Memorial Day: Hurry up … and fail?

Before our little beach town became the culinary destination that it is today, it was unheard of for a restaurant to open in the off-season or, worse yet, after Memorial Day. “That’s the big day,” owners shouted breathlessly. “We just HAVE to be open by then or ….”

Or … what? Very few actually thought ahead enough to complete that sentence.

Depending on the restaurateur’s experience,  that out-of-breath rush to the finish line would sometimes end up as a recipe for disaster. Year after year, I watched restaurant after restaurant cut corners on server training, menu creation, kitchen systems and procedures so they could open their doors - many times with the paint still wet on the walls and servers still wet behind the ears - on that magical Friday. And there they sat, unprepared and centered in the Memorial Day crosshairs, to be descended upon by weekend visitors who would be gone by mid-day Monday. Computer breakdowns, service breakdowns and nervous breakdowns often resulted in unfortunate experiences for customers - many of them leaving with their fingertips angrily poking away on Yelp. And for what? Two days that are gone as quickly as they came? It’s no secret that there’s very little difference in restaurant traffic between the week following Memorial Day and pretty much any week in late April or May.

But all that is over. As of this writing, “off-season” (what’s left of it) openings well before Memorial Day include the soon-to-open Aroma restaurant in the old Stoney Lonen/208 Social building at 2nd and Wilmington, the just-opened-a-few-weeks ago Seed on Coastal Highway near Minh’s Bistro, and the still-under-construction Bushels Crabhouse (the new incarnation of the old Lazy Susan’s). Slightly north of Rehoboth we’re anxiously anticipating the new Grain on the Rocks food and entertainment complex at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal, and Patty Jacobs’ former Georgetown (now Lewes) restaurant/carryout/market in the Hazzard Auto operation on Savannah Road. Slightly off the beaten path, Miltonites are loving the recently debuted and packed-every-night Tequila Real in the old Goodfellas spot on Mulberry. And Milton, there’s more to come! Get ready for the brand new Sydney’s Restaurant & Lounge in the old Kindle (and spectacularly failed Pilottown Seafood) location in Paynter’s Mill. By the way, other than a respectful nod to her legacy, the new Sydney’s is not associated in any way with former Rehoboth restaurateur and entertainment groundbreaker Sydney Arzt.

Over the years, I’ve encountered several restaurant owners who proudly told me that they ran themselves ragged to open by Memorial Day - and that “…everything was OK.” Well, one of the interesting perks of doing what I do is that diners freely email me with their comments and complaints rather than actually accomplishing something by (politely) informing a restaurant of their dissatisfaction. It’s all I can do to zip my lip when owners crow of their last-minute Memorial Day openings - without the benefit of seeing what popped up in my email box over the weekend. So why go through all that stress and expense just to be open for two days - and not put your best foot forward? Over the last few years, many restaurant owners have finally gotten it, and now I’m relieved to hear “We’ll open when we’re ready.”

We who live here know that it’s not just about June, July and August any more. We’re moving closer and closer to a year-round paradigm as Zagat, James Beard, Michelin and TripAdvisor continue to shower accolades on our Culinary Coast. First impressions do indeed count, and smart restaurateurs are making sure they can take the heat - both in the kitchen and in the dining room - when it finally comes time to transform their construction site into a smoothly running dining establishment.