Page 47 - Delaware 222 - 2025

FOOD & BEVERAGE
Marc Ashby
Ashby Hospitality Group
As president and co-owner of Ashby
Hospitality Group in Newark, Marc
Ashby oversees multiple McGlynns Pub
locations as well as the historic Deer
Park Tavern in downtown Newark and
Cantwell’s Tavern in Odessa. He and
his wife, Sandy, founded the company
over 35 years ago as a single restaurant.
Since then, the business has grown
to one that employs over 200 people
at operations throughout Delaware
as well as nearby Pennsylvania and
Maryland, in part thanks to the
catering off ered by Th e Roaming
Raven food truck. In 2024, the Ashby
Hospitality Group added Stanley’s
Tavern in the Brandywine Hundred to
its portfolio.
Antimo DiMeo
Bardea Group
As an executive chef and partner with
the Bardea Group, Antimo DiMeo
is tasked with handling all kitchen
operations and menu development
at one of the hottest restaurant
groups in the state. Th at includes
showcasing a variety of fresh and
modern techniques and fl avors for
Italian dishes, steaks and lighter fare
at the group’s four Wilmington-based
concepts led by Bardea Food & Drink
and Bardea Steak. DiMeo’s creativity
has earned acclaim, picking up two
James Beard award nominations in the
last fi ve years, a rarity for a Delaware
chef. Under his leadership, Bardea
is planning two new concepts for
downtown Wilmington, including Casa
Nonna in the DE.CO Food Hall.
ALMA MATER:
Q&A:
As the head of Delaware’s most
successful brewery, the story of Sam
Calagione’s rise in the local business
world has been well-told since he
founded the off -centered Dogfi sh
Head Craft Brewery company with his
wife, Mariah, in 1995. He’s still actively
involved in the doings of Dogfi sh,
which is now a Boston Beer Company
brand, most notably by making creative
recipes for all kinds of beverages with
his thousands of coworkers. Th eir
brand has expanded to major brick-
and-mortar presences in Rehoboth
Beach and Milton.
Sam Calagione
Dogfish Head
Craft Brewery
ALMA MATER:
BOARDS:
Q&A:
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant founder
and chairman Kevin Finn was ahead of
the craft brewery trend when he and
his partners opened their fi rst location
on Main Street in Newark in 1996.
Making award-winning small-batch
beers with stills visible to customers,
the brand has developed dedicated
fans and grown to 21 restaurants
in multiple states, including three
in Delaware. Finn now works with
the board of directors on long-term
strategy and the company’s real estate
transactions, with Iron Hill now
increasingly growing in the South.
Kevin Finn
Iron Hill Brewery
& Restaurant
ALMA MATERS:
BOARDS:
Q&A:
DelawareBusinessTimes.com | DELAWARE 222 45
DelawareBusinessTimes.com | DELAWARE 222 45
DelawareBusinessTimes.com | DELAWARE 222 45