For decades, green was the color of money in the three-story brick building on the corner of Academy and Main streets in Newark. The distinctive structure was built in the mid-19th century as a bank.
More recently, Catherine Rooney’s and then Finn McCool’s Irish Gastropub occupied the space, and the elegant building with symmetrical windows slid into disrepair. That changed in 2022 when Hamilton’s on Main renovated the old bank. The decor was an improvement, but it was also fussy for a college town. Picture tropical-themed wallpaper, white linens, and French-style chairs with round backs. For whatever reason—and there are many whispers down the local lane—Hamilton’s closed in June 2024.
Today, green is back in style. The Greenhouse Gastropub, which opened this past November, is a clever riff on the University of Delaware’s signature colors. When combined, blue and yellow (gold) create green, notes Alex Ciuffetelli, who coowns the restaurant with Durrell Eastland and chef James “Jimi” Sparks.
The name also refers to Eastland’s penchant for plants. His Instagram and TikTok accounts are @theblackplantman. It’s a theme with plenty of “social” potential. However, the partners prove that The Greenhouse has form and substance, mainly due to their backgrounds.
Sowing seeds
If Sparks’ name seems familiar, it’s because he worked at Ulysses Gastropub in Brandywine Hundred. After nearly five years, he moved to BPG Food & Beverage, the Buccini Pollin Group division that operates Wilma’s and Makers Alley, among others.
After returning to Delaware during the pandemic, Ciuffetelli started with BPG as Wilma’s assistant general manager. The son of well-known photographer Luigi Ciuffetelli, he’d entered the hospitality business at age 16 when the IHOP opened on Concord Pike in Wilmington.
The diligent worker went from busing dishes to expediting orders. “I was happy to touch the dishes before they went from the table,” emphasizes Ciuffetelli, who studied hospitality at Delaware Technical Community College and the University of Delaware.
He cooked in California, worked on food trucks, and got into butchery before moving to Hawaii, where he was employed at a golf course restaurant owned by Alice Cooper’s former road manager. Back in Delaware, Ciuffetelli wanted to use his restaurant management degree.
While at Wilma’s, Ciuffetelli and Eastland often passed each other on Market Street. At the time, Eastland was the general manager of Makers Alley, and both worked the closing shift. Although Eastland did office work over the years, he gravitated back to the hospitality industry.
By coincidence, Ciuffetelli and Eastland left their jobs around the same time. Rich Snyder, the former vice president of BPG’s food and beverage operations, sowed the idea of restaurant ownership, and Sparks was also interested. “It felt like a natural fit,” Ciuffetelli says. “We took the chance.”
What’s in a name?
The new partners didn’t have a direction when they first toured the old Hamilton’s on Main. Eastland noted that the building felt more like a home than an office or restaurant. House, they agreed, should be in the name. Public House? No. Blue Hen House? Definitely not. But blue and gold make green.
The color appealed to Eastland, a longtime plant enthusiast whose parents and grandparents were into gardening. When restaurants were closed in 2020, Eastland began making terrariums and posting on Instagram and TikTok. He now has 2,233 followers on Instagram.
The Greenhouse was born, and plants are the primary decor. They’re on the windowsills, the two bars, and floors. Potted plants hang in the windows, while terrariums in teardrop-shaped glass sway gently on hooks. Dried moss creates textured wall and ceiling art. Ciuffetelli spent eight hours putting one piece together the day before opening.
Many plants are from Eastland’s collection; he purchased others at Richardson’s Floral Center on Kirkwood Highway. All have the proper lighting, Eastland maintains. In some cases, grow lights double as sconces. Eventually, herbs behind the bar will supply cocktail garnishes.
The green stands out against a predominantly light backdrop, which opens the space, particularly on the first floor, which has three areas. An elegant staircase leads to the open second floor, where tropical plants turn toward the curtainless windows. Exposed ductwork and brick, metal chairs, and a corrugated metal chair rail are rustic yet chic.
Plants & plates
Although Ciuffetelli has a culinary background, Sparks is king in the kitchen, and the menu has the same approachable style as the decor. Consider pork belly bao buns—or lettuce wraps—baked ricotta with micro arugula and house-made focaccia, and the “picnic plate,” a selection of cheese, bratwurst, dried fruits, jams, pickles, and crostini.
Sparks clearly had fun with the green theme. For instance, garden-style hummus is made with roasted butternut squash, tahini, and charred broccoli. Sweet colossal shrimp come with a lively wasabi cocktail and green goddess dipping sauces, plus a marigold blossom or two.
There are six salad options, including the harvest salad with massaged lacinato kale, local greens, roasted butternut squash, sweet potato chips, feta, pepitas, and red onion with an apple cider vinaigrette. “Eat your colors” has never been easier.
As befitting any gastropub, there are warm pretzels with beer cheese and mustard, and nachos. “Roulette” wings include a random flat or drum with extra spicy hot sauce.
While the menu features shareable and handheld items, there are also entrees, including wild boar Bolognese, half a chicken with Peruvian flavors, seared scallops with an apple cider beurre blanc, and hearty braised short rib with a parsnip-potato mash and roasted sunchokes—not your everyday pub fare.
The partners don’t plan to court the mug night crowd. However, many items are within reach of students’ budgets. “Everyone loves a good burger at a reasonable price,” Ciuffetelli says. (Burgers are $16, and sandwiches range from $14 for a Buffalo chicken cheesesteak to $19 for a crab cake.)
The Greenhouse quickly garnered regulars, most of whom are locals. Yelp and Google Business reviews have been positive. Eastland was already a fan of Sparks’ cooking long before he met him. He spent three consecutive New Year’s Eves at Ulysses when Sparks headed the kitchen.
“I was eating Jimi’s food for years without knowing it,” Eastland says. “I have full confidence in the menu.”
They also have confidence in their location among a bevy of Main Street restaurants. Ciuffetelli says the friendly competitors have been helpful—as long as The Greenhouse promises not to steal employees, he quips.
He’s not worried. “There’s a place at the table for everyone.”
For more information, visit thegreenhousede.com.
