Rehoboth’s Royal Treat only selling ice cream this summer
Citing the growing responsibilities of caring for aging family members and staffing shortages, Royal Treat in Rehoboth Beach has announced it will only be serving ice cream this summer.
The four-decade-old business announced the change to its menu on its Facebook page May 12. There’s also a sandwich board with the information on the sidewalk in front of their Wilmington Avenue porch.
“We know this will be unexpected and sad news for so many of you who have made Royal Treat breakfasts a part of your Rehoboth Beach tradition,” reads the sandwich board. “However, we do plan to keep serving ice cream in our parlor on afternoons and evenings this season. Hours and availability may change daily based on staffing and supply.”
The Royal Treat was founded 41 years ago by Ed and Doris Fornwalt. It’s been family-run ever since. Breakfast was served every day until 11:30 a.m., when it closed for a short period and then reopened at 1 p.m. as an ice cream parlor for the rest of the day. It opens in early May every year and closes soon after Labor Day.
The Fornwalts have asked customers to help celebrate the Royal Treat by sharing their memories in the guestbook during hours of operation or by video on the restaurant’s Facebook page. For more information on Royal Treat, 4 Wilmington Ave., call 302-227-6277.
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 and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. Additionally, Flood moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes that are jammed with coins during daylight hours, 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.
