New to Kent food and drink scene: Beer garden, Mexican and Indian fare and liquor store

New food and drink businesses are bringing a variety of choices to Kent County including seafood at an outdoor beer garden, a traditional Mexican restaurant, Indian-fusion cuisine and a liquor store.

Eastern Shore Seafood crabs & beer garden

After operating a take-out seafood business for decades, Eastern Shore Seafood has opened a "crabs & beer garden" for people to enjoy food and drinks on the property at 2626 S. Dupont Blvd. across from Willis Chevrolet in Smyrna.

“I’ve been talking about doing this for 20 years,” said owner Frank E. Coleman. “I wanted to complete my dream.”

He took over the family business passed down from his father, Frank M. Coleman, part of a legacy of generations in the seafood industry dating back about 200 years.

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The new outdoor dining area includes 25 tables with umbrellas, cornhole boards and a stage.

Coleman plans to offer live music each week along with DJs and karaoke. The grand opening on the Fourth of July featured the Jim Bob Cochran Band.

The menu features crabs, clams, shrimp, snow crab legs, mussels, scallops, crawfish, oysters and side dishes like corn on the cob. Drinks include 10 beers on tap and a variety of canned alcoholic beverages like hard seltzers.

Hours for the beer garden are Thursday to Sunday from 2-9 p.m., but those times may be extended by customer demand, Coleman said. The takeout business is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., from April to October.

El Serranito Tacos and Bar

Traditional Mexican dishes and popular Tex-Mex fare are featured at El Serranito Tacos and Bar in Smyrna at 103 N. Dupont Blvd. (Route 13 south) at Mt. Vernon Street, near Willis Ford.

The restaurant opened in April in suites 2 and 3 of the newly renovated building that most recently was a Mexican restaurant but for decades was the Wayside Inn.

The menu features tacos, fajitas, chimichangas, burritos, tortas, pipian platters with chicken or pork, posole, menudo, whole-fried fish, shrimp cocteles, along with chicken wings and a kids’ menu.

The restaurant has 14 tables plus bar seating for eight with plans to add a full drink menu in the coming weeks.

Takeout service is available.

Hours are Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Empire Wine & Spirits 

The second business to open in the 22-acre Asbury Square commercial center across from the DE Turf sports complex in Frederica is Empire Wine & Spirits, near the Springhill Suites Hotel.

With an address of 91 Dominus Drive, the 9,724-square-foot store is on the west side of Route 1 south at Exit 83, and is also accessible from Frederica Road for town residents.

This is the second Empire location for owners Rishi Sharma and Sukhpal Singh whose first store is in Middletown.

The Frederica business has six full-time and three part-time employees and carries a wide selection of beer, wine and liquor.

The grand opening June 7 included live music, drink tastings, remarks from the store owners and Asbury Square developers and congratulations from Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and leaders from the town, county and the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Milford.

The Twist Indian Grill

Maulin Patel and his wife Pratiksha Patel opened their first Indian fusion restaurant called “The Twist Indian Grill” in Dayton, Ohio.

The Patels blended Indian street food in a fast-food format and were joined in the business by Maulin’s sister and her husband, Priyanka and Priyank Patel.

Now, they've brought the concept to Milford at 907 N. Dupont Blvd. (Route 113 south), in the shopping center north of Airport Road and Milford Bowling Lanes.

The owners held their grand opening June 6 with representatives from the city of Milford and the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Milford.

They describe their menu as “a delightful fusion of traditional Indian dishes and a creative twist,” with Indian burritos filled with curries, bowls with rice and meats, quesadillas, sandwiches, vegetarian choices, naan tacos and Indo-Chinese dishes such as hakka noodles.

Drinks include masala tea, lassi and Indian milkshakes.

Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate, development and business stories. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.