ts and its secular desire to remain a "Quiet Resort," Bethany Beach historically had resisted the sale of alcoholic beverages within its jurisdiction. In 1982, the State of Delaware granted the Holiday House in Bethany Beach a liquor license, the first to an establishment in the town, prompting a lawsuit by the town and local landowners. Ultimately, Bethany Beach accepted the sale of alcohol, but the town strictly limits the number of bars within town limits, generally limits alcohol sales to restaurants, and permits no sale of alcoholic beverages after 11:30 p.m.
In the early 1980s, the Bethany Beach Fire Department offered the town's first emergency medical center, operated for the fire department by the Beebe Medical Center of Lewes, Delaware.
Hurricane Gloria struck Bethany Beach in September 1985, badly damaging the boardwalk.
In July 1987, the Bethany Beach Fire Department opened a substation in Fenwick Island, Delaware, on the coast a few miles south of Bethany Beach. A major beach replenishment project took place in 1989.
On January 4, 1992, a destructive nor'Easter struck Bethany Beach with 85-mile-per-hour (137-kilometer-per-hour) winds. It inflicted $250,000 in damage to the boardwalk, severely damaged beachfront structures, flooded eastern Bethany Beach and the fire station, and caused Toth's Native American sculpture to lean over dangerously. A victim of termite as well as storm damage, the sculpture was replaced in 1994 by a new one known as "Chief Little Owl" created by Dennis Beach.
The town's library, the South Coastal Library, opened on January 17, 1994. The town inaugurated a "Concerts at the Beach" program in 1995. On September 11, 1996, Bethany Beach broke ground for its new town hall and community center on what had been the site of its water tower. The building was dedicated on May 24, 1997.
Severe nor'easters struck a week apart in 1998. The first, on January 28, was damaging, but the second, on
