Page 49 - Delaware 222 - 2025

FOOD & BEVERAGE
Matthew Kern
One Coastal
When it comes to the carefully crafted
menus at One Coastal Restaurant
in Fenwick Island, Matthew Kern’s
focus on seasonal ingredients and
mid-Atlantic goods is key. As owner
and executive chef, Kern believes in
patience and trusting his gut. Kern, a
James Beard-nominated chef and avid
fi sherman who earned local restaurant
fame at Heirloom in Lewes, purchased
the farm-to-table restaurant in 2022
with his wife, Karen. Kern previously
worked at Rehoboth Beach’s Salt Air
and the Blue Moon. In 2024, Kern made
history when he was named Delaware’s
fi rst and only James Beard semi-fi nalist.
BOARDS:
Q&A:
Martuscelli Restaurant Group President
Gianmarco Martuscelli oversees
day-to-day operations at the group’s
four concepts in Delaware and nearby
Maryland, including longtime favorites
La Casa Pasta and Klondike Kate’s. Th e
Salesianum High School graduate began
his restaurant career as a dishwasher
and has worked his way up, now serving
as chairman of the Delaware Restaurant
Association and vice president of
the Chesapeake City, Md., Chamber
of Commerce. He and his father,
Giuseppe, opened the Chesapeake Inn
in Chesapeake City in 1996.
Gianmarco
Martuscelli
Martuscelli Restaurant
Group
ALMA MATER:
BOARDS:
Q&A:
Carrie Leishman
Delaware Restaurant
Foundation
For 24 years, Carrie Leishman has
served as president and CEO of the
Delaware Restaurant Association,
advocating for more than 2,000
restaurants and their more than
50,000 employees — who together
account for Delaware’s largest small
business employer and over $2.6 billion
in annual sales. During her tenure,
she’s overseen the inception of the
Delaware Restaurant Foundation, the
philanthropic arm of the association
responsible for attracting, empowering
and advancing the local industry’s
workforce. Leishman also is an adjunct
professor at the University of Delaware’s
hospitality management program.
ALMA MATER:
BOARD:
Q&A:
Michael Meoli
The Meoli Companies
Not only is he the owner and operator
of more than two dozen McDonald’s
franchises in Delaware and Maryland,
but Meoli Companies President
Michael Meoli is also a co-owner of
the Tru by Hilton in Ocean City, Md.,
and SpringHill Suites by Marriott
in Frederica. Th e Rehoboth Beach
resident is a second-generation
McDonald’s owner/operator who
dove into the business full-time after
college. Meoli is also heavily involved in
his community, serving on a number
of local and regional community and
professional organization boards.
Meoli and his team are planning to
open a new McDonalds in Milton and
looks to expand into the Virginian
market in the months to come.
ALMA MATER:
BOARDS:
Q&A:
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DelawareBusinessTimes.com | DELAWARE 222 47
DelawareBusinessTimes.com | DELAWARE 222 47