Rehoboth talks restaurant size cap

In Rehoboth Beach, the term "growth" has dominated the metaphorical water cooler in recent months.

Whether it's growing homes, a growing number of summer visitors, or just all this growth may be too much for the resort town to handle, it's never a word too far away from the lips of residents or town officials.

Now, the council is looking to address another growing industry: restaurants.

Situated along the coast's culinary corridor, the issue isn't how many eateries are, but how large they are.

Led by councilman Stan Mills, the discussion comes in the throes of the approved expansion of Dogfish Head's local brewpub, which saw officials nearly halt the expansion over zoning issues.

And part of that zoning ruling is at the heart of the discussion now.

Currently, the town has a 5,000-square-foot cap on the size of restaurants. Dogfish's lawyers argued the expansion did not fall under the traditional definition of a "restaurant" before they received their approval.

In addition, a number of restaurants received zoning variances to exceed the restriction, according to Mills. It prompted town officials to discuss having a limitation only on the bar and seated dining areas.

In recent meetings, Mills has proposed the idea of limiting that defined space to 2,000 square feet. While he said there would be no restrictions on "ancillary" areas, or essentially anything but the bar and dining areas of a restaurant, he added that he preferred "smaller, boutique style" establishments.

"I've always had this thought that are we doing a disservice to some of the smaller restaurants by promoting and allowing the already successful restaurants to get even bigger," Mills said at a December meeting.

Commissioner Paul Kuhns, himself the executive director of the joint Dewey Beach-Rehoboth Beach Chamber of Commerce and the owner of two area restaurants, disagreed.

"It seems to me, maybe what you do ... maybe there's a number to come up with, say 3,500 square feet of seating area (and) bar area, and that's it." Kuhns said. "Then if the restaurant tends to be larger than 5,000 square feet, then the rest is the (Americans with Disability Act)-compliant bathrooms, the kitchen and whatnot."

"But I think if we go to 2,000 square feet as a combination (bar and seating area), that's pretty small," he added. He also proposed tying the limit to seats or people allowed in the restaurant instead of square footage.

Mills pushed back, saying "I disagree with most of your entire premise."

And the discussion for the last few weeks has shaped up similarly to other discussions and votes on the area's growth.

Kuhns saw some support from commissioner and Lt. Gov-hopeful Kathy McGuinness, who proposed a middle ground of 3,000 square feet combined for both the bar and seated dining area.

Mayor Samuel Cooper proposed a more defined restriction, capping dining area at 2,000 square feet and the bar at 500 square feet.

Commissioner Patrick Gossett also pointed to the issue of restaurants who were allowed to forgo the cap size because they were repurposing an already existing building.

Kuhns continued to push that limiting restaurants to size restrictions could keep them from being successful.

"It's very limiting in today's financial society for restaurants," Kuhns said. "As much as these you like, that's why they turn over so often."

"I think, in the last ten years, restaurants have proliferated in this town," Cooper countered.

Gossett said since 2001, there's been a "170% increase" in the number of restaurants with alcohol licenses, with currently over 60 total and many situated on the highly trafficked Rehoboth Avenue.

In many ways, it embodied much of what Rehoboth is now dealing with: "Growth" and what to do about it.

On Twitter: @DT_PhilDavis

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