Page 108 - Innovation Delaware 2018

HOSPITALITY/TOURISM
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Dogfish Head
Dogfish Head the Brewery of the Year, and in 2017, the James Beard Foundation honored Founder SAM CALAGIONE with the award for Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional.
The “off-centered” brand has extended its business model beyond beer. In addition to the downtown brewpub
and the main brewery campus in Milton, Dogfish Head has a distilling division. The Dogfish Inn in Lewes, which debuted in 2014, has become a base for tourists making pilgrimages to the brewery and brewpub.
In 2016, Dogfish opened the seafood restaurant Chesapeake & Maine next to Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats and started building a new brewpub, which opened in May 2017. The old site was demolished to make way for a courtyard between the two restaurants.
Calagione refuses to rest on his malt and hops. “We are more innovative at Dogfish Head today than we have ever been in our 23 years of existence,” he says. “We have five different-sized brewing systems, three kitchens, two distilleries and hundreds of co-workers coming together every day to collaborate on new creations, adventurous
dishes and beverage recipes.”
Since 1995, when Gov. Tom Carper signed a Delaware
brewpub statute into law, Dogfish has benefited from doing business in the state. “Delaware has a long tradition of being both business- and agriculture-friendly,” Calagione says. “Dogfish is a local, family-owned, community-minded company that melds those worlds together every day.” ID
STILL GOING STRONG
SAM CALAGIONE
In 1995, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery opened the first brewpub in Delaware. Located in downtown Rehoboth Beach, it was the smallest commercial brewery in the United States, making just 10 gallons of beer at a time. Today, Dogfish Head is the 12th-largest craft brewery in the country.
Craft beer-lovers and hospitality pros around the country recognize the Dogfish name. In 2015, Wine Enthusiast named
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TRENDS AND KEY FACTS
1. Hospitality and tourism continue to add up. In 2017, sales in Delaware restaurants were expected to top $3.8 billion. Tourism is another money-maker. A record 9 million people visited Delaware in 2016 and contributed $3.3 billion to Delaware’s gross domestic product. Because tourism in 2016 generated more than $504 million in taxes and fees for state and local governments, residents have lower taxes. Without tourism, residents would pay an additional $1,434 in taxes.
2. Hospitality and tourism remain active employers. Delaware is home to more than 1,889 eating-and- drinking establishments that employ 49,200 workers — 11 percent of the employment in the state. Tourism, meanwhile, supports 18,000 jobs in Sussex County, home to the beach resorts, and generates $1.7 billion in annual gross domestic product for the county.
3. The Wilmington hotel sector is in a growth mode. After purchasing the iconic Hotel du Pont in 2017 for $32 million, Buccini/Pollin Group has embarked on
the first of the planned $175 million in renovations. The downtown scene is also heating up in other respects. In March 2018, the Residence Inn Wilmington Downtown, a Marriott brand at 1300 N. Market St., opened in the 67,000-square-foot building that once housed Beneficial Bank. It has 96 studios and one- bedroom suites. On the Wilmington Riverfront, a 114- room Hyatt Place Hotel is currently under construction next to Big Fish Grill. Two more properties are planned for this area, which already has a 180-room Westin. Together, the hotels will help the Chase Center attract larger conferences and events. ID
Sources: Southern Delaware Tourism, Delaware Tourism Office, Delaware Restaurant Association, Delaware Business Times
106 DelawareBusinessTimes.com