Snuff Mill chef Robert Lhulier plans to add seasonal food and plates that can be shared to The Brandywine Restauant’s offerings.
The ability of a restaurant to adapt and thrive is an admirable trait in the post-pandemic era.
Robert Lhulier
The hospitality industry must navigate labor shortages, high food prices, evolving diner demands, and soaring credit card fees.
In the past, new restaurants had more time to work out the kinks. No longer.
For instance, Wilmington-based Tsionas Management, which owns 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue and The Brandywine Restaurant, located in that building, recently parted ways with Bill Irvin, who launched the elegant eatery in fall 2023.
“Bill was brought on to operate and manage The Brandywine, but we have decided to go in a different direction,” said a spokesperson of the real estate and property management company. “We plan to do a rebrand while keeping the elements that have been successful from the start.”
Irvin agreed that the original stakeholders’ visions are no longer aligned. He owns Snuff Mill Restaurant, Butchery & Wine Bar in Brandywine Hundred and will focus on that restaurant and new projects.
“We have a lot of sticks in the sand, and we’re working on other projects,” Irvin said.
Tsionas Management has contracted with Robert Lhulier to operate The Brandywine. It will close for a week starting Sunday, June 30 and reopen on Tuesday, July 9, to explore new dishes.
Lhulier was previously Snuff Mill’s executive chef and has extensive restaurant experience.
He’s worked at the Hotel du Pont, Piccolina Toscana, the University & Whist Club, and Harry’s Savoy Grill. He also owned The Chef’s Table in New Castle.
The Brandywine Room takes its name from the area, not the Brandywine Room in the Hotel du Pont. (There is no connection.)
The Brandywine Restaurant’s interior decor was inspired by the Orient Express.
Lhulier’s plans
The Wilmington restaurant initially featured classic dishes such as steak Diane, beef Wellington for two and chicken vol au vent. Irvin was inspired by the posh department stores he visited as a child.
Lhulier said changes will include a shift to seasonal dishes that showcase the kitchen’s talents and creative specials. A future menu will feature casual options that people can share, reflecting how today’s diner wants to eat.
He plans to keep the existing staff.
“The team that is in place is excellent,” he said. “We will rely on them during the transition to The Brandywine 2.0. I can’t do this on my own.”
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The restaurant will suspend lunch service during the slower summer months. It will resume in the fall, Lhulier said.
The intimate space near Santa Fe Mexican Grill boasts elegant Japanese wallpaper with cranes, antique mirrors, a barrel-vaulted ceiling and an underlit bar. It’s a sumptuous space reminiscent of the Orient Express.
Lhulier said there are no plans to redecorate for now. Still, he wants the overall ambiance to be approachable and welcoming.
The New Norm
The changes are similar to those that David Dietz made at Bar Reverie, which initially emphasized more French fare thanks to the opening chef, Manisha Collet-Govinden.
With her departure, Dietz brought in Steve Taplin, who’d previously worked at the Union League in Philadelphia and Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
The menu changed, but Bar Reverie’s name and décor remained.
The challenges facing the restaurant industry demand such swift actions. To be sure, there’s a reason why the buzzword “pivot” entered a restaurateur’s vocabulary in 2020.
It looks as though it is here to stay.
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