As beach restaurants extend season, servers find opportunity in Ocean City, Sussex

It is winter at the beach and Sierra West is off for a month.

The Sussex County, Delaware, native is not a college student or a retiree. She's employed full time, but the mom-and-pop restaurant she serves at in downtown Rehoboth Beach was closed in January.

West isn't worried about finances though. She'd rather take off when it gets slow, and she was prepared.

"I save my money," said West, who has been in the restaurant industry for five years.

As the tourism season expands and more restaurants open, both diners and servers can expect increased options. But the longer season, while boosting the local economy, still has its pitfalls for those who rely on the food and beverage industry for work.

Servers like West are choosing to stay year-round in Delmarva’s resort communities, learning how to be financially savvy without needing to work elsewhere in the offseason.

While more restaurants are considered year-round, many still operate in cold-weather months with reduced staff, reduced hours or reduced days.

More:Ocean City named one of the 'Best Family Beach Vacations': TripAdvisor

Owners will cut staff to ensure the remaining servers can earn enough money to pay their bills. Some close a few extra days a week, leaving workers scrambling to find second or third — usually part-time — jobs, reducing an already slim chance of receiving benefits like health care.

Some restaurants in Ocean City that used to stay open on the weekends throughout the winter "are now shutting down totally in January," wrote Susan Jones, executive director of Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association.

"Maryland’s increase in minimum wage and sick and safe leave laws have forced many owners to analyze hours and pay and make adjustments," she wrote in an email.

Related:What a $15 minimum wage in Maryland would mean for the Eastern Shore

No resort community is the same, and while not every restaurant is jumping on the relatively new year-round trend, southern Delaware shows strong signs more businesses will follow suit.

"Many of our restaurants are open year-round because we have more of a year-round community," said Karen Falk, executive director of Rehoboth Beach Main Street.

More:Delaware beaches transform into year-round destination

Falk has lived between Ocean City and Rehoboth Beach since 1998. What was a typical four-month season has recently doubled in some places.

In Dewey Beach, longtime Starboard owner Steve "Monty" Montgomery said about eight to 10 restaurants stay open now throughout the year, compared to the tiny beach destination becoming a ghost town just a few winters ago.

Maria D'Ambrogi’s Mexican eatery, Sirveza (known for its viking ship bowls of nachos) is one of those places. She opened in July 2018 intending to feed guests beyond the summer.

Brian Bolter opened two Ocean City restaurants in late 2017 with a similar mentality of serving locals, not just tourists.

"We never thought about being seasonal to begin with," Bolter said of Red Red Wine Bar and Dry 85, which are sister restaurants to his Annapolis locations. "Being year-round was a commitment to the community we wanted to serve eight months out of the year.”

How to survive the offseason sl

Servers in Sussex County earn a median hourly wage of $9.60, below the countywide average renter's wage of $12.92 and about a $6 wage gap from being able to afford a two-bedroom rental at fair market rate. Maryland servers earn about the same, at $9.54.

West can afford to live in Rehoboth Beach because she rents a place with fellow restaurant employees. It's a popular choice within the service industry in coastal Sussex County and Ocean City, where the housing demand is high — and, therefore, expensive — among relocating retirees and those with second homes.

Related:Live where you work, unless at the beach. Affordable housing slim at resorts

For servers who are new to the seasonal resort economy or don't know how to save money from the summertime rush, the tourist drop-off can be a shock.

"I try to explain it really slows down," West said of her offseason advice to new servers, emphasizing "really." "If you’re from a resort area, you know, but if you're not you just have to experience it."

Yet West stays.

"You have to be smart about where you’re working," said West, who first snagged a hostessing gig at Greene Turtle Sports Bar in Lewes before transferring to the Rehoboth location, which she called a "completely different world."

"The people come in waves," she said of Rehoboth tourists. "They're in and out, and it's super demanding. But at the end of the day, you see all the money you made."

But that's not a year-round guarantee.

"You make the same as everyone else," West said. "It's just condensed into a few months."

Last summer was a nonstop hustle for Bluecoast Rehoboth server Eric Overman.

The Arizona transplant worked in the wine distribution industry for 27 years before deciding on a whim to move to Lewes, where his brother lives. That was four years ago. 

"You could sock your money away because you know the winter’s going to come and you’re going to have to live off the fat that you’ve saved up," Overman said.

He plugs the tips he makes into his smartphone's calendar, which tracks how much he's making.

Overman, who is in his 50s, was working nine shifts every week in the summer. Now he's down to five.

"I have to make a certain amount every night," he said. "And if I don't, I have to pick up a shift."

In coastal Sussex County, housing comes at a premium, and Overman has no plans to move out from the Lewes en suite he rents from his brother.

Unless he goes inland — further from his work — the Rehoboth server says he's looking at up to $1,200 a month, which he can't afford without a roommate.

"I would like to have my own place, but I can’t afford it," he said. "I can’t afford to live on my own."

More Ocean City restaurants open in winter

In Ocean City, about half of the Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association's restaurant members stay open in the winter months, according to Jones.

Bolter keeps both his Ocean City restaurants running, drawing more locals after the waves of tourists depart during the cooler months. Bolton's original Annapolis locations have a busy cycle, too, but it's flipped: With the capital's legislative session, the Red Red Wine in Annapolis is bustling now but tends to slow down in the summer.

"We’re busy year-round," Bolter said. "It just depends on which city you’re in."

More:Ocean City extends season but strives to be year-round

With a long-standing history of seasonal employment, the shift to year-round has left a gap in the number of available workers.

Sussex County saw a nearly 14 percent increase in population between 2010 and 2015. While Worcester County’s population only grew by about 2 percent in the same period, with Ocean City dropping nearly 2 percent in residents.

Seasoned employees know which restaurants have good management and which schedule fewer servers during a shift, leaving the opportunity for more tips. But this demand requires a higher skill set. 

On the flip side, West, the Rehoboth server, says summer is tough for owners with regard to quality workers. While they get an influx of employees, not everyone wants to "actually work" the long hours required.

During peak season, a server can work every day of the week, sometimes up to 14 hours a day, rushing to get orders in, drop off drinks and keep guests happy with little to no time for a break.

The temporary flood of workers along with the seasonality is something Bolter knew when he invested in his Ocean City restaurants.

"It’s a mindset," Bolter said. "There are those that want to only be open for the season and that’s their mindset. Whether it’s slower some weeks than others — that’s not what we focus on. We focus on the bigger picture."

Restaurant groups changing the industry

When SoDel Concepts President Scott Kammerer first came to Rehoboth Beach in 1994, he did what a lot of college kids do when they flock to resort towns in the summer: He worked at a restaurant. 

Kammerer knew he wanted to run a restaurant group since he was a teenager. While he washed dishes, he was learning the ins and outs of the business.

After graduating college, he and his wife came back to the beach town, a young son in tow, and Kammerer picked up serving. He worked through the summer, sometimes juggling three or four jobs.

"It wasn’t your normal 9-5, 40 hours a week," Kammerer said. "It was never that way for me."

Back then, the hospitality industry could squeeze out revenue for about four months.

"Now it’s kind of flipped, and I would say it’s busy for eight months and it’s quiet for four months," Kammerer said of the industry in coastal Sussex County.

The prime revenue season has been stretching out for the past 25 years, he added.

Kammerer's goal? Stabilize the industry for his employees by upping the skill level required and making it clear to SoDel workers that they are valued.

"We’re trying to redefine the culture and the professionalism that’s involved in what we’re doing," he said.

Offseason specials draw locals to hot spots, and restaurant groups like SoDel Concepts are changing the industry from just a summer hostess gig to a career path with room for professional growth.

"If you make your own 401(k), if you know what months are slow and budget for it, you're fine," West said.

Serving runs deep in West's family. Her mother was a server, and her great-grandmother worked at the Dinner Bell Inn, where the Bellmoor Inn currently sits.

"My grandmother joked that when she got a 25 cent tip, it was a good day." West said, laughing. "When I explain it to her now, she's like, 'Wow, you're really rolling in it.' "

Reach reporter Taylor Goebel at tgoebel@delmarvanow.com or on Twitter @TaylorGoebel.