When Ace Coffer sold Cafe Del Mar to Josh Vach a few years ago the town was up in arms with conste
rnation. Local yokels abandoned the famed coffee shop by the dozens in protest to what was seen as the takeover of a wonderful WB staple. Well Ace is doing just great in his new endeavours and Josh, who also owns adjacent Tower 7, has managed to retain the local flavor while adding his own special twist. Say and think what you want about Josh, but the fact is that no one can knock success, and he is a highly successful man. We would even go so far as to declare that he is a marketing genius because anyone who has checked out his other restaurants (the two K 38s) knows that ambiance is the focus. Oh, such fine ambiance...and the food is good too.The coffee at Cafe Del Mar is still the best in Wilmington because of the small batch roasting and the fact that it does not taste burned like Starbucks or Port City Java. The addition of breakfast burritos has managed to keep the morning customers happy. Yeah. I said it. Breakfast burritos. They are prepared fresh in the morning and sell through lunchtime with a variety that includes: egg, cheese and bacon;
egg, cheese and sausage (our favorite); egg, cheese, tomato, peppers and bacon (Ranchero); and the curiously named veggie burrito. We say curiously named because it has egg in it, along with the vegetables. You can have the kitchen make you any of the breakfast sandwiches up until noon every day. We suggest you avoid the breakfast biscuits because it has caused some surprise stomach movements, but a recently added fried chicken biscuit was sinful (sans the biscuit, which seems to have been the issue).The usual specialty coffee drinks are available, as well a nice selection of smoothies. The most popular smoothie is named the Locals Lunch (nice marketing), and the Broberry and the PB&J (yes, it actually tastes like the sandwich) are also great sellers. We highly recommend the iced coffee with a flavoring of peppermint.
The staff is highly trained and courteous, which should be no surprise if you know Josh. There is WiFi access as well a computer for customer's to use. It is a really nice place to chill and escape the heat or cold and it is connected to Tower 7, which is a Tex-Mex restaurant.
There have been some rumblings about patio seating later this summer and we think that would be a great addition to the evolution of Cafe Del Mar.
Next: Love Hot Dogs? Love Radiator Fluid, Too?
