Rehoboth Seafood changes hands

Lewes Fishhouse has expanded its retail seafood operation with the opening of Rehoboth Fishhouse.

Owner Casey Donohue said the new store will be a strictly retail operation, serving up fresh fish, shrimp, crabs, crab meat and seafood products found at the Lewes store. He said the fish house wanted to expand into Rehoboth to better serve customers coming from points south, such as Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach. Donohue said those customers have to fight the heavy summer traffic all the way up Route 1 to get to the Lewes store.

“We wanted to branch out and offer a closer location,” Donohue said.

The Rehoboth Fishhouse opened May 20, taking over from Rehoboth Seafood, which had been in business for 37 years. Rehoboth Seafood owner Mark Lane said he felt it was time for him to move on. He said while he enjoyed the business, at age 65, work had become too much and the potential for loss too high.

“I thought it was time to stop,” he said.

Lane sold the building and the property to a group of investors, who in turn leased the space to Lewes Fishhouse.

Lane said when he started the business, he was living in Bethesda, Md., and wanted to be closer to the beach. He said he saw a seafood business called Mr. Lobster was for sale and figured he could run it.

“I found I didn’t know very much,” he said.

What was the key to Rehoboth Seafood surviving 37 years? Lane said it was a matter of hard work and paying attention to detail. It was hard to give up something he loved, he said, although he still does some wholesale seafood sales to a few restaurants. Still, not working full time has its benefits.

“This was the first time I drove out of town on July 4,” he said.