Zogg’s Restaurant Group to lease second Nicola spot
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Come this fall, the 71 Rehoboth Ave. Nicola Pizza will be leased out to Zogg’s Restaurant Group. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING
REHOBOTH BEACH — Both downtown Nicola Pizzas will have new tenants in the near future, as the owner reached an agreement with the Zogg’s Restaurant Group to move into 71 Rehoboth Ave.
Dr. Michael Trahos, a representative of the Trahos family that owns several blocks of downtown Rehoboth Beach, confirmed to the Delaware Business Times that brothers Chris and Anthony Jacona have signed a lease for a second location in downtown Rehoboth Beach. Terms of the lease were not disclosed. A tentative opening is scheduled for this fall.
“I felt that the Jacona brothers would be the perfect fit for 71 Rehoboth Avenue and I am so pleased that they will be the ones taking over such an iconic location in the ocean block of Rehoboth Beach,” Trahos said in an email.
This is also a natural continuation of a business relationship with the Trahos family, as Trahos leased the Jacona brothers their first restaurant spot at 1 Wilmington Ave. in 2000. Zogg’s Raw Bar & Grill, offering a Key West-inspired menu and atmosphere, has been in business since.
“Zogg’s has become a great success as both the local community and tourists have gravitated to the popular Key West-themed restaurant for the past 22 years,” Trahos added.
The Jacona brothers were not available for comment as of press time.
The Zogg’s Restaurant Group has grown to include the Sea Hogg food truck, the Wheelhouse near the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal in Lewes and Bushels Crab House & Seafood on Route 1.
The announcement comes nine weeks after Steve “Monty” Montgomery signed a lease to bring Bethany Blues to the former Nicola Pizza location at 8 N. First St. Opening for that restaurant is scheduled for Easter 2023.
Nicola Pizza, founded by Nick and Joan Caggilano, has been a Rehoboth Beach mainstay since it first opened on North First Street in 1971. Fifty years later, the pizzeria known for its famed “Nic-o-boli” strombolis expanded to a second location on 71 Rehoboth Ave. in 2010. But as the Caggilanos expanded their business interests with a Homes 2 Suites by Hilton off Route 1, the family opted to consolidate both restaurants to the same location.
Trahos, a cousin of Gus & Gus owner Constantine “Gus” Svolis, confirmed the family bought both Nicola Pizza locations in 2021 for a combined $4 million. Breaking the cost down, 71 Rehoboth Ave. was sold for $2.4 million and 8 N. First St. for $1.6 million.
The Trahos family own several properties on the Boardwalk, Rehoboth Avenue, Wilmington Avenue and 1st Street. That includes Starkey’s Ice Cream, Tidal Rave’s 5&10, The Funnel Cake Factory, The Hotel Carlton Building, Royal Market and Blackwall Hitch. But Trahos has made it clear that he was looking to continue Rehoboth Beach’s identity as a venue of restaurants that serve as local favorites and tourist draws.
