Our beach eats fame didn’t happen overnight

A significant majority of the emails and messages I receive make reference to the history of this area’s restaurants and bars. One of my most trusted sources was the late Trish Vernon, founding editor of this newspaper and an amazing source of Cape Region eating history. I truly miss her amazing facts and stories of eateries past.

Author and philosopher George Santayana said it best: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Though that might be true 99.9% of the time, it might not apply to a tiny beach town earning its culinary stripes as the Nation’s Summer Capital.

In 2021, we lost Chez la Mer founder Nancy Wolfe Wayson, a delightful lady who stepped up to the plate many years ago to open a restaurant at a seasonal resort, back when it just didn’t make sense. And she wasn’t the only one; I still pause by the vacant lot at 22 Wilmington Ave. that used to play host to La La Land restaurant and bar. Before that bubbly summer hangout with the magical sheet-draped bar, American Pie occupied that same location. Just a few of the many early eateries that shaped our destination as a foodie mecca.

To the average vacationer, Rehoboth Beach is an upbeat amusement park, where umbrellas flutter in the sand, taffy-chewin’ tourists stroll the Boardwalk, and restaurants somehow appear (and disappear) at random. They don’t see the talented businesspeople behind the scenes, many of whom gambled their livelihoods to bring excitement to this tiny town long before it was what it is today.

Any list would certainly include Dominick Pulieri (Grotto Pizza); Joyce Felton, Victor Pisapia, Libby and Ted Fisher, Keith Fitzgerald, Leo Medisch and Marilyn Spitz (Blue Moon, Back Porch Café, Tijuana Taxi, Surfside Diner, Westside Café and The Strand in various combinations); Chip Hearn (Country Squire, The Starboard, The Ice Cream Store, Peppers); Gus Svolis (Gus & Gus’ Place); Louie, Tim and Tony Gouvas (Louie’s Pizza); Betsy LeRoy (Pizza by Elizabeths); Rich and Ryan Steele (Café Azafran), Kevin Reading (Espuma, Nage); Shawn and Danielle Xiong (Confucius), Jon Orlando (Potpourri, Just in Thyme), Steve Taylor (Anne Marie’s), Nicholas Papantinas and Achilleas Vounatsos (Ground Zero), Harry Tsoukalas (opened Robin Hood after it was Goodie Garden and Robert Lee Snak Bar), Matt Haley (SoDel Concepts founder); Joan and Nick Caggiano (Nicola Pizza); Susan and Robert Wood (Cultured Pearl); Justine Zegna (Planet X); Georgette Schaefer and Pat Whittier (Plumb Loco, which became Dos Locos under Joe Zuber and Darryl Ciarlante); Hugh Fuller (Purple Parrot); George, Soula and Irene Vrentzos (Corner Grill); Roland Buckingham (Catchers); Jeff Hamer and partners (Arena’s, Fins); Terry Plowman (The Front Page, later Iguana Grill under Beal Thomas); Richie and Marcia Shihadeh (The Camel’s Hump); John DiLeo (Casa DiLeo); Greg Talcott (Third Edition), Sike Sharigan (Fran O’Brien’s, Zebra, Obie’s), Jonathan Spivak (Fusion); Yolanda Pineda (Mariachi); Rob Stitt (original Eden and Shorebreak Lodge), and Sydney Arzt (Sydney’s Side Street, Sydney’s Blues & Jazz Restaurant).

Some are still with us. Sadly, some are not. There are so many more both in and out of downtown Rehoboth: Sir Boyce’s, Sir Guy’s, Corner Cupboard, Twig’s, The Canyon, Dinner Bell Inn, Adriatico and Peg’s Diner (Oscar’s) come to mind – but paper is paper, and I’m allowed only so much of it. So fill in the blanks at your leisure.

This gastronomic locals’ hall of fame even includes London-born Alison Blyth. After coming to the beach from Washington, D.C., her area eatery pedigree started on Wilmington Avenue with Astral Plane, La La Land and Yum Yum, then shifted to Rehoboth Avenue with Go Fish! and out to the wilds of Route 1 with Go Brit!

She and so many other pioneers have been instrumental in creating our current business of eating that entices vacationers – and locals – year after year.