Loockerman Exchange opens with new outlook

By Melissa K. Steele

Jason Leone, left, will manage Leone’s Loockerman Exchange owned by his parents Barbara and John Leone.

By Brian Citino, Staff Writer

Dover Post

Tue Sep 23, 2008, 04:42 PM EDT

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Bowers Beach, Del. -

    The front door at Leone’s Loockerman Exchange has been open for over a week now, giving the new owners time to work out some glitches while letting the community know they’re here.

    “We’ve had a soft opening to help train staff and get them familiar with the menu,” said John Leone, new owner of the restaurant with his wife Barbara. Their son Jason is the manager. “We’ve been working out the glitches and trying to minimize whatever problems may come up before the grand opening.”

    The grand opening will be held at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26.

    The visible site on the corner of Loockerman and State streets has had success over the years under different owners but the new restaurant has had to contend with memories of the previous owner who closed the business unexpectedly at the beginning of the year.

    It’s a legacy Leone wants to distance himself from.

    “Everything is new,” he said.

    Two bars are stocked to serve the nighttime crowd, and Jason said they are lining up a comedy show with performers from Def Comedy Jam on Nov. 7. Live bands and a DJ will provide music on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, he said.

    For the theater crowd, he said they’re working out details with the Schwartz Center for the Arts to include a dinner deal for patrons.

    A total of five TVs and three projector screens will feature the DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket for comprehensive football coverage. Wings in a bucket and fish bowl drinks will round out the offerings for football fans, Leone said.

    But, he said, they don’t want to be known only as a nightspot.

    Plans are for a grab-and-go type of continental breakfast served from 7 to 10:30 a.m. followed by soup and salad bar lunches from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. geared toward downtown workers with limited time to eat.

    “Our goal is to get them in and out as fast as we can and for under $10 including tip,” Leone said.

    Happy hour will run from 4 to 7 p.m. and the dinner hour will be from 4 to 9 p.m.

    Specialties include Beef on Kimmelwick, a western New York favorite that’s made up of thinly sliced top round and served with horseradish sauce and hot au jus on a baked roll. There also is the pretzel topped with crab imperial and the Reuben hot dog to add variety.

    The restaurant seats 106 and there is a VIP room that’s available for private parties.