Hayworth & Finch sounds like the perfect name for a British firm, especially since Basil Finchley—dubbed Finch by his college chums—is a polished chap, the kind who gives a memorable wedding toast. Hayworth, however, is scrappy, unfiltered, and high-strung. Oddly, the two get along.
Their friendship is unusual, especially given Finch is a bear and Hayworth is a bird.
The animals are mascots for Trolley Square’s new eatery, known as H&F Café for short, and they’re not the only unexpected characteristic. H&F is a bistro—kind of. There are classic French bistro chairs, and “merci beaucoup” is scrawled above the waste area. But tables are trimmed in diner-style metal, and there are elements of midcentury modern design throughout the slender space. Consider orb-shaped lights and a pop-art mural that swirls across one wall and onto the ceiling.
In short, the 18-seat restaurant lives up to its slogan: “Where traditional mixes with the unexpectedly fun.” The carefully curated look, menu, and story are unsurprising, given that the founders are Dean Vilone, Roger Andrews, and Shannon Stevens, the partners behind El Diablo Burritos.
H&F is the trio’s first new concept since the El Diablo took Trolley by storm when it opened a few doors down in 2010. Coming full circle has rewards and challenges, particularly given the popularity of El Diablo.
Fast-casual frenzy
Vilone is a Brandywine Hundred native with deep roots. His grandfather, Alfred Vilone Sr., developed the Fairfax community and shopping center, and his father, Richard, also handled well-known projects, including the Penn Oaks Racquet Club in West Chester.
Dean Vilone helped his father for a time before heading to New York to be a photographer and bar owner. He lived and worked in Miami before returning to Delaware, where he owned The Gremlin on Orange Street in Wilmington, National on Market Street, and Ernie’s Flip Joint in Newark.
He hit pay dirt in 2010 with El Diablo, which sold the fat Mission-style burritos popular in San Francisco. Chef Roger Andrews, who stepped in when the first chef bowed out, is a large part of El Diablo’s success. Interestingly, Andrews had a fine-dining background that included jobs at 821, the Back Burner, and Dome (now RedFire Grill & Steakhouse). Andrews kept his eye on freshness and flavor while teaching employees to do the same.
There are other restaurants specializing in Mission District burritos, including Chipotle, which was born in Colorado. None have El Diablo’s style. Shannon Stevens met the partners through a mutual friend.
“In short, the 18-seat restaurant lives up to its slogan: ‘Where the traditional mixes with the unexpectedly fun.’”
Stevens, who also owns the Shiny ad agency, is responsible for El Diablo’s mascot, a black bean with devil horns, a tail, and a burrito speared by a pitchfork—no easy feat given the bean has legs but no arms. Stevens dressed the dining room in the midcentury style that he loves.
El Diablo was an instant hit, and there are now five El Diablo locations and a commissary in New Castle.
The next step
Meanwhile, the partners told Karen Igou that they would be interested if she decided to sell HoneyBee Kitchen & Market in Trolley Square. She reached out in late summer 2022, but the pandemic had made the men wary.
“We weren’t really feeling a new project,” Vilone says. “At first, we passed. Then we went to lunch and started talking about it.” The thought of revisiting the hospitality industry’s fun factor was appealing, and they purchased the 1,000-square-foot space in September 2022.
Why did H&F take more than two years to create? Initially, they lacked a concept. Fortunately, the trio has a chemistry that leads to innovation. “We are three artists at heart,” Vilone agrees. “We debate every aspect—that’s just our process.”
The bear and the bird
The restaurant has a strong personality, starting with the mascots. (Initially, the bird was named Scout, but then Scout Café opened in the Triangle area.) Vilone says the mascots are akin to Felix and Oscar from “The Odd Couple” and set the comfortable tone from the start.
Admittedly, the name Hayworth & Finch is a mouthful. Hence the decision to promote H&F as an option. It’s not an unusual strategy; many diners don’t realize that V&M Bistro is Vincenza & Margherita Bistro, for instance.
The color palette of primary green, blue, and mustard yellow is fresh, bright, and vivid against the walnut accents. Together with orange, the colors stimulate the appetite, Stevens says. But there’s an Old World-meets-mid-20th-century vibe. Stevens is a fan of filmmaker Wes Anderson, who is known for a visual style called “baroque pop.” Anderson is the mind behind “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which takes place in the 1930s.
The attention to detail is reflected in the floral melamine plates and crocks that hold plastic tableware. The wood and stainless water dispenser resembles an early wall phone.
Like the décor and the name, the menu puts a fresh spin on the expected. Vilone traveled to find inspiration. “He has a real good vision about what he thought this was going to be and how he could make it compelling,” Stevens says. “How can we do it in a practical way? How can we make it something that will survive in Wilmington?”
Vilone and Andrews dine out frequently to get ideas. Given the soaring popularity of smash burgers, the patties would form the menu’s foundation. Among the combos is the El Diablo: pepper jack cheese, pickled jalapeño, sherry-cured onions, shredded iceberg lettuce, chipotle ranch, and even tortilla chips on a bun.
Then they added hot honey habanero chicken. “Everyone’s eyes would light up as we talked about what the neighborhood needed and would love,” Andrews recalls. The French dip is a prime example of how H&F tweaks the original. A crispy but chewable baguette from a Baltimore bakery contains short rib—not sliced roast beef. To boost the broth’s flavor, Andrews tapped his love of ramen. Ingredients include caramelized ginger, white onion, garlic soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar. You know the broth is good, but you can’t put your finger on the distinctive difference.
Because the kitchen line is tight, Andrews uses ingredients—especially sauces and dressings—to an advantage. For instance, there’s a crispy chicken kale Caesar sandwich and a kale Caesar salad. Lemon-honey-garlic is the accent on a shrimp baguette and chicken sandwich.
But the french fries are the darlings of social media. “It took us about six months to land on a french fry that we liked,” Andrews says. Chipperbec potatoes are hand-cut, washed, dried, steamed, dried, frozen, and fried on-site in peanut oil. They’re tucked in a diminutive paper bag to catch any grease. Even those ordering a bowl or salad are tempted to throw calories to the wind for the fries.
The partners will tweak the menu as they receive feedback, a practice they followed with El Diablo. Meanwhile, the lively décor, colorful menu, and neighbors’ responses have helped the partners capture the spark they felt when El Diablo first opened. Says Vilone, “It’s been an amazing journey.”
