Ten SoDel Concepts employees recently earned a two- or three-night stay at the Conti di San Bonifacio Wine Resort in Tuscany, Italy.

The winners participated in a contest to see who could rack up the most points by selling Conti di San Bonifacio wines by the bottle and glass, as well as Conti di San Bonifacio olive oil during a specified time period.

SoDel Cares will hold its third annual fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 17 at Fish On, 17300 N. Village Main Blvd., Lewes. The event, which raises funds for the nonprofit foundation, pays tribute to the late Matt Haley, SoDel Concepts’ founder, who received the James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2014. The nonprofit has made contributions to organizations that help children, at-risk youth and adults and the elderly.

The deadly wildfires that consumed communities and property in northern California have left many wineries - and the resort areas that depend on them - in limbo. The devastating fires have affected homeowners, jobs and tourism. On Friday, Oct. 27, SoDel Concepts will donate a dollar for every glass or bottle of wine ordered that day to relief efforts. "The California wine country is near and dear to our hearts," said Mike Zygmonski, wine director for SoDel Concepts.

Since Haley’s death, Kammerer, 43, has already earned the Delaware Restaurant Association’s 2016 Cornerstone Award and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce’s Marvin S. Gilman Superstar in Business Award. He makes it look easy. It’s not. While he likes to have a plan, his path toward success was paved with big bumps and sharp detours.

Fresh off his success at the James Beard House in New York City, Chef Doug Ruley of SoDel Concepts headed off to Napa Valley, Calif., to participate in Bouchaine Vineyards' Chef Series Sept. 30. Bouchaine, the oldest continuously operating winery in the Carneros District, is owned by Gerret and Tatiana Copeland of Wilmington. Coastal residents and visitors who couldn't make the wine dinner shouldn't despair. On Thursday, Oct. 26, beginning at 6 p.m., Ruley and wine director Mike Zygmonski will recreate the Bouchaine dinner at Bluecoast Seafood Grill + Raw Bar in Rehoboth Beach.

If you’ve had a meal that you never wanted to end, then you have some idea what last weekend’s Bouchaine Vineyards wine dinner was like. The last in this season’s Chef Series, the event was choreographed by Douglas Ruley, executive chef for the Delaware-based SoDel Concepts restaurant group. The theme was Coastal Harvest.

Mike Zygmonski, the wine director for SoDel Concepts, was invited to attend Full Circle BevCon 2017, an industry event with more than 15 master classes and tastings from producers around the world.

For the fourth time, Doug Ruley, executive chef for SoDel Concepts, has been asked to cook at the James Beard House in New York, which puts him in a tie for the most times a chef has cooked at the former home of cookbook author and TV personality James Beard. The dinner, a salute to Delmarva, is scheduled for 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 15, in the Greenwich Village townhouse.

Scott Kammerer, president of SoDel Concepts, recently announced the promotion of Meghan King to the position of director of training and development for the hospitality group, which has 10 restaurants along the coast and The Clubhouse at Baywood in Long Neck. King was previously the general manager of Lupo Italian Kitchen, SoDel's Italian restaurant in Rehoboth Beach.

The Milton Historical Society announced that Chef Maurice Catlett from Matt's Fish Camp Lewes will participate in the second annual King Cole Cannery Celebrity Chef Cookoff and Basket Raffle fundraiser set for 5 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Milton Fire Hall.

As far as company-wide activities go, SoDel Concepts’ Summer Softball Showdown, held July 19 at Sports at the Beach in Georgetown, was a home run. More than 120 of the hospitality group’s employees signed up for the draft, which resulted in six teams. This year, Yellow Fever, led by Kris Medford, took home the trophy.

Lupo Italian Kitchen in Rehoboth Beach is one of six restaurants in Delaware to win a 2017 Wine Spectator Award. "Restaurants continue to raise their game when it comes to wine, and we are particularly proud to present this year's winners," said Marvin R. Shank, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator. Lupo, one of SoDel Concepts' 10 coastal Delaware restaurants, received an Award of Excellence for its well-chosen assortment of quality producers and a thematic match to the menu in price and style.

As many stories go around these parts, Chef Chris Parks found his way to SoDel Concepts thanks to the area’s small-town feel. A few years ago, Parks and his wife, Korin Miller, a writer, along with their oldest son Miles, now 4, were looking to relocate to the Delaware beach area having grown out of their small New York City apartment. One thing led to another, Parks interviewed with the late Matt Haley in 2014 and Parks started anew with SoDel.

The Rehoboth Beach–Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce welcomed Bluecoast Seafood Grill & Raw Bar to the resort community with a ribbon cutting June 26.

Sen. Chris Coons recently visited Bluecoast Seafood Grill & Raw Bar to meet the staff and tour the new restaurant, which was built from the ground up on Route 1 near the entrance to downtown Rehoboth Beach.

SoDel Cares, the philanthropic arm of SoDel Concepts, recently donated $2,500 to the Rehoboth Beach Sunrise Rotary Club, part of a global organization of business and professional leaders providing humanitarian services in their communities.

The Clubhouse at Baywood, a full-service restaurant and banquet facility in Baywood Greens, recently hosted a Delaware Perfect Wedding Guide networking event for wedding professionals.

Last weekend, two long-awaited restaurants—Bluecoast Seafood Grill & Raw Bar and The Vineyard Bar & Bistro—debuted in Rehoboth Beach. Located on Route 1 near the new Fresh Market and Bed Bath and Beyond, Bluecoast is the 10th restaurant under the SoDel Concepts umbrella and the second Bluecoast in the group. The first, situated in North Bethany Beach, is SoDel’s flagship restaurant and the business on which SoDel’s founder, Matt Haley, built a culinary empire along the coast.

Last week I got a sneak peek at the soon-to-open Bluecoast Rehoboth in Gateway center - the 10th of SoDel Concepts’ owned and operated restaurants in Coastal Delaware. The simplicity of the all-white structure follows you through the double doors and into the 4,500-square-foot restaurant. Sparkling white kitchen tile is reinforced by whitewashed woods and white window frames that reach up to the soaring, open-plan ceiling. The kitchen is a chef’s dream, with roomy prep stations, sparkling new equipment and a walk-in refrigerator that’s bigger than many Manhattan apartments.

The new Bluecoast Seafood Grill & Raw Bar, scheduled to open in early June on Route 1 in Rehoboth Beach, has been built from the ground up, but the faces in the kitchen will be familiar to SoDel Concepts' longtime customers. The veteran chefs represent some of the finest in the SoDel Concepts hospitality group, which owns Bluecoast and nine other restaurants.