BERLIN – Quality food. Good prices. A comfortable atmosphere.
That, says Kelli Beck, is why DeNovo’s Trattoria is still going strong after a decade in Ocean Pines.
“We knew we wanted to be a locals’ favorite,” Beck said. “We try to offer great food at reasonable prices.”
Beck and her husband, Bob, opened DeNovo’s 10 years ago this month. Beck, who has a background in healthcare, said they started thinking about opening their own restaurant after Bob, an executive chef, helped a popular New Jersey eatery open multiple locations.
“He was working like crazy,” she said. “Finally, we said if he can make a restaurant a success for someone else why not do it for ourselves.”
They opted to move south, settling on the Pines and its family friendly atmosphere, and spent more than a year planning out the details of their restaurant. Beck still recalls the night they opened DeNovo’s.
“It was a Friday night and we served pizza,” she said. “The phone started ringing.”
And it’s kept up ever since. DeNovo’s, open Monday through Saturday, offers an extensive menu of Italian fare as well as soups, salads and steaks to area residents. Many of those who come through the doors are regular customers, stopping in at least once a week to take advantage of the restaurant’s specials.
“We have a consistent customer base that we’re grateful for in the quiet winter months,” Beck said.
Pines resident Marie Gilmore says she and her family have been eating at DeNovo’s since it opened.
“It’s a restaurant that provides good food at reasonable prices and it’s family friendly,” she said.
The restaurant was successful enough during its first few years that in 2007 the Becks decided to expand. They took over the adjacent space, previously a hair salon, and built a bar and second dining room.
“A lot of restaurants have a bar and add food,” Beck said. “We had food and added a bar because we thought it was an enhancement. There was a call for it. We try to listen to our customer base.”
Beck believes it’s that attention to customer demands that’s kept the restaurant busy for the past 10 years. While she handles the business side of the operation, her husband works in the kitchen. With both of them being in the restaurant regularly, they’re cognizant of every customer concern or complaint.
“When you get a criticism, you take it hard because it’s not a third party venture,” she said. “Most people understand we genuinely care.”
Liz Kain-Bolen, director of the Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce, believes the success DeNovo’s has enjoyed comes from the Becks’ leadership.
“I think in any business, success comes from great leadership,” she said. “Bob and Kelli Beck have shown that they are pillars of the community and have continually given back to their community in so many ways.”
Kain-Bolen said the couple has been generous to numerous charities and non-profits through the years, including the Kiwanis Club, the Worcester County Veterans Memorial, the Alzheimer’s Association and Atlantic General Hospital, among others.
Gilmore agreed and said she couldn’t think of an organization that DeNovo’s hadn’t supported in recent years.
“Bob and Kelli are such a wonderful part of our community,” she said. “They give back so much. I couldn’t be more pleased that they’ve been successful. Their success is due in no small part to their generosity.”
DeNovo’s Trattoria, located at 11310 Manklin Creek Rd., is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.