Neighbors debate outdoor music at Avenue North restaurant

Residents of North Wilmington are making their voices heard about a proposal to allow a restaurant liquor license that includes speakers and live entertainment on the patio.

The restaurant is the Blackwall Barn & Lodge, planned for Avenue North, the multi-use complex being developed on the old Astra Zeneca operations at Concord Pike and Murphy Road.

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“Several emails from area residents have been received both in opposition to and in favor of the application,” according to a representative of the Delaware Office of the Alcoholic Beverage Commissioner.

Comments – for and against – are due Oct. 18 at the state office.

The issues, as usual for these sorts of applications, boil down to the potential noise and the potential rowdy behavior of patrons.

“Residents of Forty Acres allowed outdoor events at Trolley Square bars,” a neighbor wrote on nextdoor.com. “And it didn’t end well.”

On nextdoor, one response in that thread suggested that the music would “never” run too late and would be nicer than a neighbor’s rooster.

The people running Blackwall, which operates two restaurants in Maryland, did not respond to a request for comment.

A search in October, when the appeal of outdoor music is largely a memory, shows the Blackwall in Gambrills with music Thursday through Saturday nights, as late as midnight, plus Sunday brunch. The performers appear to be duos or individuals.

The Blackwall in Columbia lists music on Friday and Saturday nights, 9 p.m. to midnight, plus Sunday brunch. The performers all appear to be individuals.

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Representatives of Delle Donne & Associates, which is developing the 80-acre site, did not respond to a request for comment.

Delle Donne this summer announced Blackwall as a 12,000-square-foot, 400-seat restaurant and meeting facility that would open in the fall of 2025.

Hearings on restaurants

The state office “cannot comment on a pending application or possible protest hearing,” the representative said, linking to recent prior decisions of the commissioner on protested applications and the appropriate state law.

“The commissioner conducts hearings and issues written decisions on applications for liquor licenses that are protested by at least 10 persons who reside or own property within one mile of the premises,” that link on hearings begins. “The decisions are final and conclusive unless, within 30 days from the date of the decision, a party to the hearing files a written appeal.”

The link lists 21 rulings from 2022, 2023 and so far in 2024. Each case, of course, differs in details, but only one was denied in its entirety. Some approvals did come with conditions.