Life’s a b- … Hang on a second. Apparently that joke has been made way too many times and we’ll get fined if we write it. C’est la vie.
Summer is fast approaching. That means it’s time to get excited about some fun in the sun. And there are a whole host of new delights on the menu, so to speak, at our favorite beaches for 2023.
So get ready to soak up the rays, feel the sand between your toes, and make some memories in these coastal havens. Here’s what’s new at the Ocean City, Bethany, and Rehoboth beaches this year.
Ocean City
New openings this year include The Other One Brewing, which started welcoming visitors in March. The brewery calls itself “a place for everyone” with a variety of beer styles, eight taps, plus beer-inspired cocktails and snacks. There’s a taproom bar and a dog-friendly outdoor courtyard at 2305 Philadelphia Ave.
Several of Ocean City’s favorite restaurants got a makeover for the 2023 season. New remodels and expansions include the following:
- Bull on the Beach added a new boardwalk location for 2023, giving them two: 2nd Street Ocean City, at 208 Atlantic Ave., and 94th Street Ocean City, at 17 94th St.
- Embers redid its restaurant and its game room. 2305 Philadelphia Ave.
- The award-winning Longboard Café has been spruced up for 2023. 6701 Coastal Hwy.
There’s more than just good brews and grub this year. The Ashore Resort & Beach Club has opened its doors after a major renovation. Formerly known as known as the Ocean City Fontainebleau Resort, the project saw 250 guest rooms and suites, including 15 multi-room suites, renovated for the 2023 season.
There are also five new food and drink concepts being offered, according to a news release:
- Destination restaurant, Tide Room, serving elevated but approachable American fare and fresh seafood made famous on the Eastern Shore, offering three meals per day
- Beachside bar, Wahoo Beach Bar, featuring live music, light food and a signature cocktail menu — right on the sand
- Newly repositioned 3,000-square-foot deck and event space, The Shore Deck, overlooking the Dunes of Ocean City and Atlantic Ocean beyond, serving small bites and beverages
- Indoor tavern, The Taproom, serving local brews and cocktails accompanied by sports entertainment
- Signature café, Ashore Things, serving morning coffee and light grab-and-go bites and sundries
All the sights and sounds of Ocean City are too numerous to list here, but there is something for everyone.
Bethany Beach
Bethany Beach’s Summer Concert series has been revamped. It’s now the Seaside Concert Series, and it runs through to October, with 13 shows added.
Summer shows are at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays in June, July, and August. The music continues into September and October, when the concerts will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Rob Benton and his brand of acoustic rock kicks off the series June 1. At the end of the month is the popular Dan & Dan Band. Details and weather updates will be posted online at townofbethanybeach.com.
Bethany Beach has you covered on the movie front, too. Its summer movie picks roll on Mondays at dusk on the beach off Garfield Parkway from June 5 to August 21. (Fall movies are slated for Fridays at the Bandstand on September 15, 22, and 29.)
Memorial Day weekend is Bethany Beach’s Poseidon Festival. Starting with a 7:30 p.m. concert on Friday from Jimmy Buffett tribute band Parrotbeach, events run through the weekend and conclude with a Memorial Day service on Monday.
Bethany’s Seaside Craft show kicks off Saturday, June 3, and runs from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This juried show will feature more than 100 vendors in downtown Bethany.
The big one is the July 4 bash, of course. There will be a parade at noon, a concert at 7:30 p.m., and then a whole lot of fireworks.
Speaking of fires, be aware that Bonfires on the Beach (off Campbell Place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., weather permitting) have been postponed until October.
There’s more online at Bethany Beach’s activities website.
Rehoboth Beach
The biggest new change for Rehoboth Beach in 2023 is the beach itself. The Army Corps of Engineers has been hard at work on a beach nourishment project along the Delaware coast that includes Rehoboth, Dewey, Fenwick, South Bethany, and Bethany beaches.
For Rehoboth, work was completed May 18 (work then started on Dewey). That means the beach is wider this year. More than 250,000 cubic yards of sand have been added from Deauville Beach at the north end to Delaware Avenue, according to the Lynne Coan, the city’s communications manager.
But that’s not all. There is a whole slew of business changes in Rehoboth and Dewey.
Here’s the list, and what’s new and what’s changed, courtesy of the Rehoboth and Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Among the highlights are a new hotel and new restaurants.
There is a new Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham in the Rehoboth Beach Tanger Outlets Seaside shopping complex on Tanger Boulevard. Beacon Hospitality, which owns other Microtel properties in southern Delaware, also plans to build the new Fassett House Inn & Spa in the Bayside Community in Fenwick Island. Bayside is the community where the Freeman Arts Pavilion is located.
Crushers, a restaurant featuring crabs and crushes, opened on Rehoboth Avenue where Port 251 had been.
On 1st Street, you won’t find Nicola Pizza. Instead, Downtown Blues, a barbecue and ribs place by the folks who run Bethany Blues and The Starboard, will be there. Nicola Pizza moved to Lewes last year.
Featured photo courtesy VisitDelaware.com
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