Lewes Beach: What could have been

The area now known as Savannah Beach in Lewes was once home to popular restaurants, but in the mid and late 1990s, developers eyed the beachfront property for a hotel. If it had been approved, it could’ve changed the course of history for Lewes Beach.

At the time, the area that fronted the main beach parking lot was occupied by Kupchick’s restaurant and the DeBraak building, which many considered an eyesore due to its unsightly appearance and inability to attract any tenants for many years. In one article, it was described as “a mammoth, square, gray concrete building devoid of charm.” It was built in 1989 on the lot where the original DeBraak restaurant and bar once stood. 

Kupchick’s, adjacent to the city’s bathhouse and lifeguard shack, started as the Bay View Inn. Over the years it was home to Kupchick’s, Pappy’s Pizza, Luigi’s Wheel House and George Bryan’s package store. Capt. Willard Collins built the Bay View Inn in 1925 as a business for his widowed daughter – Blanche Scott – to operate. Collins was a tugboat captain. The inn was at the foot of the Queen Anne Pier, which Collins also bought as a fishing and amusement pier after the Queen Anne Railroad went out of business. Scott operated the Bay View Inn from 1925 until 1934. Steve Pierce handled the property until 1942, when George H. Bryan took over and operated it for several years. Kupchick’s, which was owned and operated by Daria Horn and David Krasnoff, occupied the building from 1985 until January 2001. The structure was demolished in April 2001. 

In 1994, DeBraak owners Dick DiSabatino, Bill Brooks and John Eisenbrey hosted a public hearing seeking input from Lewes residents on possible uses for the property. They were looking for ideas on how the existing building could be improved to better fit in with the character of Lewes. 

In 1995, a master plan was presented to redevelop the DeBraak property into a mixed-use area. The idea was to use the block of land that included the empty DeBraak shell, the Dairy Queen, Kupchick’s Restaurant, and the city-owned and -operated bathhouse, as well as open space. Concerns at the time centered around losing open space. The public reaction was mixed. Like many applications today, Tom Payne of EDiS, which was part owner of the DeBraak property, warned residents that the zoning allowed much more than what was proposed, and if the property was sold, it could end in an undesirable result. 

In 1996, Payne and David Dutton of Design Exchange architectural firm held another meeting, which was an opportunity for the public to literally exchange ideas with the architect and developer. The Cape Gazette printed a site plan of the property for the public to use as a worksheet at the meeting. 

In 1997, George Metz, owner of the Sea Esta Motels, signed a contract with two partners to purchase the DeBraak property. At the time, they intended to build a 57-unit motel with a pool. The purchase was contingent on gaining approval from the city. Metz’s goal was to open the motel in spring 1998. 

“I have three Sea Esta motels, but that doesn’t seem appropriate for that location in Lewes,” Metz said at the time. “We’re planning something upscale.”

Metz’s grandparents, Alfred and Thelma Richardson, opened the first Sea Esta Motel in Dewey Beach in 1959. Metz’s parents took over the motel in 1982, and when his father had a stroke in 1985, George Metz became the proprietor. Eventually, his operations expanded to four Sea Esta Motels, with the last opening in 2000. The original motel was demolished last summer. The property was subdivided into three lots, where three homes are expected to be built. 

Back in 1997, plans for the Dolphin Bay Resort Motel were harshly criticized by the city’s commercial architectural review commission due to its size and scale, but revised plans received literal applause from townspeople at a later meeting. 

The only way to make the developers’ vision a reality was to seek variances from the city’s board of adjustment. In July, they sought variances to exceed the height limit by 6 feet, to encroach into the setback and to exceed the maximum number of stories to build a four-story structure. 

In arguing for the variances, Kupchick’s co-owner Daria Horn said, “What’s there now [the DeBraak building] is vacant, ugly and has a negative impact on our business.”

Residents of the neighboring five-story Ocean House condominium building argued against the motel proposal. Attorney Vince Robertson said the variance requests were more economical in nature and that the proposed design didn’t meet the spirit of granting variance requests. 

Roger Morgenthal, an Ocean House resident and member of the condo governing council, said the Ocean House is likely the reason a height limit was established, and the city shouldn’t break its rules. 

“This would alter the essential character of Lewes Beach, and I feel that whatever use is made of the property should be in conformance with all the ordinances of the city,” he said. 

The five-story Ocean House was built in 1975 as a hotel. It was converted into a condominium with 25 units in 1981. 

During a board of adjustment meeting, the developer’s architect acknowledged the motel could be built to conform to Lewes’ code, but the result would be less than desirable. 

“We could do a 40-foot building, but it would be aesthetically unfortunate,” said architect Michael Cohalan. 

In the end, the board of adjustment approved the variance requests. However, just a few weeks later, Robertson appealed the decision on behalf of Ocean House owners to the Superior Court. The decision was also appealed by a group of residents, including Barbara Vaughan acting as vice president of the Lewes Homeowners Association. 

In May 1998, Judge T. Henley Graves reversed the board of adjustment’s decision, saying the board erred when it determined that an unnecessary practical difficulty permitted the variances. 

Undeterred, the developers signed a contract to purchase the Kupchick’s property adjacent to the DeBraak property later that year. 

“Our plan is to take down Kupchick’s and the DeBraak building, and build a 57-room motel that fits the zoning requirements of Lewes,” Metz said. “We’ve designed a building that we feel we’re legally entitled to build.”

In September 1998, Metz and his partners withdrew their appeal of the Superior Court decision that overturned the zoning variances. Metz said the development group’s money would be better spent on a new version of the Dolphin Bay Resort Motel. 

Ultimately, the group did not return with another plan. The main reason was that the city had placed a moratorium on non-residential construction while officials worked on a new zoning ordinance. 

In January 2000, Rush Ellis and Fran Gonzon entered into a contract to purchase the DeBraak property. The plan at the time was to subdivide it into residential lots. 

The DeBraak building was finally demolished in July 2000.

Today, the only remnants of that era are the Ocean House and Dairy Queen. Four homes now occupy the space between Savannah Road and the city’s bathroom/lifeguard shack where the DeBraak and Kupchick’s used to stand. On the Cape Henlopen Drive side of the block, five homes were built between Dairy Queen and the second entrance to the Savannah Beach parking lot. 

Editor’s note: This historical account is based on the reporting of Cape Gazette co-founder and Publisher Emeritus Dennis Forney over the course of nearly a decade.