Big news at 3 very old bars, plus a construction glut in Newark

What's Going There in Delaware is Delaware Online/The News Journal's development newsletter, tracking what's coming to the First State. If you like what you’re reading, tell your friends it’s free to sign up here ​. Email tips, questions and brilliant story ideas to Matthew Korfhage at mkorfhage@delawareonline.com .

This newsletter is mostly devoted to what's new and coming soon to Delaware. But it is perhaps worth noting when recognition comes to what's already here.

A nearby garden was named the prettiest in the world (seriously!) Three Delaware towns are apparently among the "most welcoming in the U.S.," as judged by a (checks notes) energy-bill company.

And an ancient bar in Newark — full of myths and legends and a possible tie to Edgar Allen Poe — has been named one of the best bars in America by USA TODAY. Perhaps you've guessed which one, already?

Or, here's a list of 6 other bars we think could have gotten the prize .

Some big changes are also coming to some other ancient bars of Delaware, however — bars that have stood the test of time for almost a century, or for much more.

First, there's 90-year-old Stanley's, quite possibly the makers of Delaware's first-ever hot wing .

"When we say Stanley's is classic, we mean it," we wrote in March. "It's MGM movies classic, Buster Keaton classic. "Neighborhood pub since 1935" classic. The pub, born Bill's, became Stanley's when a Stanley bought it in 1947. Then another Bill came along and didn't change the name. And for more than 40 years, Stanley's has been owned and stewarded by Steve Torpey, Torpey said they first started serving wings sometime in the mid-1980s, when wings were still mostly considered a soup part."

The bar will now pass from Torpey to a new, and probably familiar owner. Let's hope those wings remain hot and crisp under the new owners as well.

More: These are the best 4 wings in Delaware, according to you. But who will be victorious?

And yet that's not all. An even older bar, Jessop's Tavern, will also change. Jessop's, a titan of Belgian beer with imports some days you might not even see at famous Monk's in Philly, has a history going back 350 years.

Now, it'll get even more historic, perhaps, after getting a grant from a national trust... and a credit card company.

In other news, some nearby Big Lots are closing . And you'll soon be able to fly to some new places from Delaware .

Oh, and a new hotel will likely soon change the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.

More: Belhaven Hotel plan, set to transform Rehoboth Beach boardwalk, approved with conditions

🚧A construction glut comes to Newark

Newark is budding with buildings, you may have noticed.

This week, we took a moment to take stock of some of the biggest or most interesting construction projects due for the student mecca, including — perhaps unsurprisingly — a whole lot of student housing meant to accommodate the ever-expanding population of impressionable minds at the University of Delaware, which is again posting record enrollments after a dip during the pandemic.

More: 7 big plans for Newark, including a library, hundreds of apartments and a bowling alley

Some of these may be familiar to readers of this newsletter. There's the bold plans for the Newark Free Library , of course, approved last month . New restaurants and gyms coming to The Grove, and countless apartments on their way. A duplex of Wawas facing each other across College Ave.

Still more plans include a small development of student townhouses replacing century-old houses on Newark's historically Black Corbit Street , now already filled with other student housing. Or a startup that proposes to make water from air.

You know.... stuff.

The construction pipeline will likely slow a bit, as Newark City Council takes most of August off, and as new groundbreakings slow as rainy fall and winter loom. But there should be a few things to keep the city busy in the meantime.

🥩Middletown Outback Steakhouse finally opens, with unique Delaware touch

After much anticipation — really, more than one could reasonably expect — the Outback in novelty-starved Middletown has finally opened its doors,

The Outback Steakhouse in Middletown has become one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in Delaware, ever since Dover-based Axia Hotel Group put up a sign that the steakhouse would arrive to co-anchor a brand-new commercial center called Merrimac Gateway at 503 Merrimac Ave, alongside a Chili's and a Home2 Suites Hotel.

The Chili's is open. And now, so is the Outback, best known for its grill-seared steaks and trademark Bloomin' Onion appetizer.

Yes, it's yet another chain restaurant in Middletown. But it will have some interestingly local touches. This new Outback is part of an experiment for the Oz-inspired steakhouse chain, with local touches in its murals and artwork reflecting the restaurant's Delaware location.

The 4,694 square-foot Middletown location includes a "Great Barrier Reef Mural bar" with artwork designed to depict a mash-up of Australia and the majesty of the Diamond State, according to spokespeople.

So what's that mean? Well, apparently it means a mural with an "Aussie koala surrounded by the state flower, peach blossoms, with an image of St. Georges bridge in the reflection of the sunglasses."

Behold: Delaware!

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Big news at 3 very old bars, plus a construction glut in Newark