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Middletown Life

Two Stones Pub to open in Middletown

Apr 04, 2019 01:08PM ● By J. Chambless

Mike Stiglitz, left, and business partner Ben Muse, will open the newest Two Stones Pub, which will be located in Hedgelawn Plaza in Middletown.

By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

Ever since business partners Michael Stiglitz, Ben Muse and Chris Meyer launched their first Two Stones Pub in Chesmar Plaza near Newark in 2011, the franchise's slogan has been the same, and one that's both simple and profound.

Believe nothing. Try everything.

Very soon, customers in the Middletown area will get to adapt that slogan as their own, because they'll soon have a Two Stones Pub in which to try everything for themselves. The popular brew pub and restaurant is scheduled to open its sixth location around Memorial Day Weekend -- a 170-seat, 4,766-square-foot pub and eatery in the Hedgelawn Plaza, off of Middletown-Warwick Road. It will join Two Stones locations in Newark, Wilmington, Kennett Square, Jennersville and Hockessin, as well as 2SP Brewing Company in Aston, Pa.

The eatery will also feature a 648-square-foot, 30-seat outdoor patio.

The Middletown location is sure to bring the same culinary and craft beer confluence of tastes and atmosphere it has already created at its five other pubs, one that offers salads, tacos, burgers and entrees that are often paired with a page-by-page variety of hand-crafted beers in the bottle and on tap.

From the time that Stiglitz, Muse and Meyer decided to open their second location in North Wilmington, Middletown has had a circle around it...literally.

“We took out a map and just drew circles [around towns and areas that could potentially serve as locations],” Stiglitz said. “We thought, 'Let's be realistic about what zones we want to expand into. After opening in Newark, North Wilmington and Kennett Square, we opened up the brewery in Aston, then two additional locations in Jennersville and Hockessin.

“Middletown had always been a potential destination for us, but every time a new commercial plaza was built, it immediately became the site of a regional chain restaurant. We never want to be directly across a parking lot for someone who is going to sell a bottle of beer for three bucks and a burger for five dollars. We don't want to have someone drive into a parking lot and decide 'This or that.'”

Eventually, Stiglitz was approached by his real estate agent, who introduced him to the concept of setting up shop at the new Hedgelawn Plaza near the Route 301 Bypass. Ten minutes after meeting with the developers of the new Hedgelawn Plaza, Stiglitz was ready to make Middletown the sixth location of Two Stones.

The winning equation to every Two Stones Pub has found in the tantalizing combination of quality beers and a constantly-changing menu that features great pub food and entrees like yellowfin tuna, pan-seared Norwegian salmon and jumbo shrimp primavera.

“We bring in the kegs, we keep them cold, we pour the beer in the glass, and we hand it to the customer, but other than having a friendly, educated server, there's nothing else we need to do with the beer,” Stiglitz said in 2013 just before opening the Two Stones Pub in Kennett Square. “The food is where all of the love comes from, and that's what has made us successful. Our goal with our food has always been to 'wow' everyone.”

There's another mark of quality that Stiglitz believes Two Stones Pub customers in Middletown will soon recognize.

“The secret to our success is found in our people – from the chefs who care so much about the food they put on every plate, to our managers and our staff in the front of the house,” Stiglitz said. “We constantly reinvest in our people. In turn, by keeping our people happy, they keep our customers happy.”

The new Two Stones Pub will be located at 840 Kohl Avenue in Hedgelawn Plaza, Middletown, De. To learn more about Two Stones Pub, visit www.twostonespub.com.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, e-mail [email protected].

 

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