Between mid-September and early October, Rehoboth Avenue got a new pizza shop, a rebuilt brewpub and a new liquor store. All three arrived after the meters stopped running and after most summer visitors had gone home.
Delays, approvals and a lease start date set that timing. Each of these businesses missed the summer it might have wanted, and the people who live here get to try them first.
Delays moved the openings to fall
Start with the newest one. Cape Gazette reported on Oct. 7 that Ledo Pizza has opened at 47A Rehoboth Avenue, "a few months longer than expected." The chain announced the opening on Facebook on Oct. 5, but it had already opened to the public the week before. The space was most recently Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which closed in late 2024. That means a prime block on the town's main street sat empty for most of two summers. Trifecta Hospitality Group of Ocean City, Maryland, operates this location. It is open seven days a week and is one of two Ledo Pizza shops in Delaware. The other is in the Ocean View and Bethany Beach area near Fred Hudson Road.
Revelation Craft Brewing's move shows the same pattern. Per Cape Gazette's Sept. 16 story, the brewery first announced in January that it would leave its Central Avenue home after nine years. Regulatory holdups kept the new building closed until June, and even then it had only four taps. Once it had full approvals, Revelation held its grand opening the weekend of Sept. 19 on Rehoboth Avenue Extended, next to The Waypoint hotel.
Here is what regulars will find at the new place:
- Taps and seats: 16 beers on tap, 48 indoor seats and additional outdoor seating, plus crushes, wine, gluten-free beer and nonalcoholic beer
- Food: the Da Nizza food truck
- Location: still next to the Junction & Breakwater Trail, now about 450 feet west of the old spot
- Parking: 16 spaces behind the building
- Familiar pieces: the same bar top, much of the old decor, and live music on Fridays, trivia and Mingo
"We've always been the brewery on the bike trail, and we still are," co-founder Patrick Staggs told Cape Gazette. The opening also marks Revelation's 10th year in business. Most production stays at its Georgetown brewery, and the Rehoboth site will run its own small-batch system.
Rehoboth Liquors rounds out the group. It was welcomed as a new downtown business at a ribbon-cutting on Sept. 18, according to Cape Gazette, with general manager Shelley Kingsbury speaking for the shop.
The same thing is happening near Bethany
On the Bethany end of the coast, the clock is set by a lease. Scott and Anne Viselli run Fin & Claw Seafood & Provisions at 42-A Atlantic Avenue in Ocean View, and they are expanding into 34444 Coastal Highway in South Bethany. Coastal Point reported that Rosenfeld's Jewish Deli would stay in that space through mid-September as it consolidates to its Rehoboth location only. The Visellis' lease starts Nov. 1.
"We haven't taken occupancy yet. We have to go through the inspections and everything with the health department. We are hoping to open quickly," Scott Viselli told Coastal Point. He expects the new spot, called Fin & Claw One Block Back, to open before the end of the year. The plans go well beyond the current takeout counter:
- Lunch and dinner with seating and a small waitstaff, in a space about three times the current size
- An oyster counter, with hopes for a raw bar and a bar, pending an alcohol license application
- More market items, including steaks, pork and deli meats
- McCabe's chicken salad, a nod to McCabe's Gourmet Market, which once occupied the same address
"We do want to get back to the McCabe's vibe," Viselli said.
Retail opened in the same stretch. Coastal Point covered Fells Point Surf Collective's fourth shop, at 33214 Main Street in Dagsboro, from owner and founder Alison Schuch. Perfect Furnishings held a ribbon-cutting at 1107 Coastal Highway in Fenwick Island on Aug. 20.
Who is open, and when
Opening in the off-season comes with shorter weeks. Rehoboth Beach Main Street's October newsletter shows how downtown is pacing itself.
| Business | Address | Fall status per Rehoboth Beach Main Street |
|---|---|---|
| Jerk & Jambalaya | 70 Rehoboth Ave., First Street Station | Open Thursday through Sunday for the fall season |
| The Black Dog General Store | 146 Rehoboth Ave. | October hours: Sun.–Thu. 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 10 a.m.–8 p.m. |
| Kiwi's Cove | 101 N. Boardwalk, under the Atlantic Sands | Closing for winter "soon," reopening in spring |
| SeaGlass Bistro | 23 Baltimore Ave. | Kiwi's sister restaurant, suggested as a winter alternative |
Jerk & Jambalaya is new this year. Owners Sintelle Taylor and Godfrey Fitzgerald serve Jamaican and Southern dishes, including Yardie Jerk Chicken, Braised Oxtail Stew and an Ackee & Saltfish Brunch. Taylor trained at Le Cordon Bleu. For anyone who never made it to Kiwi's Cove, the newsletter suggests going before it closes for winter. The newsletter gives no closing date and lists (302) 567-2855 for current hours. It also says to watch for winter events for locals at SeaGlass or the Sands, such as wine pairing dinners and breakfast with Santa.
The off-season also changes parking. The newsletter reminds readers that "during the off-season, you don't have to feed the meters." The City of Rehoboth Beach's meter page says parking is free until May 15.
Some openings don't last. Kaja Asian, in the Midway Shopping Center at 18585 Coastal Highway, closed after less than six months, Cape Gazette reported Oct. 8. A sign on the door says Coastal Chopsticks is coming, but the report gave no opening date.
Weekend events between now and Thanksgiving
The new places will have crowds on at least a few weekends. The fall calendar is full, and several events this year are new or aimed at people who live here.
The biggest change is at Sea Witch. The Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber has added a first annual Community Fair for local nonprofits, community organizations and service providers on Friday, Oct. 23. That gives the festival's opening day a local focus before the costume parade on Saturday. In Milton, the first Pumpkin Festival on the Broadkill is the next day at Milton Fire Department, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 15–18 | Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival | Rehoboth Beach |
| Oct. 17 | Harvest Fair 1776, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Lewes |
| Oct. 18 | CAMP Rehoboth Block Party, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., free | Second block of Baltimore Ave. |
| Oct. 23–25 | Sea Witch Festival, with the Community Fair Oct. 23 | Rehoboth Beach |
| Oct. 24 | Wags, Witches & Warlocks | Downtown Bethany Beach |
| Oct. 24 | Pumpkin Festival on the Broadkill | Milton Fire Department |
| Nov. 1–8 | 28th Rehoboth Beach International Film Festival | Rehoboth Beach |
| Nov. 14 | Fifth Annual Holiday Market at Five Points, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. | Villages of Five Points, Lewes |
| Nov. 21 | Christmas at the Beach Craft Fair, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. | Cambria Hotel, 17222 Hood Road |
Coastal Point confirmed the Bethany date on Oct. 6. The Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival schedule is on Rehoboth.com, and film festival passes and details are on the festival's own page.
Sea Witch weekend brings the only parking restrictions of the fall in downtown Rehoboth. Per the Chamber's festival page:
- No overnight parking in any Rehoboth Avenue space from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 23
- No median parking on Rehoboth Avenue from 1 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, until the costume parade ends
- After the parade, the city Streets Department will pick up chairs, coolers and blankets left on Rehoboth Avenue. They will be held outside its office at 20476 Lincoln Street until 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26
The Chamber posted the 2026 festival program on Sept. 22.
Rehoboth's fall openings show that the coast's business calendar no longer stops at Labor Day, and neither does its housing market. If you own a home along the coast and want to know how this year's activity affects its value, The Lacey Real Estate Group can give you a clear read based on more than 30 years of local experience. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
