Beer, Wine, and Spirits Fest returns to Ag Museum in Dover
The Delaware Beer, Wine, and Spirits Festival return to the heart of Kent County. The event will be held at the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village in Dover on Aug. 28 from 5 to 7:30 p.m., with VIP access beginning at 4 pm.
The event is a Kent County tradition and is the only statewide festival including all of Delaware’s alcohol producers. Craft beer, wine, and spirits made locally will are featured. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to sample various craft and small-batch products.
New this year is the ability to reserve a table. Tables seat six guests and include your tickets to the event.
Other features of the event include live music with Lyric Drive and Blue Cat Blues food trucks and more than 70 locally produced beverages part of the DE Beer Wine and Spirits Trail.
Sussex fest announces real estate group as title sponsor
The Sussex County Association of Realtors (SCAOR) has been named the Title Sponsor for the 6th annual Southern Delaware Wine, Food & Music Festival, set for Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Independence Clubhouse in Long Neck.
“Realtors like to give back, so we are very pleased to be this year’s title sponsor, said SCAOR president-elect George Thomasson.
To date… over 20 restaurants and 20 wine and beer providers and entertainers are signed up to participate in this year’s festival, proceeds of which benefit the employee assistance fund of the Delaware Restaurant Association.
“This event is a celebration of the very best of coastal Delaware,” said executive director Stacy LaMotta, who founded the Southern Delaware Wine, Food & Music Festival in 2005. “And while we provide a great experience for our participants and guests, we have also been able to give more than $130,000 to Sussex charities and nonprofits in the past five years. Our partnership with SCAOR helps guarantee another successful – and delicious – event.”
Squisito Pizza to open in Fashion Center
To the north at Christiana Fashion Center, Squisito Pizza & Pasta will take the place of Midici, a California-based pizza franchise chain location that closed last year.
Based on a couple of visits, Midici, did not gain traction, even before the pandemic, despite a decent pie, an impressive pizza oven, and no paper plates.
If a visit a while back to their location at the outlets in Queenstown, MD, is any indication, Squisito is more of an East Coast neighborhood establishment with a variety of pizza slices available and a selection of Italian dishes, all at lower price points.
Christiana will be the northern outpost for Squisito, a small chain based in Annapolis, MD.
Platinum Dining closing restaurants on Sundays and Mondays
Platinum Dining Group will temporarily operate restaurants on a five-day-a-week schedule.
The owner of El Camino in north Wilmington; Taverna, north Wilmington, and Newark; Lemons and Capers, Little Falls; Redfire Grill, Hockessin; and Eclipse in Wilmington will close on Sundays and Mondays.
A social media post cited staffing shortages as well as the aftermath of Covid-19 restrictions that ended earlier in the summer.
While the restrictions are gone and are not expected to return, other challenges facing restaurants include higher food prices and a surge in coronavirus cases that will keep some diners at home.
Temporary closings on off days have been commonplace at the Delaware beaches due to staff shortages and fatigue from a lack of employees and some cranky diners.
