karen Shaud, daughter of Harry and Virginia, still lives within walking distance of the bar. She was at the party, and she said she could remember falling asleep to the bands when she was a young girl. Her bed was above the stage.

For the most part, not much has changed, she said. “There are a few more bars,” she said.

The event had been sold out for months. Those able to get in were treated to everything from the fine dining finger foods of Ivy and Nage to the alcohol-neutralizing fried chicken and mac and cheese from Jimmy’s Grille. Partygoers jammed to a few Dewey stalwarts of the live music scene – Jefe, former lead singer of Burnt Sienna; Love Seed Mama Jump, who are in the middle of celebrating their 25th year; and Mr. Greengenes.

Bartender Brian Fleming, from his bar in the corner directly facing the stage, said he had been looking forward to the party all summer.

Above Fleming’s head is a poster with nothing on it but a Hunter S. Thompson quote that reads, “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”

Fleming said that poster attracts band members and is definitely a conversation starter. He said it also describes the Bottle & Cork well.

“I’ve seen so many bands over the years,” said the 10-year Cork veteran. “They’re all trying to make it. I think it resonates with them.”

Kimberly Saxton, from Pennsylvania, and Bill Johnson, from Washington, D.C., met at the Bottle & Cork a year ago. Saxton was taking a selfie of the pair in front of the custom-made banner. They both said they weren’t going to miss the party.

“Coming back to the scene of the crime,” said Johnson, with a big smile on his face.