218 Grille Brings Delicious BBQ to Market Street

Market Street's dining scene has expanded yet again with the addition of 218 Grille. 

Offering a variety of dishes from truffle fries to creative wings, 218 Grille is your new go-to spot when you are craving delicious home-cooked BBQ. Their newest addition of a smoked BBQ cheesesteak will have you coming back again and again. Be sure to grab the homemade cornbread with churned butter when stopping by!

For more information on the brand-new restaurant located at 218 N Market Street Wilmington, DE visit their facebook page. 

Wilmington's Dining Scene Welcomes an Authentic French Brasserie

For those of us craving authentic French food with no place to appease our palate, our dreams have been realized. Margaux Restaurant in downtown Wilmington, DE is now accepting reservations.

The downtown dining scene is rapidly expanding its offerings and Margaux is a perfect compliment to all that Market Street has to offer. 

The closest thing to a trip to France (and much less expensive) Margaux features signature cocktails, an authentic French cheese plate, a wide-variety of menu options to please even the pickiest of guests and desserts that make us request seconds.

If you are looking for a place to celebrate, or just want to make an ordinary day a special occasion, visit the newly opened Margaux at 902 N Market Street. Be sure to call ahead to make reservations, limited seating is available, 302-929-7080.

View the full menu here.

Restaurants are Opening Left and Right in Wilmington, DE!

With hundreds of new residents living along the Market Street corridor and major employers hiring associates, restaurants are popping up to take advantage of all the opportunities the area has to offer!

Here are several of the brand-new restaurants you should check out!

Stitch House Brewery

829 N Market Street Wilmington, DE

This restaurant has made its long-awaited debut and its fans are blowing up social media. With over 2,000 likes on Facebook alone and they haven't even celebrated their grand opening yet! It is this afternoon, (March 16th) at 3 PM! They'll be open until 8 PM and are celebrating the big event with a happy hour from 4-7 PM. The space consists of a full scale brewery and new American menu to accompany the beers being made just a few feet away.

Bank's Seafood Kitchen and Raw Bar (Formerly Harry's Seafood Grill)

101 S Market Street Wilmington, DE

New name, new menu and new chef, David Banks brings a new spin to seafood and the public agrees the change is a good one!  If you are still looking for a place to head to on Easter Sunday, Bank's is bringing on the specials with 1 pound of lobster & steamed mussels or clams for $35 and their famous 3 course Lobster dinner for $42.

Margaux (Coming Soon)

902 N Market Street Wilmington, DE

French is finally making its way to Market Street! Complete with a crêperie, transport yourself to France by visiting Margaux. The interior finishes are currently being revealed and if the food is even half as tasty as the space is gorgeous, everyone is in for a real treat! 

Farmer and The Cow

413 N Market Street Wilmington, DE

For good measure, the photo below absolutely had to be shared as well. There is only one word to describe The Farmer and the Cow and that is scrumptious. Craig raved on Yelp, "Great burgers. Awesome atmosphere. Fantastic bourbon selection.  Spectacular service." What more could you ask for? They even have milkshakes themed after breakfast cereals! 

Have a favorite photo from any of these locations? Be sure to tag @DowntownWilmDE on Instagram and we will share it!

Wilmington, DE has Never Tasted so Good: Take a Tour of the City's Best Gems with Matt Sullivan of Good Taste Blog

When your neighboring city is Philadelphia, a place known nationally for their delicious eats, you have to step up your game and Wilmington does just that.

With some precious gems, award winning restaurants and mouth watering bakeries such as Market Street Bakery and Cafe, which serves up the cream puffs pictured above, the food critics around here are well-versed and blunt. Which is exactly why we love Matt Sullivan's local Good Taste Blog. 

Whether you are looking for the next best place for brunch, or Wilmington's newest hotspot or even some of the greatest brews and meads, Matt has you covered. With 34 posts on Downtown Wilmington you might just find yourself salivating at the pictures alone!  

As Matt proclaims, "From four-star dining to the best holes in the wall, we’ll cover it all. Come along on our gastronomical tour of Greater Wilmington, Delaware and I promise you’ll get a good taste of everything."

Photo Credit: Jim Graham

Inspired by all the local eats and ready to start up your own restaurant downtown? Downtown Vision's business resources can help get you started!

Post by Julia Mason of Enthusiasm Lab

Feeding Minds, Bodies and Souls…Getting Deep with Jason Aviles of The Wilmington Green Box

Jason Aviles doesn't stop. From the Bronx, New York, he takes the word "entrepreneur" to an entire new level. From creating his own interdisciplinary Bachelors Degree in Youth Development & Social Change to running four businesses, he has some useful and touching advice for us all.

Learn more on how he went from a revamped Victorian push cart to revolutionizing healthy eating and nutrition in the City of Wilmington at 420 N Market Street at Wilmington Green Box.

Wilmington Green Box was made possible by funding from The Buccini/Pollin Group as well as funding and business development assistance from Main Street Wilmington. Inspired to start a business in Wilmington like Jason?  There are a variety of complimentary services Downtown Visions has to get you started. Click here to learn more.

Q. Where did the idea for the green box stem from?

A. “Born out of a void that we saw in the central Wilmington community of there not being access to healthy goods and produce. While looking for creative ways to fill this void, we wanted to develop a model that was a win, win, win. We wanted to do more…a creative strategy to help other challenged areas, such as youth education and employment. We felt like the local youth needed positive outlets that gave them not only experience but also employed them so they could contribute to their household income. We targeted inner city kids who could really benefit from the program. So the concept is influential in four areas, food access,  youth employment, education and purchasing local. We wanted to strengthen the local small business community economy.”

Q. How have you seen the box change the lives of individuals working for the company as well as customers?

A. “It has been transformational, Emmanuel is our poster child. He took Wilmington Green Box to a whole new level with his charisma, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. It has been a transformation for him to be with positive older male and female role models and interacting with customers on a daily basis helps build his social skills.

For our customers, we are not just selling a product. Our customers aren’t just buying a food, they are buying into a mission and an organization that really cares for the community and is giving directly back to the community. You feel good supporting youth, youth education and local food companies.”

Q. How has the Wilmington Green Box evolved since you just started out?

A. “We first started with a 1940’s ice box from a Victorian home. We put wheels on it, packed it with healthy goods and that’s how we started out. We didn’t have a storefront or space. We just brought the goods directly to people. It was a perfect introduction, we were able to get in front of so many individuals. Some didn’t know a carrot could make juice. We were educating people on how to be healthy. We also were able to educate our team on product knowledge. After a successful summer doing it that way;we saw we had a demand and we wanted to fulfill it in a consistent way. That’s how the location we are at now was born. The location on Market was designed to provide a place people could come to a consistent basis and activate a space that had not been utilized. We wanted to provide an additional green space and complimentary Wifi to the public. We looked at it as a solution for those we could serve and for us. We built the space and kiosk as an experience.”

Q. What do you see for the future of the green box?

A. “The future, I see us moving into an indoor location where we can have collaboration with a smoothie bar, café, and co-op style grocery store that can serve bulk health food that continues to serve local and bi-local markets. That is the direction we are going into.”

Q. What is your favorite food or drink served at the Green Box?

A. “It’s a tie…I would say, the fruit salads….they are really fresh and awesome from Sol Fruit, a great local organization. Alkaline state of mind from Juiced Libations is another favorite. It is a green juice that gets me going. I often end up eating a fruit salad and drinking one of those on busy days.”

Q. What are some of the challenges you have faced so far?

A. “A challenge is the education portion. Creating a culture and mindset of wellness. It hasn’t been on the forefront of initiatives. Locals aren’t aware of how to live a greater, quality life through nutrition. Exposing people on how to become healthy can be a challenge. We are motivated by it though, so it is not so much a challenge as it is an opportunity. This is the first concept of its kind here. We have seen incredible progress of people learning because of what we offer.”

Q. You wear a lot of hats, Project Director at Wilmington Green Box, Executive Director at Wilmington Placemakers Inc., Co-founder at Artist Ave Station and CEO at FLYOGI. How do you keep it all together and organized?

A. “At the foundation of everything I do is yoga. I was taught yoga is a lifestyle... how you treat others, yourself, nutrition. Everything I do is a part of my practice. The businesses I engage in are an extension of myself. Looking at the voids that exist and trying to fulfill them. I’m not doing it alone, it is a team of us. I have a wonderful team, John Naughton , James Thompson and Emmanuel are equally contributing. When I’m stressed out, I lean on them. We all lean on each other. Our team is on the same page.”

Q. How are you able to remain so Zen? Is it all that yoga?

A. “Yes. Everything really is a practice. It is a constant growing process.”

Q. What is your favorite aspect of the City of Wilmington?

A. “My favorite aspect is the growth that is happening. Wilmington is a growing place. It is in that threshold and it is exciting to be a part of. It is good to know not everything has happened yet. Those are our opportunities to fill those gaps. That is why I chose Wilmington. I wanted to contribute to that.”

Q. What advice would you give to entrepreneur wanting to start a business in downtown Wilmington?

A. “I would say, know what you want and know who wants it. Downtown Wilmington is a market that is used to doing what it is used to doing. You have to know the market and who you want to serve. You have to be consistent and offer high quality products and services. Make sure you know how to market. You are going to have to spend a lot of time marketing. Everyone here is a creature of habit. Introducing new things, you have to have creative ways to put it in front of them.”

Learn more about The Wilmington Green Box

Follow The Green Box on Facebook and Instagram

Post by Julia Mason of Enthusiasm Lab