Jimmy’s Grille in Rehoboth closing Dec. 29
After a little more than two years, Jimmy’s Grille on Route 1 in Rehoboth is closing its doors Saturday, Dec. 29.
In a letter to employees sent Dec. 26, Highway One’s Alex Pires said the restaurant has struggled since its opening. He said the restaurant space and parking lot are being merged into Outlet Liquors, which Highway One also owns.
“We opened Jimmy’s Rehoboth in 2016 with the hope that we could compete with the restaurants on Route 1. As you all know we have struggled since the beginning,” said Pires in the letter. “Meanwhile, our sister business next door, Outlet Liquors, is bursting at the seams and needs more parking spaces.”
In an email Dec. 27, Pires said the company received the building permit allowing the merger months ago, but wanted to wait until after Thanksgiving and Christmas to close. He said all the employees will receive severance pay, and some have decided to join other Highway One companies.
To make way for the 5,000-square-foot restaurant, located on the corner of Route 1 southbound and Sea Air Avenue, a building that once housed PNC Bank and Purr-fectly Thrifty was demolished in January 2015. Jimmy’s Grille opened in June 2016.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories, random stories on subjects he finds interesting and has a column called ‘Choppin’ Wood’ that runs every other week. Additionally, Chris moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes during daylight hours that are jammed with coins, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
