A smiling woman with long blonde hair and a man with a beard wearing a blue plaid blazer and a gray cap with a logo, standing inside a room with brick walls and bookshelves.

SCOTT KAMMERER, CEO

Scott Kammerer is a restaurateur and hospitality executive best known as the CEO of SoDel Concepts, a Delaware-based restaurant and hospitality group with numerous businesses along Delmarva’s coastal region, including Southern Delaware Brewing, Highwater Management, and Surf Bagel.

Early Life and Career

Kammerer grew up in New Jersey and developed an early interest in hospitality and food service. After working summer jobs in beach communities, he moved to coastal Delaware in the early 1990s and began his restaurant career washing dishes in Rehoboth Beach. Over the next several years he worked his way through nearly every role in the industry—cook, bartender, server, and manager—gaining hands-on operational experience that shaped his management style. 

Role at SoDel Concepts

Kammerer joined forces with renowned chef and restaurateur Matt Haley, founder of SoDel Concepts. Haley mentored Kammerer, who eventually became the company’s director of operations and helped oversee the growth of the group’s restaurants throughout coastal Delaware. 

In 2013 Haley named Kammerer president of the company as Haley wanted to concentrate on humanitarian work both home and abroad. After Haley’s tragic death in 2014, Kammerer and partners Alan and Dan Levin purchased the business and continued to expand it. Under his leadership, SoDel Concepts grew from a small collection of restaurants into a diversified hospitality company with multiple divisions—including restaurants, brewing, catering, hospitality management & consulting, and other ventures. Of his accomplishments, Scott is most proud of being one of the largest employers in Delaware and being named by the Delaware Business Times as "Best Family-Owned Business" in Delaware.

Leadership and Industry Influence

As CEO, Kammerer has overseen the expansion of the company’s restaurant portfolio and related hospitality businesses. He has also played an active role in the broader restaurant industry, serving as chairman of the Delaware Restaurant Association and later joining the board of the National Restaurant Association. 

He has received numerous honors, including the "Cornerstone Award for Lifetime Achievement" from the Delaware Restaurant Association, the "Marvin S. Gilman Superstars in Business Award" from the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and has been named "Best Business Leader in Delaware" by the Delaware News Journal.

Philanthropy

Kammerer founded SoDel Cares in 2015, the charitable arm of SoDel Concepts. The nonprofit organization provides grants and support to nonprofits that help children, at-risk youth, adults re-entering society, and elderly residents in Delaware communities. To date, SoDel Cares has given out over $2 million dollars to local charities. Beneficiaries include the Rehoboth Beach Boys & Girls Club, The Harry K. Foundation, Pathways to Success, amongst others.

Personal Life

Kammerer lives in the Rehoboth Beach with his wife, Lisa, & their three bulldogs and has three children, Griffin, Holden, and Carson. Outside of business, he has remained active in athletics and coaching, drawing on his background as a former State champion wrestler, high school football All American, and from several awarded hall of fames.