Wilmington's Riverfront gets large-scale beer garden

Constitution Yards, a new seasonal outdoor beer garden, is coming to Wilmington's Riverfront. And it just might be the city's first proper beer garden since Prohibition.

The 20,000-square-foot space is being built at Justison Landing Park along the Christina Riverwalk and could open sometime between June 15 and 22, depending on licensing approvals.

It comes at a time when interest in craft beer is booming – an interest that has not only spawned a new generation of in-state breweries, but now beer gardens as well.

The Riverfront Development Corp. is behind the beer garden, bringing in Connecticut-based Imian Partners, a real estate development and hospitality firm, to manage and operate it.

Imian has opened multiple beer gardens on the East Coast in recent years, including Manhattan's Local, located next to Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, and the Beer Garden at Shippan Landing in Stamford, Connecticut.

Constitution Yards sits where the seasonal Riverfront Rink ice skating rink opened in 2014, and it will offer everything from craft beer and frozen cocktails to barbecue and beer cheese fries.

The expansive gathering space, which hosted 2010's Bromberg's Big Noise in the Neighborhood music festival, will also offer backyard games like corn hole, whiffle ball and bocce.

"It'll be a fully family-friendly, dog-friendly concept," says Johnny Heil, a partner with Imian Partners. "And even though it's seasonal, it's a big buildout. It's not like we're just popping up an ice cream stand with some tables."

While the city's bar scene noticeably drops off during the summer with many leaving Wilmington for Delaware's beaches, some outdoor spots like Firestone Roasting House on the Riverfront draw large crowds with people looking for an open-air hangout.

With its location only feet from the Christina River filled with outdoor games and summer-themed drinks and food, Constitution Yards hopes to inject more summertime life into the area, which has gained everything from an IMAX movie theater to Riverwalk Mini Golf in recent years.

Part of the message is this: The Riverfront is not just a place to visit, but also to live. Buccini/Pollin Group, owners of the Justison Landing property and several nearby condominiums, hope additions like the new beer garden fuel interest.

Michael Hare, a BPG senior vice president, says Constitution Yards will bring Wilmington in line with other cities, many of which already boast beer gardens.

"We think this will put Wilmington on the map when it comes to fun things to do in the city, especially during the summer," he says.

The beer garden will close after Oktoberfest and the Riverfront Rink will return in the winter. The rink could possibly use some of the beer garden's amenities, such as the full-service kitchen which is being built on site, but no decisions have been made.

News Journal article spurred project

Imian was contacted about the project by the RDC last year after a News Journal article detailing eight fun things Wilmington needs. Beer gardens led the list. "That really spurred it," Heil says.

"With the state's growing love affair with craft beers and city officials pushing outdoor events, pop-up beer gardens would be a perfect fit," the August 2015 55 Hours cover story read.

The new beer garden does not yet have a license to start slinging suds. However, the RDC has applied for a bi-annual gathering license, which could be renewed every two years and is only available for not-for-profit entities, says Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Commissioner John Cordrey.

Cordrey and the Office of Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control is currently reviewing the application. Cordrey could not say when a decision would be made.

Part of the application review will involve investigating whether a nonprofit like the RDC can hold the license and allow a for-profit company like Imian Partners to operate the beer garden.

Heil says Imian is receiving a management fee from the RDC to run the spot with any profits made from Constitution Yards going to the RDC and back into the beer garden.

If the extended license is rejected, Constitution Yards could be forced to apply daily for a special gathering license.

With no state alcohol laws specifically written for the recently re-popularized beer gardens, state Rep. Helene Keeley, D-Wilmington South, introduced a bill earlier this year to allow beer gardens to operate for months at a time with an eye on the upcoming Constitution Yards.

The legislation was pulled after facing resistance from Delaware Restaurant Association, which objected, calling it too vague with concerns about oversight, security and staff training.

Keeley says she plans on re-introducing the bill in January, blaming the pushback on miscommunication about how the bill would work.

Delaware Restaurant Association President Carrie Leishman says while her group opposes the bill, it does not oppose the Riverfront beer garden: "Sure, bring it on."

'Elevated backyard barbecue'

The beer garden will have 10 beer draft lines, rotating craft brews that will include local favorites such as Delaware's Dogfish Head and Fordham & Dominion and Philadelphia's Yards and Victory. A chalkboard will list the beers available, allowing for moment-by-moment swaps when a keg empties. There will also be about 15 different varieties of canned beer available, including those from Milford's Mispillion River Brewing.

Four types of wine will be available on draft, along with organic Kelvin Slush Co. frozen cocktails and an array of spirits from Rehoboth beach-based Delaware Distilling Company.

In terms of food, there will be an on-site rotisserie for chicken, which will be offered alongside ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage sandwiches, along with items like cornbread and soft pretzels from the Chesapeake Pretzel Company.

"It's elevated backyard barbecue ," says Tim Lux, Constitution Yards general manager and Imian partner.

Constitution Yards will be open seven days a week with exact hours to be determined, but it is expected to open Monday through Thursday at 4 p.m. and close at 9 p.m., depending on business. It could open as early as 2 p.m. on Fridays for an early happy hour crowd and on Saturday and Sunday, it will open at noon.

The beer garden is expected to close by 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and will not be open until 1 a.m. like many of the bars and restaurants in the city. No live music is currently planned.

A beer garden in Wilmington may seem au courant, but it's actually a throwback.

Beer gardens in Wilmington date back to the 1800s when German immigrants introduced them to the area, according to John Medkeff Jr., a Delaware beer expert and author of "Brewing in Delaware" (Arcadia Publishing, $21.99).

Spots included Hartmann & Fehrenbach brewery's Rosendale Pleasure Grounds along the Brandywine River just south of Augustine Cut-Off, Wilmington brewer Joseph Stoeckle's biergarten on King Street and Bavarian Park at Fifth and DuPont streets.

"This is like the old-style beer gardens they used to have where there was more going on that just grabbing a bite and beer," he says. "They used to have pinball alleys with duck pin bowling and all sorts of stuff going on like bands, dancing and more."

But could a modern day beer garden work on the Riverfront? Medkeff thinks it could have a shot.

"It could work because of all the other things and cool amenities surrounding it, but it's going to be dependent on foot traffic and the residents who live nearby supporting it," he adds.

A 200-person beer garden near Chelsea Tavern was announced earlier this year, but the project's fate is unknown following the February death of Chelsea Tavern owner Scott Morrison. Joe Van Horn, the operational owner/general manager of Morrison's Delaware restaurants, did not return a call.

For Riverfront businesses like Veritas Wine & Craft Beer, Constitution Yards could have both positive and negative effects, says owner Venu Gaddamidi, whose store is on Justison Street across from the beer garden.

With parking tight around his store, he's concerned that some customers could be inconvenienced. At the same time, the beer garden could bring more people to the area – possibly for the first time.

And for a shop that doesn't advertise much, instead relying on word-of-mouth and pedestrian discovery, it could provide a boost, even though the introduction of the Riverfront Rink did not.

"It was a bunch of parents dropping kids. They are not dropping off little Timmy to go ice skating and then coming in here and having five scotches. For the beer garden, they are coming to drink, so it's a little more down my path," says Gaddamidi, who has been watching the ambitious project progress day-by-day from his front window. "It's coming along and it looks like they are investing for the long run."

Constitution Yards isn't the only new high-profile food-and-drink spot coming to the Riverfront.

Big Fish Restaurant Group, which recently brought the Trolley Square Oyster House to Wilmington, is opening a 6,000-square-foot Taco Grande Mexican Grille and Tequila Bar, according to an RDC-sponsored spread in June's Out & About magazine.

The restaurant, which would be located between Big Fish Grill on the Riverfront and Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, could open by late fall, the report stated.

Representatives for the Big Fish Restaurant Group would not comment on the project.

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).