Who Should Consider Semaglutide for Weight Loss?

An owner of the popular Snuff Mill Restaurant and Wine Bar near Fairfax is opening a restaurant in Wilmington off Pennsylvania Avenue.

Bill Irvin said The Brandywine Restaurant at 2000 Pennsylvania Ave., which he plans to open on Tuesday, Nov. 14, will offer “New American Classic Cuisine."

The 1,700-square-foot restaurant is located on the bottom floor of the 2000 Penn building, which includes luxury apartments and the Santa Fe Mexican Grill. Some may remember the location as the previous site of Michael Christoper Hair Salon, which has moved to Greenville.

The restaurant will feature contemporary twists on traditional dishes such as oysters Rockefeller with Vietnamese fish sauce, and Parker House rolls with everything bagel seasoning. The menu also has chilled raw oysters; crab Louie, $24; jumbo lump crab cakes, $26; roasted chicken breast; $36; Steak Diane, $52; Salmon en Croute, $39; and Beef Wellington for two carved tableside, $138.

According to the website, "the menu reads like a greatest hits of dishes your grandparents probably loved."

"I named the restaurant The Brandywine because first and foremost I love hiking through the woods and along the creek. It takes you to a whole Otherworld that hasn’t changed in many years. Well, they did pave some of the trails," Irvin told Delaware Online/The News Journal.

"When I first moved to Wilmington, searching for a fabulous dining experience was a bit of a challenge. We were blessed with new restaurants that have been built in the last five years, but what was missing was a special place that could take you back to the '50s and '60s classic elegance."

Irvin said he remembers his grandmother taking him to dine at "the great department stores like Hutzler’s in Towson, Maryland, or Barneys in New York that would be filled at lunches with glamorous people and the kindest servers that made you feel like it could be your second home.

"Grandmothers like to pamper their grandchildren and then send them home and that’s exactly the experiences I received with her," he said.

The Brandywine's front and back of the house team has a deep pool of knowledge and has worked at restaurants in Philadelphia; New York; New Orleans; and local Wilmington establishments including Bardea Food & Drink, the former Domain Hudson and the Columbus Inn.

Irvin, a Wilmington resident who was the former president of Phillips Seafood Restaurants and has run more than a dozen restaurants in the Baltimore area, and chef/partner Robert Lhulier opened Snuff Mill Restaurant, Butchery & Wine Bar at 1601 Concord Pike in the Independence Mall Shopping Center near Fairfax in the summer of 2021.

Snuff Mill quickly gained a loyal customer base, was named Restaurant of the Year in 2022 by the Delaware Restaurant Association and its reservation book fills quickly.

Lhulier, a veteran chef of the Delaware dining scene who has worked at former Deep Blue Bar & Grill, Domaine Hudson, Union City Grille and the private University & Whist Club in Wilmington, and operated his own restaurant, The Chef's Table at the David Finney Inn in Old New Castle, is serving as a consultant at The Brandywine Restaurant.

Irvin said Lhulier will work closely with The Brandywine Restaurant's Chef de Cuisine Andrew Cini.

“Andrew is an exceptional chef with a skill for developing flavors,” Lhulier said in a prepared statement. “He knows the clientele and the area, which is a tremendous advantage.”

Cini started his food industry in high school as a host at the old Soffritto Italian Grill in Newark. He later worked at Columbus Inn and Domaine Hudson and was sous chef at Stock and Res Ipsa Café, celebrated Philadelphia restaurants run by Tyler Akin, chef/partner of Le Cavalier restaurant at Wilmington's Hotel du Pont.

Cini also worked at Mezze by Del Fresco in the Market at Liberty Place, a food hall in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, as well as Terrain in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.

Glennon Travis, the general manager, studied management at Tulane University in New Orleans and helped develop a luxury hotel and restaurant in the Catskill Mountains. He also led hospitality operations at Soho House New York and participated in house openings in the United States and Europe.

Restaurant Beverage Director Chris Unruh most recent stint in Wilmington was at Bardea Food & Drink. The Kennett Square native, whose parents were in the hospitality business, has more than 35 years of experience, including positions at George Perrier’s Le Bec Fin and the renowned Park Avenue Café in New York. He is a graduate of The Wine School of Philadelphia and holds beginner and intermediate sommelier certifications.

Reservations are highly recommended. Visit The Brandywine Restaurant's Facebook page for updates or follow @thebrandywinede on Instagram.

Contact Patricia Talorico at [email protected] or 302-324-2861 and follow her on X (Twitter) @pattytalorico Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.

Caesar Rodney rode through Brandywine Hundred on his way to Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence. Five years later, George Washington and the Count de Rochambeau led their army of American and French troops south on the same roads en route to defeating the British army at Yorktown, Virginia, ending the Revolutionary War.

Numerous structures significant to the area’s history – including the Weldin House, Rockwood Museum, the Darley House, the Blue Ball Barn – dot its landscape. And a president of the United States even grew up in Brandywine Hundred.

But, until this year, the area bounded by the Brandywine, the Wilmington city line, the Delaware River and the 12-mile arc that separates Delaware from Pennsylvania did not have its own historical society.

“I was born and raised in Brandywine Hundred, and I kept meeting people with stories in their heads, and it dawned on me that we didn’t have a historical society,” says New Castle County Councilwoman Dee Durham.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying.

Gene Castellano of Sharpley, who has done research on his community and others in the area, recalls an effort in 1998, when the Talleyville Grange building was moved from the median strip in the center of Concord Pike to a site slightly to the east across from the Talleyville Fire Company.

The hope at the time was to make part of the building home to a historical society, according to James Hanby, a local historian whose ancestors in Brandywine Hundred include members of the Hanby and Forwood families. Hanby, who helped arrange the move, said the associated costs were so great that there weren’t any funds left to develop a historical society in the building and the effort came to a halt.

The idea remained dormant for two decades. After Durham was elected to the county council in 2018, representing western Brandywine Hundred, one of her first initiatives was to create a working group to develop ideas to spur preservation of historic properties throughout the county. The Brandywine Hundred Historical Society spun off from that initiative, said Denis Dowse, a retired hotel manager who is serving as the first president of the new organization.

“Dee Durham, she’s our inspiration,” Dowse said. “If it weren’t for her and John Cartier [the councilman representing eastern Brandywine Hundred], we wouldn’t exist.”

Getting started

In the past year or so, the society has had an informal launch, setting up a Facebook page, using Zoom for virtual presentations and stashing them on a YouTube channel.

In March, the society completed the process for achieving recognition as a nonprofit organization. It has established a dues structure ($30 for an individual, $60 for a family) to start building a treasury. The Facebook page now has more than 600 followers, and the society has begun holding monthly in-person meetings and presentations. The Newark Union Church, a recently restored historic site off Baynard Boulevard in central Brandywine Hundred, is currently hosting those meetings.

The paths of the historical society and Newark Union are intertwined.

This mission of the historical society is to “collect, preserve and share the rich history of Brandywine Hundred,” and the Newark Union group is already doing some of that – starting a collection of 18th- and 19th-century artifacts to display in the church and researching the histories of notable Brandywine Hundred residents buried in the adjoining cemetery. Also, Bob Daly, president of the Newark Union Corporation, caretaker of the church and cemetery, is vice president of the historical society.

“[The society’s] goal is to save, preserve and talk about Brandywine Hundred history. This place [Newark Union] is part of it,” Daly said. “We don’t know exactly where we’re going to cross.”

Research is underway

For example, Marian Fischer, the society’s cochair for research, says the group is interested in learning more about some of the 18th- and 19th-century Brandywine Hundred residents who are buried in the area’s cemeteries – finding out where they lived and constructing their family trees.

Some of that work has already begun.

“There are more houses remaining than you might think,” Daly said. “We’ve found 10 to 12 associated with people buried at Newark Union.”

When these homes are identified, Fischer said, society members could inform their owners about historic overlay zoning, a county designation that increases the likelihood that the property will be preserved in future years.

Identifying and researching historic sites throughout the area is another area of interest for the society, said Cathy Andriatis, its communications chair.

Castellano, who is currently researching the history of communities between Concord Pike and the Brandywine for the Woodlawn Trustees, the organization largely responsible for their development, believes there’s a thirst for such information. “Given that what had been dairy farms have become neighborhoods, a lot of people are more interested in what had been there before,” he said.

“It would be good to build a repository of things related to the land, to its previous owners,” he said.

Castellano’s idea meshes with Andriatis’s two-phase communications plan – starting by posting smaller informational items on the society’s Facebook page, then building a website with larger pieces of content on the area’s history.

Regular programming

For now, the society is concentrating on building a following through its monthly meetings, usually held at Newark Union Church. Those meetings are typically drawing 30 to 40 people, Daly and Dowse said, and they’re encouraged that different faces are turning out for each session.

Presentations have covered a wide range of topics, including Delaware’s role in the Revolutionary War, travel on Philadelphia Pike and native plant life. April’s presentation, by Karlis Adamsons, focused on the history and impact of bicycles.

On May 10, Ryan Grover, director of the Rockwood Museum and Park, will discuss the history of the mansion and its grounds. On June 14, journalist Nancy E. Lynch, author of “Vietnam Mailbag: Voices From the War,1968-1972,” will discuss the service of Brandywine Hundred residents during the Vietnam War.

Also in the works is a talk by Brandywine Hundred historian Terry Wright on a June 1909 trolley crash in Hillcrest, just east of Philadelphia Pike, that resulted in more than two dozen injuries. The society is considering having Wright give his presentation at the scene of the crash, near the intersection of Marsh Road and Hillcrest Avenue.

(Check the society’s Facebook page for details on scheduling of these and other programs.)

The to-do list

As a new organization, the society has plenty of items to consider for its agenda.

One task, Dowse said, could be to monitor the meetings of New Castle County’s Historic Review Board, which has oversight over modifications to properties that might have historic significance and from time to time must consider cases of “demolition by neglect,” when a property owner or developer lets a structure deteriorate until it’s practically beyond repair and then seeks permission to tear it down so the land can be put to a potentially more profitable use.

Collecting items for display in a museum-like setting is also possible, Daly said. In gathering items for display at Newark Union, he said he’s amazed at what residents of older homes find in their attics. “The stuff is out there, and people will want to come and see it,” he said.

A long-term need for the society would be a permanent home. Newark Union is fine for meetings – for up to 50 people – but the displays the church group has assembled would leave little room for any substantial collection of Brandywine Hundred artifacts.

“As far as I’m concerned, the society is the guest of Newark Union,” Dowse said.

“In my dream for the future, we’ll likely outgrow that space,” Durham added.

One possibility that Hanby and others have mentioned is the 225-year-old Weldin House, on Philadelphia Pike adjacent to its intersection with Lore Avenue and Marsh Road. The state owns the building and has been renovating it for several years but has not announced plans for its future use.

For now, Dowse hopes to take advantage of the enthusiasm generated through the launch of a new organization. “We have to channel our energy into our research, our preservation of artifacts,” he said.

And, Durham added, “recording those stories that are stuck in people's brains.”

Why have a historical society

“What’s past is prologue,” spoken by Shakespeare’s Antonio in The Tempest, provides a concise summation of the relevance of historical societies.

Terry Wright, president of the Eastern Brandywine Hundred Coordinating Council, a group devoted to local history and community development, offers a similar, albeit longer, explanation: “You have to know your heritage in order to know where your community wants to go.”

The Brandywine Hundred Historical Society is the newest of about 25 such organizations in Delaware – a rough count offered by Mike DiPaolo, who spent 19 years as executive director of the Lewes Historical Society. And DiPaolo, who observed an economic resurgence in Lewes coinciding with an expansion of the society’s offerings, believes an appreciation of local history “brings real dollar value to a community.”

“People are realizing that history isn’t just George Washington and Abraham Lincoln,” said Wright, who is also a member of the Delaware Heritage Commission. “Local history is having a huge renaissance, and it’s not just here.”

Historic societies can have a role in researching hyperlocal historic events and promoting their anniversaries, DiPaolo said. “Every community has its own [anniversaries] and you can’t rely on a big state organization to be aware of every last corner of the state. Having a local organization is really important. It’s community pride.”

RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ – May 16, 2023 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., today named the three National Winners of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, the nationwide competition for public middle and high school students that awards $2 million annually in prizes to teams demonstrating how they use STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills to create positive change and address pressing issues in their local communities. The winning schools from Delaware, Florida, and Texas – selected from 10 National Finalists – each receive $100,00 in Samsung technology and school supplies, while the remaining seven Finalists receive $50,000 per school.

The three National Winners – Brandywine High School (Wilmington, DE); Strawberry Crest High School (Dover, FL); and Porter High School (Porter, TX) – were announced by Samsung Electronics America President and CEO KS Choi at today’s celebration in Washington D.C. U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia and U.S. Senator Todd Young of Indiana also attended the event as they were honored with STEM Champion Awards from Samsung in recognition of their efforts to advance STEM pursuits in their states.

Joining Choi and the Senators to honor the winners and all competitors were speakers including Mark Lippert, Samsung Electronics North America Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, and, past Solve for Tomorrow winners, Paula Labbe, Robotics Teacher at Great Bridge High School, Virginia, and Daniella Gonzales, a student at Princeton High School, New Jersey.

“Samsung Solve for Tomorrow gives us a front-row view of the tremendous potential of this upcoming generation of STEM thinkers and do-ers,” said Ann Woo, Senior Director, Corporate Citizenship, at Samsung Electronics America. “Their ingenuity in developing creative solutions to community problems and their commitment to bringing projects from idea to reality is truly inspiring. We invite everyone to join us in celebrating these young STEM champions, and all the teams that have participated in Solve for Tomorrow. They represent the vibrant future of the STEM community that is so vital to tech companies like ours.”

All 10 Finalists pitched their STEM solutions yesterday at the Samsung Solutions Center in Washington to a panel of judges that included another Solve for Tomorrow alumni teacher, Harry Preston of Baltimore’s Green Street Academy. The Finalists and guests were welcomed by speakers including Alix Guerrier, CEO of DonorsChoose, a nonprofit crowdfunding platform for educators and a Solve for Tomorrow partner. Video of the students’ presentations can be viewed here.

The three grand prize-winning STEM solutions are:

Moreover, three additional honors were awarded at the event:

The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Winners and Finalists represented the very best of more than one thousand competition entrants who worked on their projects across the school year, advancing through multiple levels of the competition. Across award categories, including State Finalists and State Winners, more than $2 million* in prize packages were distributed this year. Since Solve for Tomorrow’s inception in 2010, Samsung has donated $24 million in tech and classroom supplies to 2,800+ schools across every state in the U.S.

The Friendly’s restaurant in the Brandywine Town Center is closing, James Phipps’ post in the Take Back Claymont group on Facebook read, and the first two responses were simply “Wow” and “Whatttttt.”

The news was confirmed an hour later by Betty Baudoux. “I stopped there tonight … [and wished] the hostess n waitress well. They told me n a friend they were closing due to staffing problems. Nobody wants to work. Can you believe it. What’s wrong with this country?”

The restaurant’s last day, according to the thread, is Friday, June 16.

DelawareLive.com called the restaurant and did not receive a call back. Management of the shopping center referred queries to the restaurant. An email to the public relations agency listed on Friendly’s corporate site bounced back. An email to JAMCO Interests – the private equity group that is the majority owner of Amici Partners Group, which owns Friendly’s – was not immediately returned.

“Friendly’s has gone through a number of ups and downs throughout the chain’s lengthy history, from lawsuits to family feuds and two bankruptcy filings,” Insider reported in 2020. “At the chain’s height, there were 850 Friendly’s restaurants in the United States. Now, there are just 138 restaurants remaining.”

Now there are even fewer. A map on FriendlysRestaurants.com lists only about 30, all in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The map lists locations in the Dove Run Shopping Center near Middletown, Lantana Square near Hockessin and Peoples Plaza near Glasgow. There used to be Friendly’s locations on Kirkwood Highway and in Concord Mall. The Friendly’s on Route 896 in Newark closed early in 2022, delawareonline.com reported.

The closure is surprising news for the Brandywine Town Center, which has generated intense interest over the last few months over redevelopment plans.

OF INTEREST Abandoned Burger King found in Concord Mall sends Internet wild

The center draws crowds to some stores, like Target and Lowe’s, but less to smaller tenants. The latest plans call for adding seven buildings, housing seven or more tenants, around a smaller pond. The community building and the playground will move, among other changes.

Complaints about safety at Springer Middle School at Monday night’s Brandywine School District meeting devolved into a shouting match between a board member and a parent.

About 12 parents and several students told the Brandywine School District the same thing:

They’re concerned and outraged about the lack of action after bullying, fights and other events have compromised student and staff safety.

Most of the speakers referred to an incident that involved Springer Middle School Principal Tracy Woodson.

It was unclear exactly what occurred, but parents at the meeting said Woodson was trying to break up an altercation between students and ended up on the ground in need of an ambulance and out of work for a week.

Efforts were unsuccessful Tuesday to get more details about the incident from the district.

MORE IN EDUCATION: Operation Hair Care: Cuts, training for homeless students

The complaints escalated to the point that board President John Skrobot III threatened to kick people out of the meeting.

“There is a civility clause that says that if you’re going to come and be in attendance, you are going to have to act civilly, and we will pursue that, we will pursue that,” he said.

What did parents say?

Dylan Thompson, a parent, said it’s embarrassing that parents have to come to the school board meeting every month to talk about the same issue.

“The smug look you had Superintendent Hohler when she [another parent] talked about safety, half the board is not even concerned and not even looking,” Thompson said. “There’s no care. What are we going to do to make these kids feel safe?”

He accused the board members of only caring about shaking hands and kissing babies while not doing what they were elected to do – keep staff and students safe.

Board member Ralph Ackerman then began to shout.

“You are wrong, excuse me! We certainly do care,” he said. “No, I’m not attacking the parents!”

Kevin McLaughlin, a parent, said Woodson is doing everything he can to keep Springer safe, but he needs help from the district.

“I came here in November by myself,” he said. “These people all finally came on their own tonight and thank god for that. I was one of one in November, and now I’m one of 50.”

Parents called for an audit of the student code of conduct, revised disciplinary measures and intervention programs that deal with bullies and others causing harm to staff and students.

“My son will not be in Springer next year so you can use that $17,240 or whatever the state gives you to maybe help another child or help these other kids out there,” he said, “but my son isn’t the only one Springer is losing in June.”

Warren Stradley said his child came home back in October after being bullied and pleaded with him and his wife to be homeschooled.

“The code of conduct is a huge problem and there’s so many loopholes in it,” he said. “A kid can do whatever he wants and get a slap on the wrist.”

Rebecca Campbell’s daughter also goes to Springer Middle School.

“She has been tearful coming home and before bed because she fears the violent atmosphere at Springer,” she said.

Campbell repeated some of the comments that she’s heard from other concerned Springer parents, which includes children getting their head bashed into the wall, students being afraid of the hallways and running to class to avoid bullies, and fears of sexual assault.

Another parent said some teachers allow vaping in class.

The board agreed to evaluate the code of conduct and encouraged the parents to email them with suggestions on changes.

There were also complaints about safety, water damage, mold and mice at Mount Pleasant High School.

There’s even a puddle in the band room that is dubbed “the forever puddle,” multiple students said, since it’s been there for as long as they can remember.

Skrobot agreed to talk to the facilities department and find solutions.