The restaurant business has come natural for Silver Spring, Md., native Don Wood. As the former manager of seafood restaurants in York, Pa., and Harford County, Md., and the current owner of Ciao Bella Italian Bistro in Long Neck, his experience and knowledge stem well over a decade.
Coastal Point • DARIN MCCANN
The all new Dagsboro Café opened recently with new paint, carpet and equipment.
Now, however, Wood faces one of his greatest challenges with his newly opened, home-style restaurant, the Dagsboro Café.
“This place has sort of a stigma on it,” said Wood. “It’s hard sometimes to turn something around. People are asking what I’m going to make this place now.”
He came upon the property this past March — a location that once housed the Whistle Stop Deli and Restaurant, and Crabby Bill’s. After reopening the downtown-Dagsboro restaurant with a new name, management and menu, Wood is now trying to shed the character that the series of short-lived restaurants have left behind at the location.
Wood didn’t get off to an entirely smooth start, with delays in opening the new business.
“We opened later than we wanted,” he said. Dagsboro Café made its debut in late July. “We lost a few good months.” But Wood is hoping the second-season crowd and full-time residents of the area will take advantage of fall’s slower pace to stop in and give his new restaurant a try.
The two previous restaurants also did not have a lasting impact on Dagsboro’s downtown, and that is something Wood hopes to change with the Dagsboro Café. “A lot of people came here when the other businesses were here, and they weren’t happy. Now they’re kind of gun-shy about the place,” he acknowledged.
Some patrons had concerns about the application for a liquor license for the previous business. It’s a concern they can give up with the Dagsboro Café.
“We heard that turned a lot of people off,” Wood said, adding, “We don’t want to even fool with that.” Wood refused to obtain a liquor license for the Dagsboro Café and is instead marketing his restaurant as a family-friendly escape.
“The town really doesn’t have a family-style place like this,” he said, “and we want to bring something that people can come to. Whether the town’s [citizens] will support it or not, I don’t know yet. The question is still out there.”
His approach? Give the customers what they want — namely good food and lots of it — at prices they can’t refuse.
Whether trying the Dagsboro Café’s daily “2+2+2 breakfast special” for less than $4, or one of their popular daily dinner specials, customers can usually fill their stomachs while keeping their wallets considerably plump as well.
“We’re trying to keep a place with very affordable food,” Wood said. “Our dinners run from $7 up to about $12, and our specials are a good deal.” Hand-dipped ice cream, and homemade desserts can finish off the meal for those who want something sweet after the specials and other menu items. Wood and his crew can also accommodate parties and offer catering services.
New paint, carpet and equipment have also been brought in to remind people that the Dagsboro Café is one in its own. “I thought we’d be doing more business at night than we’re doing,” Wood admitted, eager for customers old and new to give his new restaurant a fair shake, which some have begun to do.
Already the Wednesday-night chicken-and-dumplings special is bringing in one of the larger dinner crowds for the new restaurant.
Wood said he feels that Dagsboro’s location is ideal for the café, and he’s making it a personal task to bring in and keep his customers. Their satisfaction, after all, will have a strong impression on the café’s end result.
“Most people who have tried our place are coming back,” he said. “It’s just a matter of getting them in here to see that it’s a new, friendly place. Time will tell.”
Despite the onset of the slower season, Wood is determined to put his best foot forward to bring a promising restaurant to town.
“We’re going to do our best.” He said. “The summer season’s over, so now we’re dependant on the locals coming in to eat. I’m here for the long-term.”
Wood’s handle on the restaurant business has been apparent ever since he was picking up kitchen jobs as a student at the University of Maryland. “I’ve been doing this for years,” he said. And Ciao Bella’s has now been in operation for 10 years.
Opening a new restaurant always follows a brief set of guidelines for Wood.
“I look at the area and see what is lacking,” said Wood. “I want to bring something that people don’t have. I also look in the area to find what is affordable to the public. I want to keep the prices low and, hopefully, do some volume. We want to give them good quality food at a reasonable price.”
While there have been some variations in the wait staff, Wood kept the same core kitchen crew who had been working at Whistle Stop.
Kathy Cotto, who typically works the evening shift, is pleased with her job. “I wouldn’t serve anything that I wouldn’t eat myself,” she said. “I just like fixing food and making people happy.”
Day cook Henry Holden likewise said he likes to be able to put a smile on his customers’ faces. “When you get to know the customers,” he said, “you know what they’re going to order before they even get to the table.”
Cotto has already started to see some appreciation for the business, and hopes that soon more will follow.
“We had some customers come in a few weeks ago,” she recalled, “and they enjoyed a meal. Five minutes after they left, a woman came in and said, ‘I have to try your chicken-and-dumplings.’ I wondered how she even knew, because it wasn’t even on the board yet, and she told us that her sister had just eaten here and she had to try them. Then, she told her friends, and the word started spreading.”
The Dagsboro Café, open daily from 6 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., is located at 33168 Main Street in Dagsboro. For more information, call (302) 732-9070.