Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth gay-owned restaurant alleges police harassment
Venue cites recurring officer visits during drag brunches
Owners of Port 251, a gay-owned bar and restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, Del., are accusing local police of discrimination and harassment, claiming on-duty officers regularly sit outside the venue for the duration of its popular drag brunches.
Tony Sacco, an owner of Port 251, said police began to routinely visit the venue during drag performances because of alleged noise complaints, at times measuring the volume of performances from outside and fining the restaurant for violating the city’s noise ordinance.
Joe Maggio, co-owner, alleged that this response from city police began after the venue received noise complaints in 2020, and continued until the restaurant was no longer considered in violation months later. Maggio also alleged that in 2020 city officials criticized the police department’s repeated stationing of officers outside the venue, yet, since the start of the summer, the venue has again been confronted with a police presence.
Sacco and Maggio emphasized that the restaurant has worked to comply with the city’s noise ordinance, reducing the volume of its music and directly reaching out to the chief of police and city commissioner, but later received complaints from officers over patrons clapping too loudly and drag artists performing on the restaurant’s patio.
“I’m not sure who it’s bothering at 12 o’clock in the afternoon,” Sacco said. “They weren’t coming because of a call at that point.” Sacco pointed to other local establishments having speakers or performances outside their venues, at times even extending onto the city’s boardwalk, but not facing the same police response.
“The police officers are apologetic when they arrive,” said Maggio, noting that, despite numerous conversations with clients and local community members, he has not heard of any ongoing noise complaints regarding the performances.
But Lt. Jamie Riddle, professional standards unit commander of the Rehoboth Police Department, said that officers are not placed outside of events “unless there is a public safety concern.”
Riddle added that the agency has begun to meet with the restaurant’s owners and “proactively investigate the noise associated with the Friday and Sunday performances” — not necessarily in immediate response to a public complaint.
Still, Riddle noted that the agency’s response follows a string of noise complaints from the local community received by the city’s dispatch center beginning June 19, as well as a formal complaint filed with the Office of the City Manager on July 21 — a record of complaints that Riddle claims other local businesses with drag performances have not generated.
According to Riddle, Port 251 is currently being investigated concerning its adherence to two city ordinances: the maximum noise levels ordinance — §189-4 — which limits how much sound an individual or business can emit beyond private property; and the use restrictions ordinance — §270-19 — which prevents live entertainment on dining patios. Maggio noted he believes that the venue is now in compliance with the maximum noise level ordinance.
Riddle added that, with the visible presence of officers during the Friday and Sunday performances, the dispatch office has received “no associated noise complaints” from the local community. However, according to Riddle, the first time officers were not present — last Friday — a noise complaint was received.
“Our objective is not enforcement, but rather compliance,” Riddle said. “If our presence is the mechanism needed to achieve compliance then that is our obligation to the community.”
Regardless, for Port 251 the ongoing presence of police officers “sitting outside for the entire show” during drag events has affected the experience of patrons and performers alike, Sacco added.
“Patrons feel uncomfortable, some get up and leave,” he explained. “It’s unfortunate because we’re just trying to make a living. But, even more so, the drag queens are just trying to make a living and they’re feeling targeted.”
But Riddle maintained that the nature of the event is “irrelevant” to the agency’s response.
“The members of our agency serve our residents, businesses, and visitors alike by responding to calls for service and through proactive police work,” Riddle said. “When presented with a concern from a member of our community it is our obligation and duty to thoroughly investigate and assess the concern.”
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Beach’s Clear Space Theatre summer 2025 season preview
Main stage musicals include ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Rent’
The Clear Space Theatre Company summer season in Rehoboth Beach kicks off in a few short weeks. This year’s mainstage musicals include “Hairspray,” “Beautiful: the Carole King Musical,” and “Rent.”
“Hairspray” will run from June 24-Aug. 30, with “Beautiful” from June 27-Aug. 28 and “Rent” from July 2-Aug. 26. Clear Space is a repertory theater, meaning that a cast of rotating artists will appear in all of these musicals. Tickets can be purchased at clearspacetheatre.org.
Clear Space was founded in 2004 and is considered Delaware’s second-largest professional non-profit theater and the state’s most prolific producer of professional theater. The “clear space” name refers to a “focus on the process, knowledge, and humanity of arts performance: the idea that we find ourselves in what appears on the stage,” according to its website.
Joe Gfaller, managing director of Clear Space, said the theater has a responsibility to produce work for everyone in the region, which gives them the creative space to do more than just one thing.
“That’s what makes everything at Clear Space so joyful and inventive,” Gfaller told the Washington Blade. “We know that this community that we’re a part of includes all kinds of people, all backgrounds, all experiences, and it’s critical for us to present a variety of work that’s going to move each of those people.”
In addition to the three main stage musicals, Clear Space offers Saturday morning children’s theater productions and Sunday cabarets, which will feature Tony and Emmy nominated artists, a “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star, and other popular entertainers this year.
“What we’re always looking to do as we create our full season, including the summer, is to produce work that’s going to delight and excite and engage the audiences that are here in Rehoboth Beach and coastal Delaware,” Gfaller said. “There’s always a mix of old and new, of plays and of musicals. There’s really something for everyone across our season for each year.”
Summer flex passes are available for purchase as well, which allows patrons to see three or more productions in the summer repertory season and save 15% off the price of single tickets. Passes can be used for the three main stage musicals and for cabaret shows.
Gfaller said the musical “Rent” “speaks to what musical theater is capable of doing” and is a piece that is “deeply grounded” in the experiences of the LGBTQ community.
“There’s always going to be a piece of that in the work that we do because we know that the community that we serve here in Rehoboth Beach and beyond has a lot of folks who are connected meaningfully to the queer community,” he said.
Another facet of the company, the Clear Space Arts Institute offers voice, dancing, and acting classes during the summer. This year, many are at capacity and a waitlist is being offered.
The Rebecca Luker Theatrical Partnership was developed within the last few years to honor the life and career of Luker, a Broadway star, after she passed away in 2020. The partnership aims to create professional leadership opportunities in the theater for individuals from underserved communities.
“Through the Rebecca Luker Theatrical Partnership, CSTC is paving a path forward to create a more inclusive space for future arts leaders of color while honoring the company’s mission and Ms. Luker’s commitment to racial justice,” a press release from Clear Space said.
Clear Space has been growing, according to Gfaller. Over the last 21 productions, 17 have sold out all performances. Though the theater seats just 170, it saw more than 24,000 attendees over the course of one year. Gfaller is excited that there’s been so much growing enthusiasm and wants patrons to feel joyful and connected to each other after watching the shows.
“We want people to fall in love with seeing great live theater … in an intimate space. You can see amazing things on Broadway, and you might need to bring your opera glasses to see what’s going on,” Gfaller said. “What’s wonderful at Clear Space is you are no more than three to six rows from the stage anywhere you sit in the theater, and there is something so much more magnetic and dynamic and inspirational about seeing theater in that context, because you feel that you’re there in the room with the artists, while the artists are making it happen. And there’s really nothing that compares to that.”
The city of Rehoboth Beach in Delaware will host a public ceremony to commemorate the beginning of Pride month.
The event includes a proclamation and flag-raising ceremony outside of city hall at 12 p.m. on Sunday, June 1. The LGBTQ Pride flag will be flown during the month of June.
Rehoboth Beach is known for being an LGBTQ-friendly resort town. The year-round population of about 1,500 residents swells in the summer months, reaching more than 25,000, according to Travel US News.
“Rehoboth Beach is home to a vibrant LGBTQ+ community, which greatly contributes to the social and economic vitality as well as the character of our city,” Mayor Stan Mills said in a press release. “The City of Rehoboth Beach strives to foster diversity among its residents and visitors and to be a welcoming community to all.”
Rehoboth Beach Pride is scheduled for July 16-20.
Rehoboth Beach
Ashley Biden to speak at Blade’s Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach
May 16 event to honor Beau Biden, feature speech from Gov. Matt Meyer
The Washington Blade’s 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for today in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced on Friday. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general.
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer has also joined the list of speakers.
The event, held at the Blue Moon (35 Rehoboth Ave.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Sen. Russ Huxtable, who recently introduced a state constitutional amendment to codify the right of same-sex couples to marry. CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Blue Moon.
A suggested donation of $20 is partially tax deductible and includes drink tickets and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
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