Bubba’s 33, a family-style restaurant with smash burgers (!), pizzas, wings and salads, will replace the old TGIFridays on Concord Pike that closed in August after 34 years. Its targeted date is spring 2026. Bubba’s 33 was founded in 2013 by Kent Taylor, the founder of Texas Roadhouse. It has locations in Maryland and New Jersey.

La Pizzeria Metro in the Town of Whitehall near Middletown is coming soon. It’s a spinoff of the Tumolo family’s La Pizzeria Metro off Miller Road. The new restaurant will have state-of-the-art pizza ovens for making wood-fired and New York-style pizza. The family is making pasta and gelato. Artisan sandwiches and salads also will be on the menu, along with beer and wine. Tumolos also operate Cafe Riviera in the Concord Mall.

A sign touting Casa Kahlo Mexican Grill & Bar has been posted outside of the closed Colbie’s Southern Kissed Chicken off Route 7 between Border Cafe and Royal Farms, which opened in September 2021. There’s a Casa Kahlo in the Newark Shopping Center. We reached out to the restaurant for more information and didn’t immediately receive a return call.

The first Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in Delaware is planning to open in mid-January at 645 S. Ridge Road in Middletown, said franchise owner Jason Ingermanson. The 3,013-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru is in front of Kohl’s along Middletown-Warwick Road, next to Chick-fil-A. Freddy’s specializes in steakburgers with patties “pressed thin to create deliciously crispy edges,” according to the company website. Frozen custard is similar to ice cream but it includes egg yolks and is churned slowly so less air is whipped into the mixture, making it denser.

In Middletown, Primo Hoagies is listed as “coming soon” on the company’s website at 1615 Lake Seymour Drive behind Kohl’s off of Middletown-Warwick Road. A spokesperson at the corporate office said an opening date hasn’t been set when reached by phone on Dec. 29. Founded in 1992 in “South Philly,” the hoagie and cheesesteak chain has grown to more than 130 locations, mostly in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with two in Delaware in Claymont and Wilmington. The menu also includes chicken cutlet sandwiches and the “Schwartzie” with corned beef, roast beef or turkey with Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing.

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At the Northside shopping center in Middletown in front of Target, five restaurants are planned in three buildings near Middletown-Warwick Road. The sites are expected to be finished and open by April, said Pat Gallagher, executive vice president at Metro Commercial real estate.

Honeygrow and Paris Baguette are coming to the building south of Popeyes. Honeygrow started in Philadelphia, with a focus on healthy, simple foods with stir-fry bowls, salads and fruit desserts. The company has 60 restaurants in nine states, with three in Delaware, according to a July 7 report by Restaurant Business website. Paris Baguette is an international bakery and café with more than 4,000 locations, but just over 200 in the U.S., according to the Chain Store Age website. The chain doesn’t have any other Delaware locations, according to the company’s website. Paris Baguette sells whole cakes along with pastries, breads, doughnuts, sandwiches, wraps and hot and cold beverages.

Next door, First Watch and Qdoba will be opening in the Northside shopping center in the building near Doc Levinson Drive and Dash-In. First Watch is a breakfast, brunch and lunch restaurant with more than 600 restaurants in 32 states including six in Delaware. Qdoba is a Mexican restaurant with 861 sites including four in Delaware.

In a third new Northside building in Middletown, Tropical Smoothie Café is the first business planned in a strip of stores with more than 16,000 square feet next to PetSmart and Sprouts near Middletown-Warwick Road. The restaurant serves smoothies, sandwiches, wraps, salads and bowls with fruits, nuts, granola and yogurt at more than 1,500 restaurants including seven in Delaware.

Wing Stop and Smoothie King are coming to the new Levels Crossing shopping center in Middletown on Middletown-Warwick Road at Levels Crossing Road, across from Royal Farms. Those businesses should be opening in the spring, said Andy Fox, partner at DSM Commercial, a real estate and construction management company. Wing Stop serves chicken wings, tenders and sandwiches in a variety of flavors with sides like fries and cajun fried corn. The company has 2,353 restaurants with seven in Delaware as of Oct. 6. As the name implies, Smoothie King specializes in smoothies made with fruits and vegetables, iced coffees, bowls with fruits, granola and toppings and toast with fruits, avocado or hard-boiled eggs. The company has more than 1,300 restaurants with two in Delaware.

In Camden, south of Dover, the Oishii Sushi Hibachi & Bar is planning to open any day now, according to its Facebook page as of Dec. 29. The restaurant’s address is 386 Walmart Drive #1 near Dollar Tree in the Camden Town Center with Walmart off of Route 13 South. The staff plans to offer “a warm, modern dining experience,” featuring “New York City-level sushi craftsmanship,” “fresh ingredients” and “beautiful plating.”

In September, a final site plan for a Cook Out restaurant was approved for 22928 Sussex Highway in Seaford. The Cook Out menu features burgers, barbecue, hot dogs and milkshakes in 40 flavors. It originated in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1989 and now has over 300 stores in six states. The only other Delmarva location is in Salisbury, Maryland. When Cook Out will open is unknown; the company did not return requests for more information.

Signage for Cape Deli has been up at the former Kaisy’s Delights location on Savannah Road in Lewes for some time. A helped-wanted advertisement said the restaurant was expected to open in December. The ad called the restaurant a “full service ‘East Coast-style’ deli and bakery.’

Pizza Machine, owned by the Dewey Beer Co. team, is opening a second location in the Safeway shopping center, off Coastal Highway in Rehoboth Beach. The space was formerly home to Hammy’s.

The menu will be similar to the Harbeson location, but the pizza will be “classic style” rather than wood-fired, Dewey Beer Co. spokesman Harrison Albert said. The restaurant also will offer a specialty beer menu that includes Dewey Beer and other craft breweries, according to Albert. It was also expected to open by the end of the 2025.

Eden restaurant, which has had a home on Rehoboth Beach’s Baltimore Avenue for more than two decades, is moving and will reopen in the space of Red, White & Basil at 20200 Coastal Highway in Rehoboth, over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. The last night of service at Eden’s current location will be New Year’s Eve 2025.

JAM Bistro, a longtime Rehoboth favorite which was open for 14 years on Baltimore Avenue, is coming to the former Coho’s Market space at 305 Rehoboth Ave. 

Patricia Talorico writes about food, restaurants and Delaware history. You can find her on Instagram, X and Facebook. Email  ptalorico@delawareonline.com. Sign up for her  Delaware Eats newsletter. Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Facebook. Ben Mace covers real estate and development news. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.