Scratch MaGoo's, OldBanks getting new owners, new looks in 2019
Patricia TaloricoScratch MaGoo's and OldBanks Craft Bistro in Wilmington's Trolley Square have been purchased by The Big Fish Restaurant Group and will become two new eateries in 2019.
The purchase price wasn't revealed.
Big Fish Restaurant Group co-founder Eric Sugrue told The News Journal Thursday a new concept from the hospitality group is being planned for the Scratch MaGoo's location at 1709 Delaware Ave.
Renovations will begin soon on the site, Sugrue said, and he hopes to reopen in either February or March with a new name.
OldBanks at 1713 Delaware Ave., next door to Scratch MaGoo’s, likely will be leased out and run by other local restaurant owners, he said.
Sugrue did not name the restaurant owners.
"We are currently meeting with prospective restaurant tenants to take over the space and work with us to define and open a concept that complements our other businesses," Sugrue said.
He said he hopes to have that secured in the next 30 days. That restaurant also will get a new name.
MaGoo's had been a part of the Wilmington's West End nightlife scene since 1989. It once was part of the now-defunct Shemp Restaurant Group founded by Kim Martin, Scott Martin and John Schulte. Martin became sole owner of Scratch MaGoo’s in 2013.
When it closed in late November, it was one of the neighborhood's longest-running establishments. OldBanks, housed in a former WSFS Bank franchise, had only been in operation for two years.
The Rehoboth Beach-based Big Fish Restaurant Group, which operates the Big Fish chain and several other Sussex County restaurants including Summer House Bar & Restaurant and Salt Air, now owns several buildings on Delaware Avenue and in downtown Wilmington.
In 2016, they took over the short-lived Satsuma Asian Kitchen & Bar at 1707 Delaware Ave., which housed the Del Rose Cafe & Restaurant for 51 years. It was revamped as Trolley Square Oyster House.
In June 2017, Big Fish acquired the Washington Street Ale House, the former Presto! coffeehouse and Mikimotos Asian Grill and Sushi Bar, from the estate of the late restaurateur Darius Mansoory. The amount was not disclosed.
Big Fish refurbished the Wilmington eateries and rebranded the old Presto! as Harvest House, a coffeehouse/healthy foods eatery.
Sugrue said the new concept for Scratch MaGoo's "will complement The Oyster House as well as Trolley Square in general."
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Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico