Grain in Wilmington's Trolley Square closing doors Aug. 4, getting new concept

Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen in Wilmington's Trolley Square is closing its doors on Aug. 4 after a 2-year run and owners plan to change the concept.

The 1709 Delaware Ave. restaurant, a part of the city's Forty Acres neighborhood, is best known as the location of the former Scratch MaGoo's. It became Grain Trolley in spring 2022.

The Wilmington site is part of the string of Grain restaurants operating throughout the state and Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, that are owned by Hockessin neighbors-turned-restaurateurs Lee Mikles and Jim O'Donoghue.

Mikles said he and O'Donoghue aren't saying goodbye to the Wilmington location. They plan to reimagine and reconfigure the snug space with a different theme.

Employees will be offered jobs at the other Grain locations which include the flagship location on Newark's Main Street, Grain H2O at the Summit North Marina, Grain on the Rocks at the Lewes Ferry Terminal, Grain Exchange at the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus, and Grain in Kennett.

Gift cards can be used at all Grain sites as well as the Lewes Coffee Companies at the Lewes Ferry Terminal.

Mikles said Grain Trolley was a passion project for him and O'Donoghue. The pair had frequently visited the location when it was Scratch MaGoo's, a beloved watering hole that had a 29-year run before closing in 2018 .

After Scratch's closed, the building housed BarRoja, a short-lived tacos and margaritas bar owned by the Big Fish Restaurant Group. The restaurant operated for a little more than two years and closed in August 2021. BFRG still runs Trolley Square Oyster House located next to Grain.

The Forty Acres dining scene will be getting a boost in the next few days with the opening of The Post at 1715 Delaware Ave., a new upscale barbecue restaurant from Wilmington Chef Dan Sheridan.

Sheridan who operates Stitch House Brewery in downtown Wilmington is giving his former Locale BBQ Post restaurant a new name and look. He has renovated the space for The Post and will be serving brunch and dinner to the public beginning on Wednesday, July 24.

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The Post has 40 seats inside and 10 seats on a back patio. It will feature Sheridan's specialty, smoke-kissed dishes. When he ran Locale BBQ Post at its former location on Wilmington's Lincoln Street, Sheridan was featured on a 2019 episode of the Food Network series "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives" hosted by Guy Fieri.

News Journal reporter Ryan Cormier contributed to this article. Patricia Talorico writes about food and restaurants. You can find her on Instagram , X and Facebook . Email ptalorico@delawareonline.com . Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Grain in Wilmington's Trolley Square closing doors Aug. 4, getting new concept