When our son Harrison went off to college in 2018, we found ourselves a bit more “free” in that we didn’t have to lord over boisterous teenagers in our basement every weekend. As soon-to-be empty-nesters, we began thinking about how to get back on the open road like in the “old days.” We found ourselves dreaming up a food truck concept - something mobile and portable, and we’d go “back on tour” in the summer - think Coachella or Burning Man here. So, we decided to take our much-beloved risotto fritters, which have graced the Equinox menu since its opening in 1999, and make a unique street food concept out of them. The fritters, pop-able, shareable snack that would be at home just about anywhere: a ballpark, a boardwalk, a ski slope, a concert venue, or a food truck. The name Federal felt right due to our origins in the Federal City. Thus, Federal Fritter was born!
After only a short two weeks of sampling and ramping up operations – the pandemic hit, and our grand plans were canceled. We came out to Lewes, DE, where we had a condo that was our “crash pad” – a place to hang out and enjoy the beautiful DelMarVa region. We figured it was a much nicer place to wait out what we thought would be sort of a temporary pause in business while this COVID thing got under control. What we thought would be weeks started getting longer and longer. We got to thinking that the fritters would work so well in Rehoboth since there was a notorious boardwalk and lots of foot traffic. After scouting locations, we found a storefront and decided it would be a perfect place to launch the Fritter concept.
Chef Todd Gray, who has five James Beard Nominations under his belt, wanted this small 35-seat spot to be more than just a fritter shop. We workshopped the idea and came up with The Federal Bistro, which would serve the seasonal cuisine that made a name for us in D.C., using produce and ingredients from the incredible makers and growers in the DelMarVa region. That’s how two concepts housed in one home- located steps from the Rehoboth Beach oceanfront and many miles away from D.C.- came to be!
