Nichole Dobo

The News Journal

NEWARK – On a recent night, Vance Funk – the former mayor known for recognizing pretty much everyone in town – knew only about six faces in a crowded restaurant, he said.

A host at the eatery confirmed to him many new customers have been hailing from out of town.

“There’s so much food down here it’s unbelievable, and very few of them go out of business,” said Funk, who operates a real estate firm in town. “It has become a dining destination.”

A lot of the newest businesses to put down roots have been restaurants and housing, and they’re attracting a new crowd to this college town.

Like many small towns and cities, this downtown long ago lost shops like the Newark Department Store to suburban shopping centers. Unlike other places, this city had another anchor, the University of Delaware.

“The main audience for Main Street is students and people connected to the university,” said Blake Gumprecht, a Delaware native who is the author of “The American College Town” and an associate professor at the University of New Hampshire.

The university enrolled about 16,800 students at the main campus in 2013. Recent U.S. Census population estimates peg Newark’s total population at about 32,500, making it the state’s third-largest city.

A budget-friendly “milkshake happy hour” is advertised on the windows of Cheeburger Cheeburger. The Melt Down Grilled Cheese offers specialty sandwiches. And Klondike Kate’s has specials that bring in the crowds at night.

But the town is not entirely dominated by students and the university.

“Newark has always been part of a more metropolitan area,” he said. “All business districts are a reflection of the people who live in them and use them.”

Ever-evolving college town

In the 1970s, UD had more in-state students, many of whom commuted to school, making it different from many college towns, Gumprecht said. When UD started attracting more out-of-state students, the dynamic changed. More students were living in town, and businesses and new housing popped up to meet those demands.

The evolution of the town continues.

New businesses aim to serve people with more disposable income than the average student. It’s part of a long-time effort to make Newark a destination known for more than just undergraduate students.

At 58 E. Main St., the existing storefront is expected to be demolished next month.

The plan for the new building is 24 apartments on upper floors with 7,000 square feet of retail space at street level. HoneyGrow, a restaurant serving locally grown, organic food, has signed up to move in. The eatery has been popular on the Main Line in Pennsylvania.

Angela Tsionas-Matulas, manager of family-run Tsionas Management, said another upscale restaurant is in negotiations for the space. The downtown, which can fetch about $30 per square foot for retail leases, is a popular place to be, she said.

“The concept of retail with the apartments above has been the trend for the last 10 years,” Tsionas-Matulas said. “It’s still as successful as when it first started.”

Some standbys remain

Those who haven’t been here in town for a while will find familiar standbys. The Deer Park Tavern, the Newark Natural Foods Co-Op and Bing’s Bakery remain. One change is in the works, though: The co-op is planning a move to the Newark Shopping Center to allow it to expand and capitalize on student foot traffic.

The Newark Newstand, 70 E. Main St., closed in 2012, but those who favor nostalgia will be relieved to hear the historic National 5 & 10 next door remains.

Cucina di Napoli, an Italian restaurant at 76 E. Main St., is gone and soon will be replaced by Del Pez, a Mexican seafood restaurant.

The former Stone Balloon tavern is now upscale apartments meant to draw retirees and professionals to move downtown. In fact, Funk lives there.

Apartments and a parking garage also are headed to Newark Shopping Center, on the site of the recently shuttered Brunswick Blue Hen Lanes bowling alley.

Some of the changes don’t sit well with everyone – and not just the old-timers.

Katy Peyton, 13, lamented the demise of the bowling alley. Her dad learned to bowl there, and it’s where she and her siblings liked to go. She learned it would be torn down when her mother tried to plan her birthday party there. Her family lives in Bear, but they visit Newark frequently.

“I would have liked the bowling alley to be there for other people to enjoy,” she said. “It would have made Newark a better place for families, so they have a place to go when it is raining.”

Contact staff writer Nichole Dobo at (302) 324-2281 or ndobo@delawareonline.com. On Twitter @NicholeDobo.