Chelsea Tavern Turns 10!

Please join us in wishing Chelsea Tavern a happy birthday on Saturday, March 14th, as the restaurant celebrates its 10th year on Market Street!

Head to Chelsea Tavern for its 10th-anniversary celebration on Saturday, March 14th! The festivities will include live entertainment, $10 food specials, $5 drink specials, and so much more. Past employees are even invited to take advantage of their employee discount for a final time.

Over the past 10 years, Chelsea Tavern has been the literal and figurative heart of Market Street for residents and visitors alike. Whether its been a bite to eat before a show at The Grand Opera House, a late night drink at the bar, or a savory Sunday brunch, Chelsea Tavern has continued to satisfy hungry restaurant-goers with its extensive beer menu and interpretive comfort food. As a 3-time winner of the Delaware Burger Battle, diners have come to expect delicious burgers paired with perfection to one of the 31 beers on tap at Chelsea until the wee hours of the morning.

At the beginning of the year, Chelsea Tavern also announced an enhanced event calendar in honor of the anniversary - and the restaurant stayed true to its promise. The upcoming calendar is jampacked with events, such as: 

• Brewery of the Month Pairing Dinners – Next up Dogfish Head on Thursday, March 26th

• March Draftness - Discount draft beers during all Men’s NCAA basketball games.

• Monthly Cigar Dinners – May through September, 2020

• Cinco de Mayo Block Party - Date TBD

• Downtown Brew Fest – Saturday, August 9th, 2020

• Weekly Geeks Who Drink Trivia & Flight Club on Tuesday Nights

In addition to ramping up the events calendar, Chelsea Tavern underwent a number of renovations this past year to prepare for the momentous occasion. The new and improved Chelsea Tavern features updated flooring, wall coverings, and lighting within the dining room. The bar also got a refresh with a new bar top equipped with USB outlets for smartphones. Additionally, overlooking the new outdoor plaza next door is the best covered outdoor seating area downtown, with new patio furniture and upgraded landscaping.

See the renovations for yourself and stop in to wish Chelsea Tavern a happy anniversary this month!

Free Resources for Small Businesses

Downtown Visions mission is to create, manage, and promote a quality environment for business development within our neighborhood by providing small business assistance through various initiatives. We strive to inform our community of the free resources available to them by a number of local and national agencies. If you have any questions on starting, or growing, your businesses in Downtown Wilmington DE, don’t hesitate to contact us!

Delaware Division of Small Business

The Delaware Division of Small Business, part of the Delaware Department of State, is a service-focused agency committed to supporting businesses starting and growing in Delaware. Small businesses can reach out to the Division for assistance in connecting to the resources and advice to succeed. The Division is a champion for Delaware small businesses and is here to help take companies to the next level.

• Features an online portal to find and connect to organizations in Delaware who assist small businesses. Click here to visit portal.

The Division of Small Business also EDGE grants to eligible businesses to encourage development, growth, and expansion. The EDGE Grant program gives qualified small businesses in Delaware an edge by offering access to significant capital like never before. The business must have been in operation less than 5 years. This will give them access to capital up to $50,000 for the Entrepreneur Class and $100,000 for Stem based companies!

• The deadline is Friday, February 28, 2020.

• For more information, click here.

New Castle County Chamber of Commerce

NCCCC hosts “Open For Business” sessions on the fourth Thursday of each month from 9:30 am - 11:30 am for small business owners to meet with representatives from their partner organizations. Collectively, these organizations provide a range of services that help start-ups advance their business model, reach potential customers, land government contracts, secure loans, meet state regulatory requirements and generally mentor entrepreneurs striking out on their own for the first time.

• Next event is Tuesday, February 25, 2020 located at 920 Justison Street, Wilmington, DE.

• The event is free, registration is suggested. To register, click here.

Downtown Merchant Meetings

Downtown Visions also hosts Downtown Merchant Meetings one Tuesday a month for business owners within the Central Business District share ideas and connect with each other.

• The next Merchant Meeting is at 9:30 am on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at Stitch House Brewery.

America Express Future of Shopping Small Grant Program

American Express® is teaming up with Main Street America to give 10 small business owners $10,000 each to help their businesses innovate in this evolving retail landscape. The American Express Future of Shopping Small Grant Program will celebrate small businesses across the country that are a vital part of their community. The program is intended to support small businesses that have demonstrated new approaches to traditional business strategies and those businesses looking to try out creative techniques, while also helping to revitalize and strengthen older and historic commercial districts.

• The deadline is Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

• For more information, click here.

• To see if your businesses is location within one of Delaware’s Downtown Development Districts (DDD), click here.

Downtown Wilmington, DE Restaurants Featured in Food & Wine Magazine

Congratulations to Downtown Wilmington, DE restaurants Bardea Food & Drink, DECO Wilmington, Torbert Street Social, and the soon to be Le Cavalier at the Green Room who were recognized by Food and Wine magazine for their influence on Wilmington's Restaurant Renaissance!

Wilmington, Delaware’s Restaurant Scene Deserves Your Attention

By: Regan Stephens

In just a few days, Tyler Akin will know what the floors look like. The drab, worn rugs inside the 2,500-square-foot dining room will be ripped up, where the terrazzo underneath may or may not be ruined from a previous renovation. Akin, the chef and owner of Philadelphia’s Stock and Res Ipsa, is working on his biggest project to date, about 30 miles south.

The 36-year-old Delaware native is reimagining the Green Room in Wilmington’s historic Hotel Du Pont, which has, until now, remained largely unchanged for the last hundred-or-so years. The new restaurant, named Le Cavalier, is expected to open this spring, joining a host of new restaurants making Delaware’s biggest city a supremely compelling place to eat.

The Hotel Du Pont first opened in 1913 inside the DuPont building, which occupies an entire city block in downtown Wilmington. Inspired by the opulent hotels populating European cities at the time, the 217-room property has hosted dozens of luminaries over the years, including Amelia Earhart, Katherine Hepburn, and Eleanor Roosevelt. In 2017, the building was bought by local real estate developer the Buccini/Pollin Group, which, along with PM Hotel Group and Akin, have set about giving the Green Room a contemporary upgrade.

“There aren’t many examples quite like the Green Room,” says Akin, who grew up visiting it. “It hits you in the face—you’re walking through history.”

The Green Room revamp is coming in the midst of a restaurant renaissance that’s helping to revitalize the city of Wilmington at large. In the fall of 2018, modern Italian bistro Bardea opened, and within the year it was a James Beard Award semi-finalist for best new restaurant—a first for Wilmington.

Co-owner Scott Stein says he and partner Antimo DiMeo started thinking about opening a restaurant in the city about five years ago. “It still had some growing and developing to do, so we were patient and waited a few years before going for it,” he says. “When we found the space that is now Bardea, we knew it was a fit and we were eager to become a part of this amazing city.”

Just last fall, a local restaurant group opened the speakeasy-style cocktail bar Torbert Street Social in a historic brick building that was once a horse stable, tucked behind a string of restaurants in the city’s Financial District. Also housed in the DuPont building, Deco—short for Delaware Collective, and a nod to the area’s Art Deco architecture—is a new food hall with eight restaurant stalls, a bar, and a private event space. Seven stalls in the $3.5 million project are constant, and range from pastries and banh mi to a pizza-focused outpost of Bardea, while one stall is revolving, allowing local chefs to test concepts before committing to a brick and mortar. While food halls have been opening in cities across the country over the last few years, this is Wilmington’s first, and it's a big deal.

As places like Deco and Bardea were propelling Wilmington’s food scene forward—with dishes like Deco’s banh mi with barbecue pork and housemade veggie chips, and Bardea's hamachi collar aged in foie gras—the Green Room remained stagnant, serving standards like shrimp cocktail and surf and turf…

Continue reading on foodandwine.com

Vote Now: Best of Delaware 2020!

Every year, Delaware Today Magazine issues the Best of Delaware edition to spotlight local Delaware businesses in a variety of categories, ranging from food & drink to retail & services, that leave a lasting impression on their patrons. Readers and editors vote to recognize their favorite local establishments for their top-notch service and high-quality products.

Voting is now open for Delaware Today’s 2020 Best of Delaware class! To vote for you favorite Downtown Wilmington businesses, visit delawaretoday.com/vote and follow these simple rules:

1) Please limit your votes to Delaware-based businesses—no national chains
2) Businesses cannot incentivize votes with discounts, etc.
3) Votes originating from identical IP addresses will not be counted.
4) Please fill in the name and town of the business.
5) Please fill out at least 5 categories.
6) The Ballot closes on Jan. 26 at 5 p.m.
7) A special series of run-off voting will take place for the top vote-getters in the Food & Drink and Health & Beauty categories starting Feb. 3 and going weekly through March 15.

The results will be published in the July 2020 issue of Delaware Today and will be celebrated during their annual Best of Delaware Party, happening July 23, 2020 at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino.

Last year, 18 Downtown Wilmington businesses were awarded the Best of Delaware title all thanks to locals like you who voted for them. Spread the word about all of the great places in Downtown Wilmington DE and vote now!

Downtown Wilmington Continues to Grow with 7 New Businesses

Downtown Wilmington DE is bursting at the seams with new bars, restaurants, and businesses! After a busy summer with 7 brand new establishments opening in our neighborhood, we are pleased to welcome 7 more new businesses that opened this fall. Check out our newest neighbors below and be sure to give them a warm welcome to Downtown Wilmington!

Blitzen | 220 W 9th St

Blitzen is a brand new, pop-up holiday themed bar coming to 220 W 9th Street, run by the team behind Stitch House Brewery & Faire Market & Cafe. The bar, tastefully decked out in tinsel and string lights, will be open Wednesday-Saturday through the end of the year.

El Diablo Burritos | 837 N Market St

Image Credit: Town Square Delaware

The popular northern Delaware fast-casual eatery debuted their highly-anticipated Downtown location at 837 Market St on October 29! You can enjoy all of your favorite burrito and taco options here with the addition of a brand new breakfast menu, available exclusively on Market Street. If it’s anything like their other locations, you can expect to see lines out the door during the lunch rush…

The Chicken Spot | 204 W 10th St

The Chicken Spot is a brand new eatery taking over the location formerly occupied by Benjamin’s On 10th. The menu will feature different varieties of - you guessed it - chicken. The owner, Venu Gaddamidi, also manages Veritas Wine & Craft Beer and Ciro Food & Drink down on the Riverfront. The Chicken Spot officially opens its doors on Monday, November 11, at 11AM!

Makers Alley | 804 N Orange St

Image Credit: Moonloop Photo

Makers Alley is a brand new bar tucked away off Shipley Street in a transformed 19th-century carpenter’s shop - complete with a classic Airstream travel trailer turned food truck. Self-proclaimed as a joint for bites, sips, and outdoor vibes, discovered off the beaten path, Makers Alley is perfect addition to our Downtown bar scene allowing for a casual drink and bite to eat.

Green Box Kitchen | 400 N Market St

Brought to you by the founders and friends of Wilmington Green Box, Green Box Kitchen is a fast-casual vegan restaurant and juice bar that serves hand-crafted salads, smoothies, açaí bowls, cold pressed juices, grain bowls, and other fresh foods that are incredibly delicious and always 100% plant based. Their mission is to nourish the community by serving a healthy, approachable, and tasteful plant-based menu, all while rooting their efforts in local philanthropy and social change.  

Wilmington Land Bank | 404 N Market St

The mission of the Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank (WNCLB) is to return vacant, dilapidated, abandoned, and delinquent properties to productive use, while strengthening and revitalizing our neighborhoods and inspiring economic development.

Jet Phynx Flims | 408 N Market St

Image Credit: WITN22

Jet Phynx Films is an independent film company that proudly specializes in entertainment and lifestyle branding, offering digital content such as video production, photography, motion graphics, graphic and sound design, and music production, and boasts a client list that includes Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Coca-Cola, Under Armour, Roc Nation, RCA Records, Atlantic Records, Skechers, Zelle, and Soundcloud among others. Jet Phynx Films strives to offer a space that will help “creatives and executives bring their imagination to life.