Dewey digs into food truck discussion

The owners of The Dewey Post want existing brick-and-mortar licensed Dewey Beach restaurants to be allowed to operate food trucks within the town’s corporate limits. 

Dewey Beach Town Council met with Lo and Ashley Skarda March 21 to discuss the request.

Currently, town code only allows food trucks for special events, for which businesses may request a one-time special event permit for a certain date and time.

“As restaurateurs, we’re just trying to alleviate any headaches and try to make a better experience for everyone,” Lo said. 

Lo said The Dewey Post’s venue is very small and, like many other local businesses, the restaurant gets overcrowded with customers, especially in the summertime. A food truck would allow them to offer satellite coffee and takeout services to better accommodate clientele.

“We’re not trying to [bring more] business into town ... [or] take away from anything we offer now,” Lo said. “We only want to strengthen Dewey Beach businesses.”

The Skardas have already spoken with the state’s health department, and they said the health inspector expressed having no issues in allowing them to open a food truck with their current facilities, including their bathrooms, which are already ADA-compliant, Ashley said. 

“Everything we would do with the food truck would still be following the health code and everything that the State of Delaware requires, and they’ve already signed off on all of that,” Lo said. 

He added that the truck would be on private property and wouldn’t interfere with public parking or public access.

According to Mayor Bill Stevens, there are some hurdles the town would need to address if it were to go through with allowing this. Town code would need to be changed, which has legal implications.

Council voted to refer the matter to the planning & zoning commission, emphasizing that P&Z should take into account any legal considerations regarding code changes. P&Z can then report back to council before a decision is made.  

Also at the meeting, council approved an ordinance to raise hourly parking fees from $3.50 to $4, and passed an ordinance to amend town code relating to protecting the welfare and reducing the population of abandoned and feral cats. It also approved an application for the temporary expansion of premise for the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel for the event Bike to the Beach, which will take place Friday, June 20, and voted to reappoint Jack Redefer to the planning & zoning commission. 

Bob Collins, the manager of programs and facilities for the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, made a presentation about the Living Shoreline Project to address flooding and erosion in town. The project uses recycled oyster shell bags, coir logs and other natural materials/structures to enhance the area’s ecology and counteract erosion.

According to Collins, the center has already completed the design and submitted permitting for the project, and they’re anticipating an issuance this December. Implementation will likely begin in fall 2026, though it’s possible it may commence in February of that year.