REHOBOTH BEACH — After rapidly growing its restaurant portfolio in Sussex County, SoDel Concepts has already outgrown its planned new headquarters along Route 1 and is now looking for a larger office space.
SoDel Concepts listed the commercial space at 20968 Coastal Highway earlier this month for sale at $1.39 million, or $634 per square foot. The hospitality group first bought the building last January, intending to relocate staff from its downtown Rehoboth office for more parking.
A 5,000-square-foot office space and 19 parking spaces were approved by Sussex County officials in late 2021.
SoDel Concepts President Scott Kammerer confirmed the company had “already outgrown the space,” but had not ruled on still using the property on Route 1.
“We are now looking for a larger piece of land that is centrally located on coastal Delaware that can accommodate a 15,000-square-foot building with more parking,” Kammerer told the Delaware Business Times. “We are finding this to be a difficult task, so we are not ruling out having three offices, a northern office, a central office, and a southern office.”
If SoDel Concepts “must” go forward with three offices, Kammerer said the renovation project for the Route 1 project will move forward as planned — if the building does not sell in the meantime.
In the past year, SoDel Concepts has quickly grown with a new Matt’s Fish Camp in Fenwick Island as well as breaking ground on the Ocean View Brewing Company project. The hospitality group ended 2021 with acquiring beach darling Surf Bagel in Lewes, and Kammerer intends to elevate the brand into a statewide chain.
SoDel Concepts employs around 1,800 people at its 13 restaurants in Sussex County at the end of 2021.
The company has been headquartered out of 220 Rehoboth Ave., just blocks away from Lupo Italian Kitchen, for roughly six years.
SoDel used one office space for up to 10 full-time employees, but in 2019 the company branched out to a second office on the back of 220 Rehoboth Ave. for human resources and other departments. The new office will allow all departments to work in one location, and space for others to come in when needed.
The building at 20968 Coastal Highway was home to John Lorraine European Hair for 40 years of business before owners John and Lorraine Ridley sold the property to SoDel Concepts.
