By Diane M. Carey dcarey@hometownnewsmediagroup.com
As if just being voted one of the top 10 seafood restaurants in America by Yelp wasn’t enough, Millie’s Restaurant & Catering at 3218 S. Atlantic Ave. in Daytona Beach Shores is adding two new restaurant choices to give foodies even more delicious options.
Chris and Amy Chibbaro, who have owned Millie’s for more than three years, are excited about their new restaurants.
“The biggest thing is we just outgrew our space,” Mr. Chibbaro said. “We currently turn away 30 to 40 guests every weeknight and on Fridays and Saturdays we turn away over 100 guests a night. We really wanted to expand.”
In the next couple of weeks, expect to see the former DJ’s Deck at 79 Dunlawton Ave. transformed into Millie’s Landing, a casual riverfront dining experience.
By fall, look for the former Pirate’s Cove restaurant at 3501 S Atlantic Ave. in Daytona Beach Shores to become Skull’s Landing. It will have 400 seats between upstairs and downstairs, an outside bar, and will be upscale casual to casual, including a way for people to walk in from the beach.
The condo-tel is separate from the restaurant.
As to DJ’s, Mr. Chibbaro said “They (David and Kim Graham) had this place for 21 years and it became their home. I think they were happy to turn it over to another local family.”
David Graham posted on DJ's Facebook page, “After 21 years, Kim and I have decided to relinquish D.J.'s Deck and retire. From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank all of you, our loyal guest, for allowing us to provide you with a casual, relaxing place to come, eat and enjoy yourselves. ”
Mr. Chibbaro added, “This is our home. The most important thing for us is community. What do they want? We call this community-based dining. We want to make sure that as we grow, we’re doing something that the towns are proud of.”
The Chibbaros are big on educating people about their food.
“We want to be able to reconnect people with their food,” Mr. Chibbaro said. “We want to educate not only the adults but the youth that you should know where your food comes from. It’s incredibly important for the future of everybody. We want to show (local fishermen) off.”
Amy Chibbaro said, “I feel like it’s about the community. I love it. I’m really, really excited. I love this community. I love the people in it. I love our employees. I’m excited to be a major player in the employment market in this community.”
Millie’s is a family business. Eight-year-old daughter Helen said, “I help Daddy serve tables, I help my babysitter that works there bus tables, pretty much I’ve almost done everything.” She added her five-year-old sister Norma “does everything too.”
Tiffany Martin, a Johnson and Wales graduate with extensive experience running restaurants, has joined the Chibbaros as a partner with the new restaurants. The trio have formed their own hospitality group to explore more options. Trent Johnson also has been hired as a new corporate chef to plan menus for all three sites.
All three restaurants will have different menus, but the common theme with all of them will remain fresh and local food, especially seafood. Much of their seafood will be offloaded right at the dock.
Millie’s Landing and Skull’s Landing will both have entertainment. A shrimp boat will be docked at Millie’s Landing and will have a bar and bands on it. All three locations will serve lunch and dinner. Skull’s Landing will also have a Saturday and Sunday brunch. A shuttle van will allow people to go to one of the other locations if one is too crowded.
Millie, by the way, is the family’s standard poodle, who at 13 is still going strong.
Source: Hometown News
