This Coastal Connection is sponsored by Baths by Spicer Bros.
FENWICK ISLAND, Del. - For more than two decades, Jimmy Mourlas has been a familiar face behind the grill at Jimmy’s Kitchen in Fenwick Island, building the breakfast spot into a longtime fixture in the beach community.
Mourlas says the town and his restaurant have changed significantly since he first opened the business.
“It’s picked up quite a bit in 20 years, 25 years,” Mourlas says. “I just wanted my own place, and yeah, here we are.”
His career in the restaurant industry began nearly 40 years ago. Mourlas tells CoastTV he worked his way through the business before eventually becoming an owner.
“I wanted to find something that I could do that a lot of people, college kids out drinking all the time, wouldn’t do, and that was getting up early,” Mourlas says.
Early mornings remain part of the routine. Mourlas and his kitchen crew begin preparing food around 3 a.m. to get ready for customers arriving for breakfast.
Running a restaurant in a busy beach town has not come without challenges. Mourlas said the COVID-19 pandemic forced Jimmy’s Kitchen to close temporarily and that rising costs continue to put pressure on the business.
“A lot of hurdles since COVID, I’ll tell you that,” Mourlas says. “I really wasn’t even thinking we’d be in business for a while. We did have to close for maybe a couple months, three months. Not good.”
Mourlas says the restaurant is still dealing with the financial effects of the pandemic as the cost of operating a business has increased.
“We’re still bouncing back from that, I’d say, because everything’s so expensive,” he says.
Despite those challenges, Mourlas said his restaurant has given him an opportunity to support his employees and build relationships with customers over the years.
“It means a ton to me, and it means a lot that I can take care of my crew as well,” Mourlas says.
Those relationships have become an important part of Jimmy’s Kitchen and Mourlas’ decades in Fenwick Island.
“It’s been great,” he says. “I’ve made so many friends here at Jimmy’s Kitchen, and so many customers have been good friends.”
After thousands of meals and countless early mornings, Mourlas remains behind the grill, continuing a routine that has helped make Jimmy’s Kitchen a familiar part of Fenwick Island for more than 20 years.
