Sunrise Restaurant

It is no secret that some restaurants drag their customers back decades, to simpler times, if not simpler prices, when comfort meant the food, seating, service, and overall experience.  Sometimes, diners are hoping for anything other than corporate monotony, perhaps yearning for a place of independent character and ideally someplace old, where folks have been eating for decades.  We yearn for a restaurant that has survived a changing world and has worn its years gracefully but honestly.  We desire to be surrounded by patrons with weathered faces and servers who may have committed a crime or more several states away and are looking for a new start, or maybe even hung out with Jerry Garcia in the ’60s, or fought in a war that no one remembers.  Your white bread toast is served with real butter, along with a chipped ice soda served in a 32-ounce cup, and your coffee in a large mug with endless refills.  Maybe the place looks like those 50s and 60s diners you see in movies, but without the smoking, and maybe the menu is straight-out simple, diner style with no frills and only a few multi-syllable words.  And, maybe you pay for your meal with cash, with your server announcing, "thanks hun” on your way out.  

These type of nostalgic diners barely exist anymore, with some trying to imitate yesteryear through cheap props; fake old fashioned Coca-Cola signs, and playlists featuring 50s and 60s classics.  Restaurant historians observe that the term, ‘greasy spoon’ first was used in 1902 as a derogatory term to describe a cheap, dirty, or unclean restaurant.  The term became more nostalgic through the decades, and now is often used in a more endearing way to describe the charm of a diner or café featuring simple and affordable comfort food.  Sunrise Restaurant is that throw-back, open early for breakfast and lunch only, a neighborhood joint that is exactly what you expect: diner style food, delivered quickly, so you can get on your way. Recently sold to a 35-year veteran employee, Sunrise offers generous portions; the staff is efficient and often friendly; and you can smell the sizzling bacon from the quasi-open kitchen upon arrival.  Sunrise has been serving Dewey Beach visitors for almost as long as the sun has been rising on the Delaware beach town, and for good reason, because your food arrives almost as quickly as it is ordered, and the prices and experience are worthy of your return, assuming your desire for an old fashioned diner does not become, well, old fashioned.

 

2300 Coastal Highway

Dewey Beach, DE 19971

302-227-3202

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