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Future of Dewey Beach's northbeach nightclub is...still unknown

Ryan Cormier
The News Journal
A Labor Day crowd at northbeach in Dewey Beach earlier this year.

After a seven-month process to select the future operators of Dewey Beach's northbeach club, it's still a mystery as to who will run the property beginning in 2020.

The owners of the McKinley Street property along Rehoboth Bay, Dewey Beach Lions Club, met Thursday night with its board of directors making a recommendation to its membership.

But instead of announcing a decision afterward, everyone has been silent.

The latest

Following Thursday's meeting, Jimmy O'Conor, Dewey Beach Lions Club treasurer, would not comment on what happened.

And the two bar owners angling for the property haven't said much more than that.

Businessman, attorney and restaurateur Alex Pires, leader of the Highway One Group, declined to comment.

Steve "Monty" Montgomery, co-owner of Dewey Beach's The Starboard, who has bid in partnership with Eric Sugrue, president and managing partner of the Big Fish Restaurant Group, only said, "I haven't been contacted by anyone at the Lions Club yet so I don't have any information." 

It is unknown whether the membership accepted the board's recommendation or rejected it.

It has been six weeks since The News Journal was told a decision was imminent about who would take over northbeach.

How we got to this moment

Dewey Beach Lions Club decided to start taking bids back in the spring for future leasing and redevelopment of the property.

Highway One's 20-year lease at the location expires in early 2020. The Lions Club decided to look into how to maximize its profits from its prime piece of real estate in the 380-resident beach town, which is two blocks wide and 19 blocks long.

A Labor Day crowd at northbeach in Dewey Beach earlier this year.

The club turned to Atlanta-based real estate services firm Red Rock Global LLC. It's been in charge of the search for operators interested in the club known for its boisterous atmosphere, cover bands and DJs.

Red Rock was picked to escape any built-in conflicts that seem to always arise in a town that small.

Lease options

After accepting multiple bids, Highway One and Pires' group are believed to be the two final contenders.

Potential lessees were offered two possible redevelopment opportunities for northbeach, according to the request for proposal.

The first option was to lease the existing northbeach site, which includes the parking lot that hugs the restaurant and totals about 51,300 square feet. The second option includes a second parking lot between northbeach and the Lions Club, totaling about 79,300 square feet. The larger proposal would include a new residential development. 

Montgomery says he bid for the smaller proposal, which sticks to the current northbeach property. Pires would not comment on the details of his proposal.

The players: Highway One and Pires

The opening for the future of the northbeach property has pitted two of the town's best-known bar owners against each other, with each angling to claim the well-known watering hole with sandy outdoor patios.

Highway One Group partner Alex Pires on stage at Dewey Beach's  Bottle & Cork.

Highway One Group, which is led by attorney Pires, is the largest owner of nightlife spots in town, including the Bottle & Cork, The Rusty Rudder, Jimmy's Grille and northbeach.

It began its boozy Dewey takeover in 1989 when the group purchased the Bottle & Cork for $2.3 million. Ten years later it bought the Ruddertowne complex for $12.5 million, which at the time included The Rusty Rudder; the Baycenter, a music and banquet hall; the Crabber's Cove restaurant; and the restaurant/bar The Lighthouse.

Pires, usually barefoot and wearing a Boston Red Sox hat supporting his beloved World Series champions, often can be spotted on stage handing out free cans of Bud Light to the crowd at Bottle & Cork's legendary "Jam Session" party each summer Saturday afternoon.

He and his group are also the ones behind the 4,000-capacity outdoor concerts that have been held at Hudson Fields since last year, bringing shows that include major country acts such as Jake Owen and Cole Swindell.

The Players: Starboard and Montgomery

As for Montgomery, the public face and part owner of The Starboard, he's been at the fun-loving bar since he was 18, starting as a doorman.

The Starboard co-owner Steve "Monty" Montgomery makes an Orange Crush at his Dewey Beach bar.

Now 50, he's king of the bar best known for its Orange Crushes and Bloody Mary-infused "Suicide Sunday" parties.

He has a mini empire of his own.

Montgomery is a part owner of Dewey's Starboard Raw, Bethany Blues restaurants in Bethany Beach and near Rehoboth, the waterfront restaurant at Bethany Beach Ocean Suites named 99 Sea Level and Rehoboth-based Atlantic Transportation Services.

He is also a partner in the ownership group with Nick's Fish House in Baltimore with Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and others.

He is also president of the Dewey Business Partnership, a group he helped form that brings together property owners in an attempt to better the town's way of life through kid-friendly events and an end-of-the-year party on the beach.

The club

When it comes to wild times in Dewey Beach, northbeach has always delivered, whether through its drinking games, late-night dance parties or the bar's whipped cream-topped frozen Dewey Devil drinks.

Northbeach has been open on McKinley Street in Dewey Beach since 2000 when it replaced the Waterfront restaurant.

In recent years, you could sometimes spot the bar's Dewey Devil mascot flying above Rehoboth Bay using a water jetpack. This past summer, northbeach co-opted "Taco Toss," giving away free happy hour tacos on Friday afternoons, from The Lighthouse while that Dewey Beach bar was closed for construction.

The location has also been the site of controversy in recent years with town officials criticizing the bar for unmanageable crowds drawn in by midweek drink specials that often lead to fights and arrests in the parking lots nearby.

Highway One first opened northbeach in 2000 after signing the 20-year lease.

The group completely renovated the property, gutting the old Waterfront restaurant, which had sat there for decades. That included upgrading the cramped, two-stall bathroom that led to long Waterfront bathroom lines.

A 2005 crowd at northbeach in Dewey Beach.

MORE: 

The Starboard's Monty talkscrushes, celebs after 20 years of ownership in Dewey Beach

Dewey Beach'snorthbeach resurrects 'Taco Toss' while The Lighthouse is closed

Dogfish Head's new Jolly Trolley shuttle allows on-board beer-drinking at the beach

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).