By Glenn Rolfe

MILLSBORO — The developer of a 3-acre property on northbound Dupont Boulevard received preliminary site plan approval from Town Council on Monday for a retail/restaurant project.

The complex is expected to include a 6,000-square-foot SoDel Concepts eatery, said Jim Parker of Jim Parker Builders.

A popular beach-area restaurant enterprise, SoDel was founded by chef/entrepreneur Matt Haley. After Mr. Haley died in a motorcycle crash in Nepal in August 2014, Scott Kammerer, along with his family and partners, purchased the company.

It now includes 22 operations, with 16 coastal Delaware restaurants and two brewpubs.

“(Mr. Kammerer) is very excited. I am excited,” said Mr. Parker. “The style of building we are looking to build is very similar to the one he has on SR 26” — the Ocean View Brewing Co.

“If you haven’t been there, you ought to go. … (It’s) very nice, very well run, great food,” he added.

The Millsboro site plan was approved by council members 5-0 Monday and also received support from consultant AECOM.

Initially, Mr. Parker planned for a hotel on the parcel commonly known as the “VFW property.”

“A few years ago, before we got tied into COVID, I wanted to do a hotel there, but, unfortunately, COVID changed all my plans, changed (the cost) of ... stuff ... now, compared to back then,” he explained.

Mr. Parker’s proposal also calls for 18,000 square feet of retail space.

Noting the Department of Transportation’s plans to add a third lane to Dupont Boulevard through a portion of Millsboro, Mr. Parker said it has been requested that he incorporate accessible sidewalks and bike lanes on his side of the road.

Further, several billboards that the Veterans of Foreign Wars post had contracted with Clear Channel Outdoor may remain for nearly two years. At midnight April 10, 2026, their amortization period, which came about nearly a decade ago during the town’s overhaul of sign regulations, ends, said town solicitor Mary Schrider-Fox.

“For billboards that were existing in town or those that would become annexed into town, there is a 15-year amortization period, meaning a 15-year time period that they can remain. At the end of those 15 years, they have to go away,” she noted.

Mr. Parker said he’ll work something out regarding the billboards.

“My heart was to leave the billboards, not realizing that they would have to come out,” he said.