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The Delaware dining scene remained vibrant as long-time restaurants departed the scene and others entered the market.
In northern Delaware, two pioneers of the “cowboy steak” era of the 1990s, closed locations.
Bugaboo Creek, a steakhouse with a Canadian north woods theme and at one point a talking moose at the bar, closed remaining restaurants, including a location in the Christiana-Stanton area in northern Delaware.
Lone Star is down to one restaurant in Delaware after closing a location on Du Pont Highway in the New Castle area that operated for a couple of decades. A Dover location closed a few years ago.
The remaining restaurant on Route 202 in northern Wilmington, converted to a dinner-only concept that has proved to be successful for more successful rivals Outback and Texas Roadhouse chains.
A pioneer in the cowboy steakhouse arena was on hand to open Delaware’s first Ted’s Montana Grill at the Christiana Fashion Center near the mall in late 2016.
George McKerrow, CEO and co-founder of Ted’s, started steakhouse giant Longhorn, which has one location in Delaware.
At one time, the company headed by McKerrow, also owned Bugaboo. McKerrow noted that the Delaware Bugaboo location at one time was a top performer. McKerrow walked away from that company and co-founded Ted’s along with bison rancher and CNN founder Ted Burner. Ted’s now has about 50 locations.
A short distance away from Ted’s, the popular Shake Shack opened its first Delaware location and quickly drew a crowd. The chain features burgers, custard, hot dogs, beer and even wine at a higher price point than the fast food giants.
The Greene Turtle sports bar chain added a restaurant in Christiana, gutting the former Chili’s location. Chili’s will relocate to the Christiana Fashion Center near the mall.
On the fine dining end, Moro closed its doors in Wilmington after at one point being rated as one of the state’s best establishments and beloved Bistro Jaques did the same in a poorly lit area of the city’s Little Italy neighborhood.
Making a return was Luigi Vitrone’s Pastabilities in Little Italy and Scalessa’s Old School Italian Kitchen in the 40 Acres neighborhood near Trolley Square in Wilmington.
In Newark, Brazilian steakhouse Churrascaria Saudades opened, with a fixed-price format for the all the steak you can eat format. The establishment in the Newark Shopping Center earned high marks in the early going.
In coastal Sussex County, SoDel Concepts continued to expand and move north adding a Matt’s Fish Camp near Lewes and starting construction on a second location for its first dining concept, Bluecoast, near Rehoboth Beach.
With the opening of the second Bluecoast, SoDel will have 10 restaurants as well as a food truck, consulting business and catering operation.
Meanwhile, Jimmy’s Grill, opened its third location in coastal Sussex near Rehoboth. Jimmy’s is part of the holdings of Sussex County businessman and lawyer Alex Pires.
Brewpubs remained popular with Milford restauranteur Kevin Reading (Abbots Grill) opening the Brickworks in Smyrna and the fast-growing restaurant group that owns Nage near Rehoboth opening Crooked Hammock near Lewes.
Dogfish Head opened the Chesapeake and Maine seafood restaurant in Rehoboth, while work got under way on a renovation of its original brewpub next door.
Dogfish Head, which employs 200 people in Sussex County, mainly at its brewery in Milton, battled with the city over a renovation of the brewpub but won out in the end.
The city has an ordinance that bars new restaurants that are over set maximum square footage figure. Other restaurants are grandfathered in and the city insisted that Dogfish Head did not qualify because the project was more than a renovation.
An outcry over the city’s stance led to commissioners allowing the project to go ahead
