The Lighthouse’s “Taco Toss” happy hour, with its $1 tacos, nachos and hot dogs, is the first stop for plenty of weekend warriors who call Dewey home every summer weekend.

As always, it’s an eclectic mix on the bar’s deck as the sun sets on Rehoboth Bay.

Young men wearing T-shirts like one that reads “I’d hit that” under an image of a pinata try to pick up women while taking slugs from a can of Bud Light.

A few feet away, a more mature crowd is enjoying the scene, including former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAulliffe, 52, a regular Dewey visitor, who is indulging in some vodka and sodas.

This summer, the usually diverse crowd at Ruddertowne is even more so thanks to
the opening of the new Lighthouse Cove next door, formerly the Crabber’s Cove.

The wall just behind the table at The Lighthouse where the $1 hot dogs and tacos are being gobbled up is no longer there.

Now, two giant garage doors are in its place, and during “Taco Toss,” they are wide open, allowing the bar crowd to wander into the upscale Cove, which serves up more high-end meals, like a $32 beef tenderloin and a $19 steamed half lobster.

After years of living in the shadow of The Rusty Rudder, the Ruddertowne complex (124 Dickinson St.; www.ruddertowneusa.com) is hitting its stride in the second year under new ownership.

Jim Baurle, who took over the spot with partners Tom Harvey and Davis Sills in 2008 as Dewey Beach Enterprises, has given the longtime Dewey anchor a shot in the arm.

“This side of the property was always an afterthought and was never to compete with The Rusty Rudder,” Baurle says in his second-floor office, perched above his mini-empire. “Either directly or indirectly, it was always treated as the second-class citizen next to The Rudder.”

After Baurle left Highway One Inc., which previously owned Ruddertowne, and bought the property from them, his sights were set on transforming the area into an in-demand destination with a five-year plan to triple the amount of business.

source: delawareonline.com