In the Wilmington hospitality industry, the song lyric “Where you lead, I will follow” carries weight. A chef or restaurateur with a track record is a culinary Pied Piper. If you need proof, consider Robert Lhulier’s summer arrival at The Brandywine Restaurant in the 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue building— the old Michael Christopher’s site. It is a few doors down from …
Stanley’s Tavern bought by Deer Park, McGlynns owners
For four decades, the face of Stanley’s Tavern has been a Steve, not a Stanley. Steve Torpey went from managing the Brandywine Hundred landmark to owning it. But in July, Torpey turned over the keys to Newark-based Ashby Hospitality Group. “They took over the restaurant with my complete staff, all our systems, all our vendors—everything,” says Torpey, who is officially retired. Marc Ashby, …
Chef Robert Lhulier signs lease for Avenue North restaurant
Robert Lhulier is a man of his word. When the chef left Snuff Mill Restaurant, Butchery & Wine Bar in March 2024, he said he was seeking space in north Wilmington for his own restaurant. On July 30, Lhulier signed the lease for an end-cap location at Avenue North, the nearly 80-acre mixed-use redevelopment on the former AstraZeneca campus. If all goes as …
Rise, shine & dine: 13 beach restaurants for breakfast
Breakfast has always been a significant dining segment at the beach, partly due to the high volume of hotel guests. However, lingering over a stack of pancakes while sipping a bloody Mary epitomizes a lazy vacation. The demand for breakfast on the Culinary Coast has led to a bevy of restaurants ready to serve hungry beachcombers. Here are some …
Big Fish forms partnership with Baltimore restaurant group
Big Fish Restaurant Group, a Delaware titan in the hospitality industry, and the Baltimore-based lifestyle hospitality company Atlas Restaurant Group announced today that they’ve formed a partnership. The Delaware group is known for its flagship Big Fish Grill, which has locations in Rehoboth Beach and Ocean View and on the Wilmington Riverfront. A previous site in Glen Mills closed and …
Kern won’t bring home Beard Award but still feels like winner
It’s not often that you get to meet your idols. But during the James Beard Awards events in Chicago this past weekend, Delaware’s Matt Kern chatted with Elizabeth Faulkner, a “Top Chef” alum and “a hero of mine for probably 20 years,” said Kern, chef-owner of One Coastal in Fenwick Island. He met Michel Nischan, another hero, and Kevin Tien …
3 beach restaurants to try this summer
Memorial Day weekend may be the traditional start of the summer at the beach. but anyone who lives in coastal Sussex County knows the highways are crowded most of the year. Nevertheless, beach restaurants are gearing up for an onslaught. According to the tourism group Visit Southern Delaware, dining is the leading visitor activity along the coast, surpassing the allure …
Robbie Jester aims to infuse new life into Kitty Knight
Robbie Jester has come home. Sort of. Raised in Galena, Maryland, the chef is partnering with Jamestown Hospitality Group, owner of Deep Blue at Kitty Knight, an inn and restaurant in Galena, to infuse new life into the old establishment. “Ironically, my dad owned Kitty Knight in the 1980s, and I was conceived there,” said Jester, a Culinary Institute of …
Dan Butler’s BlueBird brings breakfast, lunch happiness
Dan Butler is unafraid to take risks. In 1991, the Culinary Institute of America graduate opened Griglia Toscana in Trolley Square. At the time, most Italian restaurants served red “gravy” and meatballs. However, Butler offered artisanal pizza from a wood-burning oven, grilled veal and hard-to-find risotto. He wasn’t afraid to mess with success; he’s tweaked Toscana several times. It’s now Piccolina …
Taste & Sea’s superb menu stresses seafood first, then steak
Christina “Chrissy” Villare-Talbot and her husband, John, shared the dream of owning a restaurant together. Most would agree that John has the pedigree for it. A graduate of The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, he’d worked at Creed’s Seafood & Steaks in King of Prussia since 2000, when he was hired as a sous chef. He later became executive …