Delaware
A country club on Kirkwood Highway? Big plans are afoot at a forgotten mini mall
New stores open at Christiana Mall ahead of holiday shopping season
Kendra Scott, Tag Heuer and Squishable highlight some of the new stores opening at the Christiana Mall ahead of the holiday shopping season. 11/7/23
It doesn’t look like the place for a country club.
But the sign says otherwise.
On a flyby stretch of Kirkwood Highway bisecting Milltown and Stanton, lined by a defunct Friendly’s and mini-malls in need of tender loving care, a full-sized billboard now greets drivers speeding by in both directions: “KIRKWOOD COUNTRY CLUB: COMING SOON!”
Justin Dougherty, the maker of that billboard, says people’s bewildered reactions are the whole idea.
“That’s exactly what I was trying to do,” Dougherty said. “I want people to say, ‘Kirkwood Country Club?’”
But if it’s a joke, the joke belies some real ambition.
As soon as January, the Kirkwood Country Club will open at the Meadowood II Shopping Center at 2610 Capitol Trail. The Country Club will be a 2,600-square-foot tavern with bar games, a stage for DJs and live music and maybe dancing, a long 23-seat bar, TVs tuned to sports, a line of themed half-moon booths and a back bar for private parties or couples on a date.
Dougherty is majority partner of Pour House in Pike Creek and multiple locations of Cork and Barrel. He didn’t want to just call this new place a “tavern.”
He was a fan of the winking name at beachy burger haunt Dewey Beach Country Club. So he called up Dewey Beach’s owner, an old friend, to get his blessing to open his own highway-side Country Club near Newark.Dewey Beach’s owner offered his endorsement, so Dougherty was off to the races.
The decor at Kirkwood will play with the country club idea a bit, with maybe some muted greens that would probably suit Eagles fans anyway. Dougherty is even floating the idea of cutting a golf cart in half and letting people sit on each side, like some deranged scene out of Caddyshack.
But at heart, the Country club will offer a non-exclusive night out — it’ll be a place where local craft beer and tequila will share space on the menu with Miller High Life. The country club theme just adds a little fun.
“Everybody will say, ‘Honey, I’m going out to the country club,’” Dougherty said.
Bar will be part of broader renovation along Kirkwood Highway
The Kirkwood Country Club arrives as part of a wholesale renovation of the Meadowood II Shopping Center it sits in, next door to Western Family YMCA.
Meadowood II’s owner, Middletown-based Secure Management, has begun a large-scale renovation of the shopping complex. Secure is one of multiple property owners to upgrade their businesses, along what CEO Shane Malek admits has long been a neglected stretch of Kirkwood Highway.
Delaware-born Malek, whose company manages properties from the top to bottom of the state, sees a renaissance in this unlikely stretch of road between more established commercial corridors in Prices Corner and College Square.
There’s the Astro Center across the street next to the farmer’s market, which is adding fast food, a Wawa and a revivified facade. Just east, Meadowood Shopping Center — home to Walgreens, Argilla Brewing and Taqueria Los Compadres — was early to modernize. Next to that, a large mixed-use project in a former office building may bring hundreds of new residents.
“We’re putting some love here and it’s going to be great,” Malek said. “I think this ‘middle area’ is getting ready to come back to life.”
Construction is visible at Meadowood II in early November. The strip mall is topless, bereft of signs for the restaurants that call it home. But early renderings show a brick facade and neat trim, with a row of copper awnings. The first stage of renovations will be complete by early 2024, Malek said.
At the back end of the complex, former office space that went vacant during the pandemic will become a fully automated self-storage building with 150 small units, accessible via phone app during daytime hours.
“We did a lot of homework on it,” said Malek. “And there’s a huge demand for it.”
Tavern and music venue planned as anchor for neighboring businesses
Kirkwood Country Club is the missing piece that Malek believes will tie the whole shopping center together.
A bar that allows outside food is a perfect anchor for a shopping center already filled with fast-casual food options, Malek said: Customers could bring in tacos from Taqueria Lyly or La Camarona, a pie from Troy’s, or barbecue from Smok’d.
It’s synergy, he said: His restaurant tenants will get new customers, and bar denizens will have a buffet of food options to choose from. Malek is also in negotiations to bring in what he calls a “national” food chain in the small space next to the Country Club.
Malek tapped Dougherty to ask whether he had an appetite to buy out the tavern license and business from longtime neighborhood Irish pub Cunningham’s, tucked away as a locals’ secret at the backside of the shopping center. Cunningham’s longtime owners are retiring from the bar trade after a couple decades in the business.
Tavern licenses, allowing alcohol service without food, are a rare and sought after commodity in Delaware: Only one can exist within any given square mile, in unincorporated areas like Stanton.
Dougherty signed a deal to take over the license at the beginning of November, and by early 2024 Cunningham’s will close. The license will move to the bigger and flashier space occupied by the Kirkwood Country Club, fronting on Kirkwood Highway.
When he heard Dougherty’s name and concept for the forthcoming bar, he couldn’t help but laugh, Malek said.
“I mean, a country club on Kirkwood Highway?” he said. “I love it.”
Matthew Korfhage is business and development reporter in the Delaware region covering all things related to land and money: openings and closings, construction and the many corporations who call the First State home. A longtime food writer, he also tends to turn up with stories about tacos, oysters and beer. Send tips and insults to mkorfhage@gannett.com.
Delaware
I-495 reopened at Christina River Bridge after serious crash in Wilmington, Delaware
Thursday, October 31, 2024 4:53PM
Traffic delayed by crash involving tanker truck on I-495The crash happened around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday in the northbound lanes of I-495 over the Christina River.
WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) — All lanes of I-495 at the Christina River Bridge in Wilmington, Delaware, are back open after being temporarily closed due to a serious crash.
The crash happened around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday in the northbound lanes of I-495 over the Christina River.
It involves a tanker truck and another vehicle.
Chopper 6 was overhead, where you could see the front end of a truck wedged underneath the tanker.
There has been no word on how the crash happened or if there are any injuries.
Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Delaware
Better pay, cultural competency part of 10-year plan to improve Delaware schools
From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!
A Delaware group hoping to set the agenda for the next 10 years of improving the state’s schools is out with its latest proposal.
Since 2005, the Vision Coalition of Delaware has focused on shaping education through 10-year plans, starting with Vision 2015 and followed by Student Success 2025. Now in its third phase, the group aims to improve funding equity among districts, better support teachers and improve student outcomes both after high school and in early childhood classes.
Organized by the Rodel Foundation, the coalition consists of leaders across various industries, working to shape the future of Delaware’s education system.
“The Vision Coalition, from the time it began … has been focused on working alongside our education systems in Delaware to support work in the necessary areas,” said Shelley Rouser, department chair for the education department at Delaware State University.
“So while the vision to support school systems and making sure that practices and policies are an alignment with school needs, that’s been a constant focus for the Vision Coalition. What’s changed over time are … you know what those needs are. So while that has evolved, the mission has remained constant.”
With over 30 years in education — from classroom teaching to district leadership and now a university role — Rouser gained first-hand insight into the field’s evolution. As part of the leadership team, she’s seen how the changing educational landscape affects students, educators and policies, identifying unique needs and challenges at every level.
In 2023, the coalition surveyed educators, parents and the public to assess the current state of education. The findings highlighted notable improvements statewide in educational technology, mental health support and early childhood education, reflecting positive changes across diverse perspectives.
Despite those advancements, Rouser said that after hearing ideas and concerns from the public at various forums, there’s still areas in need of improvement.
Delaware
Live Updates: Tornado Watch Active For Several Northeast Oklahoma Counies
A tornado was confirmed at 10:48 p.m. for the Wyandotte area in SE Ottawa County. This storm moved NE at 45mph towards Seneca, MO.
News On 6 storm tracker Kevin Tillotson caught some storm damage on the north side of Grand Lake Wednesday night.
A line of strong to severe storms has moved across Oklahoma throughout the afternoon and evening. Below are weather updates:
Tornado Watches
A tornado watch has been issued for several counties in Northeast Oklahoma until midnight.
Counties included are:
- Craig
- Creek
- Haskell
- Hughes
- Lincoln
- Mayes
- McIntosh
- Muskogee
- Nowata
- Okfuskee
- Okmulgee
- Osage
- Ottawa
- Pawnee
- Pittsburg
- Rogers
- Tulsa
- Wagoner
- Washington
Here is a general timeline for the main severe threats according to Chief Meteorologist Travis Meyer:
- Northwest of Tulsa: 7 p.m. — 10 p.m.
- Tulsa Metro & I-44 corridor: 10 p.m. — noon
- Southeast of Tulsa: noon — 3 a.m.
Large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes are all possible. The tornado risk will be moderate during the initial storms through the evening, with an increased focus on damaging winds and embedded spin-ups after midnight and into early Thursday.
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