Mission BBQ opens third Delaware location this month. Another is planned this year

Matthew Korfhage, Delaware News Journal
·2 min read
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Wildly popular barbecue chain Mission BBQ is opening its first Sussex County location this month. And a Wilmington-area location is also under construction after a long delay.

Those will be the third and fourth locations in Delaware for the Maryland-based barbecue chain, founded in 2011 by former executives from Under Armour and Outback Steakhouse. Mission is well-known for its patriotic branding, charitable donations and pan-regional approach to barbecue.

Delaware's first location arrived in Dover in 2016. For years, that's how it stayed. But lately, Mission BBQ locations are coming fast and furious in the First State.

Mission's second Delaware location, at Concord Gallery shopping center along the southbound lanes of Concord Pike in Talleyville, caused lines around the building at its pre-opening events in August, according to pictures posted on social media.

Mission BBQ on Concord Pike in Concord Gallery under construction on Friday, July 7, 2023. The Concord Pike location is the first Mission BBQ in New Castle County and the second in Delaware. Two more locations are planned for 2024.
Mission BBQ on Concord Pike in Concord Gallery under construction on Friday, July 7, 2023. The Concord Pike location is the first Mission BBQ in New Castle County and the second in Delaware. Two more locations are planned for 2024.

Two more are slated for this year, doubling the barbecue chain's footprint in the state. Here's what we know.

Back in August: Mission BBQ finally opens on Concord Pike. First Watch opening in days

Rehoboth Beach Mission BBQ will open this month

Mission BBQ's third Delaware location, in Rehoboth Beach, will open this month in the Tanger Outlets, spokesperson Linda Dotterer confirmed.

"We are excited to share that our location in Rehoboth Beach will hold its Grand Opening on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at noon," she wrote. The Rehoboth Beach location is at 36740 Seaside Outlet Drive.

As is traditional for Mission BBQ, the Rehoboth location will hold a military appreciation night on the Friday evening before the restaurant officially opens to the public.

On April 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. all sales proceeds will be donated to the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. The first 100 customers to purchase an "American Heroes" soda cup for $4.99 will win free BBQ for a year: This amounts to 52 gift cards redeemable over the next 52 weeks.

Kirkwood Highway Mission BBQ is finally under construction

In March 2024, rubble from a demolished former bank sits on the parking lot at Kirkwood Plaza in Milltown. The bank, at 4433 Kirkwood Highway, was cleared to make way for Delaware's fourth location of Maryland-based barbecue chain Mission BBQ,
In March 2024, rubble from a demolished former bank sits on the parking lot at Kirkwood Plaza in Milltown. The bank, at 4433 Kirkwood Highway, was cleared to make way for Delaware's fourth location of Maryland-based barbecue chain Mission BBQ,

A Mission BBQ location has been rumored in Milltown ever since January 2022, when Delaware Online/The News Journal took note of plans filed by Oekos Management of Columbia, Maryland, at Kirkwood Plaza shopping center.

Mission BBQ had not signed a lease in 2022, and had been slow to confirm a location at 4433 Kirkwood Highway next to a planned Raising Cane's. Late last year, Mission confirmed they'd signed a lease, and plan a 2024 grand opening.

In March 2024, rubble from a demolished former bank sits on the parking lot at Kirkwood Plaza in Milltown. The bank, at 4433 Kirkwood Highway, was cleared to make way for Delaware's fourth location of Maryland-based barbecue chain Mission BBQ,
In March 2024, rubble from a demolished former bank sits on the parking lot at Kirkwood Plaza in Milltown. The bank, at 4433 Kirkwood Highway, was cleared to make way for Delaware's fourth location of Maryland-based barbecue chain Mission BBQ,

Finally, construction appears to be underway. As of March, construction machines were busy demolishing a former bank to rubble at the site of the future Mission BBQ. When construction is complete, Kirkwood Plaza will be home to the second Mission BBQ location near Wilmington, and the fourth in Delaware.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Where is Mission BBQ opening in Delaware?