Welcome to the 15th year of the Local Buzz, now Buzz the Beach! Happiest of New Year to each and every one of you!

Lots of restaurant news, so let's get to it.

The Rehoboth Foodie announced that the Lewes Oyster House will occupy the former Jerry's Seafood space on 2nd Street, right next to the office of The Parker Group, real estate office of yours truly. Hmmm... how conveeeenient! Foodie also reports that Hammy's Hideout, a popular burger spot in St. Michael, will open a second location here at the beach in the former Palate space (Safeway shopping center). Hammy's features THIRTY different burgers as well as nachos, wings, salads and more.

JAM Holdings purchased Coho's Market in Rehoboth Beach, promising to keep the same menu but add some of their own deliciousness as well, like the mac & cheese and key lime pie from Eden, or edamame guacamole and short ribs from JAM Bistro. In addition to JAM, and Eden, JAM Holdings includes Red, White & Basil, their new restaurant underway on Route 1 at the entrance to downtown Rehoboth. RW&B will offer fresh pasta, sauces, and its very own pastry chef. Woo hoo!

Derby Dan's plans to open mid-March in Fenwick Island. Their FB page says they are "a casual eatery with fun and bold vibe featuring house made recipes with an upstate New York spin. Pizza, sandwiches, appetizers, and out of this world 'Garbage' style platters. Dine in, carry out or delivery."

Dewey Beer Company opened a new eatery called Pizza Machine, next to its Harbeson location. Just pizza and salads, but the menu looks amazing. Whoever created the combinations and the hilarious names should win an award! Instead of a 'salad' section, it's called 'Greenery' and features not one, but two kale salads. Kale yeah! Then you have a choice of 'Premeditated Pies' or 'Build Your Own' with either house dough or cauliflower crust. The Premeditated Pies include the Immortal Corrupter, and the Paranoid Android. These are clearly my people.

Andrea Neal plans to open Addictive Tacos on Baltimore Avenue (in the former Rudy’s Cheese spot) focusing on street tacos and margaritas. Neal has worked at Michelin star restaurants and for celebrity clients as well. (thanks for the scoop, Jenny B!) 

EasySpeak Spirits just keeps movin' and groovin'! Last year the owners purchased the Penney Square building in downtown Milford which will become a mixed-use facility with a restaurant, shops and apartments. They also recently purchased the former M&T bank building, which has been in the center of downtown Milford for more than 100 years.

Zogg's is expanding into the former Dave & Skippy's space on Wilmington Avenue. Read more here. Zogg's is a huge fan fave on the Eating Rehoboth food tours. Everyone loves it! Our popular walking food tours resume May 15, so book your dates now.

Poke Bros sign is now in place. They are located in the shopping center behind the Sea Shell Shop. I believe Rehoboth will be their 60th location!

Shout out to Carmen at the Chocolate Wave in Rehoboth. Their homemade chocolates are made in store using top quality Swiss-style chocolate, with all kinds of barks, clusters, turtles, hand-dipped chocolate pretzels, caramel and red candy apples, gift boxes and more. Check out the new barks featured on their FB page.

Brimming Horn Meadery has a new food truck, Hammer and Horns featuring Raclette cheese sandwiches, potatoes stuffed with BBQ pulled pork and chicken, burgers and fries, sausages, falafel, gyros and fried turkey legs.

The Lewes Nicola Pizza on Route 1, should be ready by the end of July. The Rehoboth location will remain open through Labor Day weekend.

Les Dames d'Escoffier (a philanthropic organization of women in the fields of food, beverage and hospitality) is expanding to Delmarva. If you are interested, please contact Board Member, Ellen Kassoff at Federal Fritter.

There's a sign that says Kabab Falafel Addiction (spelled just like that) is coming to the former Subway space at the Shoppes of Camelot (across from Chick-fil-A.) Not sure when, but any falafel is good by me! Also saw signs of activity in the former Pickled Pig spot, but don't know what's going in that space. If anyone has more intel, please share!

The Winter Delmarva Dogfish BirdINNg Weekend will be held January 28-30. (119 species were tallied during the 2021 event, including Great Cormorant, Purple Sandpiper, Harlequin Duck, American White Pelican, 27 species of waterfowl, as well as Harbor and Gray Seals.)

Also that weekend (Jan 28-30) is Bethany's Fire & Ice Festival, featuring ice sculpture tours, live sculpture demonstrations, bonfires, fireworks, ice slides, tastings, and Rock ‘n’ Roll!

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have THE 39 STEPS, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! Now at Clear Space starting Jan 21. Also coming this year, Victor, Victoria, Little Shop of Horrors, 9 to 5, Grease, and many more!

The Lewes Polar Bear Plunge (which takes place in Rehoboth) is open for registration. The 2022 event takes place February 6, in person or virtual, and supports the athletes of Special Olympics Delaware.

The 2022 Southern Delaware Photo Contest is open for entries. Click here for all the details. The Dewey Winter Gala has been rescheduled for Feb 26.

New shops at Tanger include Pamper Me Pink, (a body-contouring and women’s apparel store) and Simply Southern offering preppy t-shirts, apparel, and gift items. Coming soon is BluVintage, which looks like a really fun place to shop!

The Milton Arts Guild is now in its new digs on Federal Street. Great space! The class catalog is now online for The Mispillion Art League in Milford.

The Coastal Camera Club will host a Virtual Photo Beach Bash featuring expert speakers on Feb 19, and Feb 26. Sessions are free, but registration is required.

The Rehoboth Beach Film Society's Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series is back. Next up is Verdi’s Rigoletto, with a bold new take by Bartlett Sher, the Tony Award-winning director. He resets the opera’s action in 1920s Europe. Starts Feb 7.

A large collection of Western Auto memorabilia is now housed at the Nutter Marvel Carriage Museum in Georgetown. The museum also houses a collection of antique carriages including the Queen's carriage, the Disney carriage, a peddler's wagon and an 1800's era horse drawn hearse carriage; a collection of victrolas, ephemera, photographs, telephones, furniture and many more items related to Georgetown history, and historic buildings like the Ellis School, a one room schoolhouse built in 1833. Recently a large HO railroad display was added as well.

Some interesting facts from the Delaware Tourism Summit: Delaware is seeing visitors from new markets like Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston and Atlanta; 18-34-year-olds now represent more than half of all visitors to Delaware; and hotel occupancy for 2021 showed a 31 percent increase.

Grateful Head Salon is now open on Baltimore Avenue. Capitol Office has opened a new location in the Midway shopping center. I believe they specialize in new and used office furnishings.

For those of you who commute to the beach from the DC area, Big Truck Farm Brewery is building a new location on Route 50, near 404, right across from the very picturesque St. Peter's Church. (That begs for comment, doesn't it?)

Bee sure to follow the Buzz on FB in between issues. See you next time!