The Cape Gazette and other media outlets reported the Rehoboth Beach Board of Adjustment had a change of heart and approved a variance for the upgrading of the Dogfish Head Brewings and Eats restaurant project at 320 Rehoboth Avenue.
The board earlier turned down the request by a 3-1 vote citing size, esthetics, parking and other issues. That resulted in a firestorm of criticism from fans of the craft brewing company and some residents, especially after one board member said the establishment could avoid the issue and move outside the city.
This time the reported vote was 4-1. The project will still face other hurdles in terms of permitting.
The vote came after after City Council backed off another controversial proposal regarding out of town renters from using swimming pools. Both moves had generated controversy among residents.
Delaware Economic Development Office Director Alan Levin, who plans to live in Rehoboth after leaving the post in early July, wrote in a News Journal guest piece that the town should live up to its history of tolerance.
Dogfish got its start in the 1990s at the Rehoboth location and went on to become one of the nation’s 15 largest craft brewers. Its brewery in Milton, a short distance from the beach, is a drawing card in the tourism-driven coastal Sussex County economy. The company about a year ago completed a $45 million expansion of the brewery.
Critics of the board say the denial sends a bad message regarding the town’s business climate.
The variance is required because of the beach town’s 5,000-square-foot restaurant size limit. The size limit was aimed at discouraging beach club complexes like Seacrets in Ocean City in Rehoboth. The size limit grandfathered in other larger restaurants.
Nicola Pizza, a Rehoboth mainstay had earlier battled to build an expanded complex in the city after being forced to to turn away patrons during peak times, the News Journal reported.
The variance is being sought by by Mariah Calagione of Red Wagn LLC, owner of the property. She is the wife of Sam Calgione and a co-founder of Dogfish Head, a privately held company.
Dogfish had earlier purchased the adjacent Finbar restaurant. However, that Irish-themed establishment, which is now closed, is not part of the proposed project. Dogfish Head also has a few brewpub franchises in the Washington, D.C. area, but has mainly focused on its brewing business and more recently an inn in Lewes. The Rehoboth location also operates a tiny distillery.
