Blue Latitudes owner explains why Dover restaurant is permanently closed

DOVER — Blue Latitudes Bar and Grill's 20-year run came to an end last weekend, closing its doors on Central Avenue with many memories.

Co-founder and owner Jeff Roemer announced the restaurant's closure on Tuesday. Blue Latitudes’ final day of operation open to the public was Saturday, May 11, though a few private parties are still scheduled before Roemer officially turns the page on the first restaurant he has owned.

Roemer, 58, and his brother, Ingo Roemer, opened the restaurant in 2004. Ever since the Great Recession struck, Jeff Roemer has run the business by himself. He later eventually opened more eateries in Dover, including Roost in 2019 and SoDo 45 pub in January. Both are located in the Point Place neighborhood.

“It’s time for somebody to come into the space and bring some change to downtown Dover,” Roemer said in an interview Wednesday. “There’s no really good reason. It’s just a heartfelt decision as to, are we able to operate it in the way that we think it deserves? At this stage, I need to reduce what I’m working with. Reduce my portfolio and focus in on my other two restaurants.

“It was a hard decision because Blue Latitudes is my original restaurant,” he added. “I’ve been running it for 20 years. It’s been a great run. I’ve had a lot of customers and made a lot of lifelong friends in the process.”

For years, Blue Latitudes has hosted a free Thanksgiving meal for hundreds of senior citizens the day before the holiday. That tradition will be carried on at Roost and SoDo 45 in the wake of Blue Latitudes’ closure, Roemer assured.

Longtime employee Kate Elwell rose to the general manager position at Blue Latitudes after working as a server and bartender.

Blue Latitudes has become her “home away from home,” a place where she’s seen couples come on first dates and return throughout the years, becoming newlyweds and parents.

“It’s sad to leave,” Elwell said. “I’ve gotten to know so many of our customers very well. Some of them have become friends of mine. They mean a lot to us.”

Blue Latitudes has been a downtown mainstay for years with its martini and cocktail menu, steak and seafood, poke bowls, pub fare and appetizers. The closure is occurring amid Dover’s business and development boom, with new eateries, shops and commercial and housing projects being proposed, built and opened in the city.

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Staffing challenges have affected the restaurant since the pandemic, Roemer said, noting the restaurant could use renovations. But what guided his decision was the feeling that the time was right to move on.

“Over 20 years, we got to know so many people, so much so that we’ve seen them grow older, retire and move on,” Roemer said. “That’s one of the things we really enjoyed about it is getting to know our customers.”

Gift certificates previously purchased at Blue Latitudes will be honored at Roost, according to Roemer.