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| click on photo to enlarge Matt Surfing |
Matt has been surfing local waters and working local bars/restaurants for many years. He decided to bring his surfing vibes and good food to Rehoboth Beach late this summer with business partner Rob Stitt. They recently opened up The Shorebreak Lodge on Wilmington Ave, Rehoboth Beach. Making this spot a much needed surf oriented hang out. I stopped by the restaurant, to check out the local surf art, photos, good vibes and great food the restaurant has to offer and got a chance to talk to Matt about surfing and his new venture!
Name: Matt Sprenkle
Nickname: Sprenkle, people call me by my last name!
Age: 35
Weight: 162lb
Stance: regular
Home Town: york pa
Home Break: tower rd
Board: robert august 7’ for here
When did you start calling Delaware Beaches home and what brought you here?
what brought me to Delaware was the beach, I started doing summers in 94 and graduated collage in 99’ and I’ve been here ever since.
When did you get into surfing? I’ve been surfing since I was a kid but my first winter here in 99’ I didn’t have a job, I was delivering pizza for Grotto's three days a week, four hour shifts, lived at Sea Colony, my roommate and I had no money and nothing to do, and he surfed too so we would go surfing all day every day.
Any other sports? I’ve done a lot of sports through out my life, wrestling through collage, I’ve played soccer and football a little bit, I’ve been kayaking a lot but surfing is my main thing
What is your favorite place to surf this summer? I’ve still been trying Towers and Fenwick island cause I live south now
What other places have you traveled to? I’ve been to Central America a bunch, Panama I love, Costa Rica, my favorite place is Bali, I spent two months there, that changed my life as far as surfing.
What would be a perfect wave for you? Little over head, right handed, long lines, the longer the better.
Best surf session? it has to be Bali, at Impossibles, it was probably 15 feet, the biggest wave I’ve ever surfed, I caught four waves that day, and every wave kept getting better, it was the fastest I’ve ever moved on water, it was awesome!
Worst experience in the water? I almost drowned in Costa Rica it was my first time there, I got caught in a rip, it was really big, I lost my board, I swam until I couldn’t swim anymore, I rolled over on my back and just got pounded by the waves, I felt like i was out there forever, eventually I kicked a sandbar, realized I was able to stand, caught my breath for a little bit and swam back to shore, it was close, I really thought the gig was up!
What is a typical Matt S. day? Right now, I’m spending it all here, trying to get this place going
When did you guys open Shorebreak Lodge? Its going to be 2 weeks now!
What is the vibe of the restaurant and what can you tell us about the food?
The name implies that it is a lodge, we want people to come hang out, watch movies, read magazines its a restaurant, its a bar, eat good food, drink good cocktails, a good hang out place.
The menu changes frequently, based on whats fresh and local. Tonight we have local caught Mako Shark, we have a lot of sea food and local stuff from the garden. Melons and peaches are ripe right now. Our chef Rob changes it up based on whats fresh and available locally, and by keeping it freshly local keeps our cost low and we can pass that on to our customers and they can have good food that’s affordable.
Why did you name it Shorebreak Lodge? We didn’t want to be anything that we are not, we both have been living here for a while, we wanted to be a local surf hang out but we can’t be the tsunami or anything. We wanted to be what the waves are here, unfortunately we deal with a lot of shore break.
how long have you been bar tending and are you bar-tending at the shorebreak lodge? yeah pretty much every night and my friend from OC that I surf with helps me out whenever I need a little rest. I started when I was 21 yrs. old this would be my 15th summer, been bar-tending locally for a while and I spent sometime in Arizona, Utah but most of my bar tending has been here in Delaware
Favorite drink and item on the menu? I like the Jabarita, its a twist on the margarita, it has whiskey and tequila, freshly squeeze lime and orange juice, that's my favorite drink. The food changes so much and its all so fresh and so good. Last night I had The Cobia, it was awesome!
Give us your public invitation? (laughs) Everyone is welcome at our Lodge, everybody is a member here. Super casual,laid back, easy going, good food , good drinks, come hang out with us! we’ll be open most of the year until it gets real cold and we’ll have to go catch waves somewhere, clear out heads (laughs)
Thanks for the interview Matt! Like them on Facebook, Shorebreak Lodge.
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