20
Quarter3
s po t l i gh t
residents, some of whom come in two to
three times a week, Clampitt says. The Blue
Moon, situated in the heart of downtown
Rehoboth, experiences heavy tourism in the
season, but during the rest of the year, the
locals “keep us going,” Gardner notes.
To survive winters, whether the restaurant
remains open or not, owners must keep an
eye on cost all year long. The 30-seat Po’
Boys is so small, Clampitt is just as likely
to take your order as he is to cook it, which
saves on labor.
Keeping the menu manageable is another
way to control costs. Consider Half Full
in Lewes, owned by Ian Crandall, Matt
DiSabatino and their wives, all of whom
also own Kindle together. Half Full was
launched in a small building with a tiny
kitchen. Since Crandall’s wife, Joanna
Goode, is a baker with a killer pizza dough
recipe, Half Full started with just beer, wine,
desserts and pizzas. A good deal of the
business is takeout.
The eatery, which is adding salads and a few
other dishes, recently moved a structure
built in the mid-to-late 1800s. Outfitting
the space required extensive renovations
to comply with the Americans With
Disabilities Act and to raise the ceiling.
Meg Hudson, owner of Lula Brazil, knows
all about construction. She took possession
of the old Cloud 9 in December 2013
and spent the winter doing renovations.
The cold weather put contractors behind
schedule. Then she waited for the fire
marshal’s approval — and waited. She
resubmitted drawings upon request, then
waited another three to four weeks. The
delays cost her time and, during the season,
money. She’d planned to open Lula Brazil
before Memorial Day 2014. She opened
in August.
In a good year, restaurant profit margins
average around 5 percent, says Leishman
of the Delaware Restaurant Association.
“Labor and food costs are so high,” she
explains. “It’s very expensive to own
a restaurant.” That also includes rent,
equipment costs and maintenance,
insurance, utilities and marketing.
No matter how much money you think
you’ll need to survive the slowwinter season,
double it. Leishman says many restaurants
open without enough funds to cover all the
unexpected costs of the first year. And at
the beach, “if you get a few lean winters,
that can be a problem,” she notes.
Lula Brazil, which has a nightclub
component, did a decent business in the
first few months after it opened. Then
winter hit. There were nights when the
restaurant had no customers, Hudson said.
Fortunately, the dance club, which is less
expensive to run, helped bring in revenue
while would-be diners cocooned at home.
Hudson took a chance on a Brazilian
concept that focused more on seafood
and tropical ingredients, such as coconut
milk and yucca, than steak. “Once people
come in, they understand what it is,” she
says. “That’s the best marketing. They tell
their friends and bring friends. The food
is approachable.”
Finally, to even venture into the restaurant
business requires humility. “You have to
be prepared to do every position, from
janitorial to washing dishes,” says Hudson,
who describes her first year in the business
as a roller coaster ride with the highest
highs and lowest lows.
Now in his second year, Clampitt has no
regrets about his decision to buy Po’ Boys.
“To be honest, it’s probably the best thing
I’ve every done,” he says. “I mop the floor
ever other night and I say to myself, ‘Oh,
my God, I own a restaurant.’ It’s an
awesome feeling.”
This is an abridged version of a story that appeared in the August issue of Delaware Beach Life,
available by subscription at
