MONEY

Find out what's new to coastal Delaware in 2017

Jeremy Cox

jcox6@delmarvanow.com

Delaware's tourism industry is working to make sure it's the "first state" on travelers' minds for summer excursions.

One of the biggest additions to the beaches entertainment scene is actually a short drive from the shoreline. Highway One Group, the owner of the Dewey Beach nightlife hot spot Bottle & Cork, is branching out to Milton, opening an outdoor stage at Hudson Fields off Route 1.

With a capacity of 4,000, the venue offers the largest concert space in Sussex County.

The venue kicks off its inaugural season June 1 with the country-rock outfit Old Dominion. Promoters have lined up several national acts so far, including the reggae bands SOJA and Dirty Heads.

Hudson Fields is no stranger to big events. It was the original home of Punkin Chunkin and hosted national acts in the 1990s under the management of the Delaware River & Bay Authority.

Several other familiar names also have new takes for the season — and beyond.

The Juice Box Cafe has made a name for itself as Ocean View's headquarters for smoothies. This past spring, it opened a second location farther to the north, on Second Street in Rehoboth Beach.

Like the original, the jaunty establishment will also serve breakfast and lunch fare with plenty of hard-to-pronounce ingredients, such as acai bowls, kombucha, quinoa and wasabi aoli.

Speaking of things that are literally difficult to say: Now, people in Lewes will no longer have to travel to Rehoboth's boardwalk for their Kaiserschmarren.

Kaisy is fluffy like a pancake, spongey like french toast and a little crispy like funnel cake, according to the owner of Kaisy's Delights in Rehoboth, kaisysdelights.com. Highly ranked on Yelp and TripAdvisor, Kaisy’s claims it is the first maker of Kaisy in the country. This traditional Austrian dessert, named after Austrian emperor Kaiser Franz Joseph 1, is basically shredded pancake. For the less adventurous, Kaisy’s also offers sandwiches and coffee.

That is the specialty at Kaisy's Delights, which first brought its taste of Austrian cuisine to Rehoboth in 2015. The "kaisy" is essentially a diced-up pancake served with fruit compote, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Its latest location is on Savannah Road in Lewes.

While in Lewes, visitors can roll into a new attraction: Lefty's Alley and Eats. The business offers a respite from rainy or especially hot days, with its dozen-plus bowling lanes, big-screen TVs and two-story laser tag arena.

Lefty's Alley and Eats located in Lewes on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016.

Farther down the shore, a well-known hotel in Rehoboth is joining forces with one of the city's most prominent restaurants. In March, the people behind the Henlopen City Oyster House opened the Blue Hen restaurant at the Avenue Inn.

ELSEWHERE: Find out what's new for the 2017 season in Ocean City.

The drink menu occupies an entire page and, of course, boasts a drink called the Blue Mule — the Cold River Blueberry Vodka providing the blue.

A big change for Dogfish Head

For 22 years, Dogfish Head's Brewings & Eats, has put downtown Rehoboth on the map as a beer aficionado's destination, and big changes are in store this season with the reopening of the brewpub in a new building.

View of the exterior of the new Dogfish Head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

The new building breaks from the old location in several ways, with its ceilings, bigger music stage and a new pub floor plan with seating for 180 guests. Its rustic atmosphere also is more in tune with Dogfish Head's "off-centered" brewery in Milton.

Another Sussex County business rooted in adult beverages has undergone a more-extreme makeover.

Forget familiar names. Fenwick Wine Cellars is now Salted Vines Vineyard and Winery. What's more, it has moved from a strip mall east of Selbyville to a sprawling farm in the countryside outside Frankford on Blackwater Road.

Salted Vines Vineyard and Winery recently opened in Frankford, Delaware.

Patrons are greeted by a large tasting room, with high ceilings, a roaring fireplace (when it's chilly) and rustic decor. Outside, they can enjoy a glass on the patio, covered to block the blazing summer sun.

Some other new places of note: the Big Chill Beach Club, opening in Bethany Beach later this summer and overlooking the Indian River Inlet bridge; Axis in downtown Rehoboth; a fifth location of Big Fish Grill, in Ocean View; the Pig & Publican in Lewes; and Mason's Lobster Rolls, also in downtown Rehoboth.