INDIAN RIVER INLET, Del.- Big Fish will take over what was Hammerheads Dockside at the Indian River Marina, DNREC confirmed Friday.
According the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the previous 10-year contract--which Hammerheads possessed--is set to expire at the end of this month. DNREC said Big Fish was one of two "responsive proposals"--required by state policy--that were received before the November 30th, 2022 deadline.
DNREC said the other proposal was from Second String, LLC, which includes one of the two current owners of Hammerheads. The other owner is a new addition, according to DNREC. They said the proposal included some changes to the restaurant.
Hammerheads posted on Facebook that it submitted a proposal to keep Hammerheads there for 25 more years. Hammerheads says it received "no explanation" from the state on why they lost the bid.
"There’s no room for little fish in Delaware anymore," a Hammerheads post read, in part. "We hoped to continue for many seasons to come, but unfortunately the State of Delaware has chosen a different path."
In a Friday press release, DNREC did not directly address Hammerheads claims, but said Big Fish won a competitive bidding process, referred to as RFP.
“While it is it is never easy to change concessionaires, the state RFP process is fair and Big Fish Restaurant Group submitted the winning proposal this time," said Secretary Shawn Garvin. "I encourage any Delaware business that wants more information on the state bidding process to visit Delaware’s contract portal, MyMarketplace.delaware.gov, which has a wealth of information about the process.”
Parks Director Ray Bivens said he is grateful for Hammerhead's service to the inlet for 10 years.
"We give a lot of credit to Hammerheads. They took something and got a 10-year contract and did some amazing things," Bivens said.
Some locals are disappointed to see the changes.
"They put their heart and soul into the business. They really care about the customers and the product...When you get some bigger entity you don't have that," Laura Holtz said.
According to DNREC, the Indian River Marina restaurant RFP was rated using seven criteria categories, with 80% of the total score including quality and diversity of the menu; past performance; the vendor's action plan; vendor's financial stability; creativity in planning; and designing and delivering a successful establishment, and revenue paid to the state equating for 20% of the total score.
WRDE reached out to both Hammerheads and Big Fish, and neither responded with a comment.