Where does Dewey Beach meet up this winter, now that its best-known bayfront corner sits between tenants? This November the new Town Hall holds its community open house on Coastal Highway, the year-round kitchens line the same stretch, and almost every date on the holiday calendar points there too.
The bay side is the quiet part this year, and it will stay quiet longer than first expected.
The Corner at 125 McKinley Street Waits for Summer 2027
The 2026 season was North Beach's last. Milford LIVE reported that Highway One Cos. confirmed on Aug. 19 that it would not extend its lease at 125 McKinley St. That ended 27 years of bayfront sunsets, live music, DJs, the Dewey Devil frozen cocktail and the end-of-season "Forever Silent Song Cemetery," where one overplayed song was retired each year. Highway One could have renewed for another three years and decided not to.
The Dewey Beach Lions Club owns the property, and it moved fast. According to CoastTV, the club picked Bent Palm as the next tenant on Aug. 14. The concept plan shows outdoor seating along Rehoboth Bay and a bar. Bent Palm belongs to Greg Plummer, who owns the Dewey Beach Country Club. In August, Lions Club President Jim Gandolfo told Milford LIVE the lease was expected to begin in November. He also said the renderings on social media were preliminary and did not yet have every agency approval they need.
The restaurant's own site has since put a later date on it. The Bent Palm's homepage now reads "Bayfront Dining in Dewey Beach," "Coming Summer 2027" and "125 McKinley Street," with email contacts for events, weddings and jobs. A lease can begin in November and the dining room can still be months away. For anyone who lives here, it adds up to a winter without a working restaurant on that stretch of the bay, and possibly a spring without one too.
That corner used to be one of the town's main gathering spots. This winter, those gatherings move about a mile's worth of addresses east, onto the highway.
The Town's Front Door Moves to 1505 Coastal Highway
The other big change this fall is civic, and it sits right on Coastal Highway. Dewey Beach's new joint Town Hall and police station at 1505 Coastal Hwy. is three stories tall, painted in muted blue, gray and white. The front facing the highway carries the town emblem above the words "Town of Dewey Beach Town Hall, Police, EMS." The Cape Gazette's September tour describes walls and a foundation of cement and steel, built to handle winds up to 127 mph.
Size is the easiest way to see what changed. The current town hall and police facility measures 4,800 square feet. The new building is 13,800 square feet now and will reach 17,400 square feet once Phase 2 is done. The Cape Gazette put the full project at $12.14 million. Construction alone came to about $10.4 million, within an original budget of around $11 million. The remaining costs covered furniture, technology, security equipment, county permit fees, demolition, design, consulting and loan closing costs.
Some of the details matter in everyday use:
- A real meeting room. The building has a large meeting room with an attached balcony for public town meetings. That ends council sessions at the lifesaving station, where, the Cape Gazette noted, lifeguards often come and go in their bathing suits.
- The Walk of Fame. Donor bricks engraved with names and messages will line the sidewalk on the building's south side, and a donor wall in the lobby will list people and organizations who gave $2,500 or more. The town's October newsletter expected the bricks to arrive at the end of October and said they would go in as soon as possible after delivery.
- A fountain for dogs, too. Out front is a three-tier drinking fountain that is ADA-compliant and pet-friendly.
The public gets its first look on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 4 to 6 p.m. The Town of Dewey Beach's community open house invites everyone to tour the building and see the new home of Town Hall and Public Safety.
After that, the building becomes part of the town's regular routine. The town's calendar lists Council meetings on Nov. 20 and Dec. 18, both at 3 p.m. in the Town Hall Meeting Room at 1505 Coastal Highway. The October newsletter asked residents to check each agenda for the meeting location during the move, warned that administrative offices might close briefly, and said police dispatch would keep running without interruption.
There will be construction next door all winter. Phase 2 starts once Phase 1 is complete. It covers moving operations into the new building, tearing down the existing town hall and police station, and adding 3,600 square feet of emergency medical services quarters. The Cape Gazette estimated 170 days for Phase 2, with the demolition itself taking less than a week.
The Year-Round Map Runs a Few Blocks Up the Highway
Put the open kitchens on a map and they sit almost entirely on Coastal Highway, in a stretch that starts just north of the new Town Hall. Three places say outright that they stay open all year. The others post current hours without promising a full winter, so call ahead on a quiet January weeknight.
| Spot | Address | Winter status |
|---|---|---|
| The Lighthouse at Hyatt Place Dewey Beach | 1301 Coastal Highway | Opens 4 p.m. Wed.–Thu., 11 a.m. Fri.–Sun. |
| The Frozen Farmer | 1601 Coastal Hwy., Unit 102 | Open year-round |
| Bottle & Cork | 1807 Highway One | New Year's Eve party Dec. 31 |
| Starboard Claw | 1818 Coastal Highway | Open year-round |
| Fish Hawk's | 1904 Coastal Hwy. | 11 a.m.–11 p.m. daily; closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day |
| Woody's Dewey Beach Bar & Grill | 1905 Coastal Highway | Year-round, 11 a.m.–1 a.m. |
| Dewey Beer Co. | 2100 Coastal Hwy. | Current posted hours, seven days |
Starboard Claw gives the most detailed winter schedule. It is open Monday through Friday from 4 to 11 p.m. and weekends from noon to 11 p.m. Happy hour runs 4 to 6 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 6 p.m. on weekends. Woody's says its staff works year-round. Its Woody's 2 Go counter at 1905 Coastal Highway is open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Cape Gazette reported that The Frozen Farmer stays open year-round, with seasonal items such as Christmas-tree ice cream cake stackers and Santa's Cookies stackers.
Two of these places are new this year. Fish Hawk's opened July 17 in the former Dewey Eat space at New Orleans Street, so this is its first Dewey winter. The Frozen Farmer opened this summer too. On Sept. 19, town commissioners adopted an amendment to its conditional use permit that allows outdoor seating, with a condition that no live entertainment takes place in that outdoor area. CoastTV reported that town leaders also approved Stoke Cafe, a surf-inspired cafe and fitness studio planned for Read Avenue beside The Frozen Farmer.
The Starboard is currently closed Monday through Wednesday. It opens Thursday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Rusty Rudder is one block off the highway at 113 Dickinson Street. It currently opens Fridays at 4 p.m. and Saturdays at noon and is closed Sunday through Thursday.
Fifer's Dewey Beach market is seasonal, open from mid-April through mid-September, so it is closed for the winter. Its parking lot still hosts one of the season's biggest nights, though.
Parking is easy this time of year. Town parking information lists public parking as free from Sept. 16 through May 14.
The Holiday Calendar Stays on the Same Strip
The Dewey Business Partnership's 2026 events list uses the same few blocks as the dining map. Every listed holiday event with a posted location is on Coastal Highway or starts there.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Dewey Beach Tree Lighting at Fifer's Market on Highway 1, with Santa at 5:30 and 6:15.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Dewey Santa Crush Crawl, noon to 9 p.m., starting at Starboard Claw.
- Thursday, Dec. 24: Santa Sleigh Ride, by reservation only.
- Thursday, Dec. 31: Dewey Crush Drop at 11:30 p.m. at Route 1 and New Orleans Avenue.
There are also New Year's Eve events indoors. The Starboard runs "Ring in 2027" from 7 p.m. Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. Jan. 1. Rusty Rudder advertises a Dec. 31 party with food, an open bar and fireworks. Bottle & Cork has a party starting at 9 p.m. on Dec. 31. The Crush Drop happens at Route 1 and New Orleans Avenue, the same intersection where Fish Hawk's sits.
One date from last winter is missing from the list. The Partnership's 2026 listing started with the Dewey Dunk on Jan. 1 at Dagsworthy Street on the beach, but no date for a 2027 Dunk has been posted yet.
If you're thinking about how this winter's changes affect the value of a Dewey Beach home, from the new Town Hall to the Bent Palm timeline, Lindsay Good is happy to walk through it with you, whether over coffee at a year-round spot or by phone from Philadelphia. Let's Connect.
