Demo of former Grotto Pizza corporate office has begun

The demolition of the former Grotto Pizza corporate headquarters on southbound Route 1 has begun. A crew began with the loading dock area facing the south side of the building.

Grotto Pizza announced in late October that it would be demolishing the one-story, concrete-block constructed building to make way for a new mixed-use building.

The new three-story building is planned to be about 25,000 square feet, including 7,000 square feet of space between two offices on the first floor – 4,500 for Grotto Pizza and 2,500 for another tenant. There will be eight one-bedroom apartments on the second floor and four two-bedroom apartments on the third floor.

In anticipation of the project, the company moved its corporate office to Nassau Commons outside Lewes in early October. The temporary address is 17503 Nassau Commons Blvd., Lewes, and the phone number – 302-227-3567 – is the same.

This new corporate office is one of several large projects on the books for Grotto Pizza.

In Rehoboth Beach proper, the pizza company, as part of a business partnership with Pennsylvania-based developer Onyx Group, has submitted to plans to the city to build a mixed-used building that includes a 60-room hotel on a piece of property that fronts the Boardwalk and stretches from Baltimore Avenue to Rehoboth Avenue.

In Dewey Beach, the old Grotto Pizza arcade building on the southwest corner of southbound side Route 1 and Read Avenue was demolished in November to make way for a new restaurant. The restaurant on the northwest corner of the same intersection is scheduled to be demolished, with a mixed-use building built in its place. 

Finally, on Route 1 in Lewes, Grotto’s Grand Slam is slated to undergo a significant renovation project.