CAPE GAZETrE, Friday, April 5 - April 11, 1996 - 65
Business & Real Estate
Fusion will infuse Rehoboth dining scene with new diversity
By Kristen Seal •
The restaurant formerly known
as Ground Zero at 50 Wilmington
Avenue will reopen this spring
under new ownership and with a
fresh new name.
Jonathan Spivak, the owner of
one of Bethany Beach's most
upstanding restaurants, Sedona, is
teaming up with the founding chef
of Ground Zero, Jeff Thiemann, to
bring their jointly owned restau-
rant to Rehoboth. This new
restaurant venture is called
Fusion.
"We are calling it fusion cuisine
because I will incorporate Pacific
Rim, Italian, French, Asian,
Caribbean and even Southwestern
influences," explained Theimann.
This return to the former site of
Ground Zero is homecoming of
sorts for Theimann since he was
the head chef at Ground Zero for
its first three years and created the
menu there.
Theimann has since left Ground
Zero and has been working as the
head chef at Sedona for the past
two years.
"I personally wanted a second
Tried and true
The weekend before Easter is traditional-
ly considered a "soft" opening or trial run
for seasonal Rehoboth Beach restaurants.
At least nine seasonal restaurants re-opened
their doors this past weekend, some offering
the tried and true menus that patrons have
come to expect, others going off on new
restaurant and Sedona has been so
successful and so much fun that I
wanted to do it with Jeff. He was
the founding chef at Ground Zero
and now he will be returning as a
co-owner. He is very deserving of
that," said Spivak. "Jeff took
Sedona to another level and affect-
ed how the whole restaurant oper-
ated. What we're doing is our pas-
sion and when you live out your
dreams, you're likely to succeed."
As of mid-March, the restaurant
had not been officially purchased
by Spivak and Theimann,
although a contract had been
agreed upon for purchase. The
two hope to open Fusion by May
15.
"The Sedona menu features lots
of wild game and Southwestern
dishes with creative presentation.
Fusion will be more eclectic and
will Offer a greater range of ingre-
dients; it will be more multi-cul-
tural," explained Spivak.
"That's the. draw of fusion cui-
sine - lots of diversity," Theimann
added.
"Fusion is going to be a lot of
fun; it will be bright, cheery, col-
orful and energetic. We are doing
some cosmetical changes, but
nothing radical," Spivak
explained. "It will be more of an
open air, friendly kind of place."
Spivak and Theimann did not
want to divulge too much concern-
ing Fusion's spring menu, but
Theimann said that he wilt place
much emphasis on healthy
entrres. The restaurant will be
introduced on its opening night
with a fundraiser whose proceeds
will benefit a yet to be released
Rehoboth organization.
"It has always been a career
dream of mine to have my own
restaurant. I do experience some
frustration as just an employee and
this way I can have more control
over the menu - that offers a better
expression of your own self which
I guess is ultimately what every-
one wants to do. I always put my
passion on the plate and now this
is the next level," Theimann said.
With no formal schooling,
Theimann landed a job at Col-
orado's Sweet Basil restaurant
several years ago with the inten-
tion of learning from top notch
Jonathan Spivak (left), owner of Sedona in Bethany Beach,
is teaming up with Sedona's head chef Jeff Theimann'(right)
to open one of Rehoboth's newest restaurants - Fusion at 50
Rehoboth restaurants
tangents, while still others offering a blend
of the above.
Those now open include:
• The Back Porch, 59 Rehoboth Ave. -
Executive Chef Leo Medisch and Kitchen
Wilmington Avenue.
chefs, which he did.
"I was recently in Colorado and
I ate at Sweet Basil and it is a drop
dead great restaurant. -Now I
know why he is as good as he is,"
Spivak said.
He added that he has no inten-
tion of slighting the quality at
Sedona given Theimann's transfer
to Fusion. The new chef at
Sedona will be Johnson and Wales
graduate Chris Bunting who
worked as a sous chef under
Theimann last year.
"We hope to continue the tradi-
tion of the wonderful restaurants
in Rehoboth. We will be part of a
terrific group and we want to add
to that; I think we will fit in well,"
Spivak added. "Plus we have our
eye on an additional restaurant so
we may not be finished yet."
unveil what's in store for 1996 season
fall, when they have the opportunity to learn
if each dish is cost effective, whether it may
be too labor intensive and if it lives up to
customer expectation. In one short week-
end, the word out in the community is that
Manager Gretchen Richardson enjoy exper- . the 1996 spring menu is burgeoning with
imenting with new dishes in the spring and winners. They include such appetizers as
the quail they smoke over Nassau Vineyard
vines, complimented by their own pickled
grapes, and the grilled baby leeks and fen-
nel with goat cheese sabayon. Entrees
presently include a saut6 of rabbit and
braised lamb shanks with herbed vegetables
Continued on page 66
Answers to commontax time questions
The following is a series of
answers to questions that fre-
quently come up at tax time.
Please note that the information
contained in this article does not
constitute tax advice. Consult
your tax advisor before imple-
menting any of these strategies.
Q: When I bought a eorporat
bond last May, I paid accrued
interest. The form 1099-Int shows
that I received the entire coupon
on the bond. How should I handle
it on my tax return?
A: Enter the entire interest on
line 1 of schedule B of form 1040.
To arrive at the net interest, on the
next blank line enter the words
"less accrued interest paid," then
subtract the amount of accrued
interest paid from the gross inter-
est. Note: If you bought the bond
late in 1995 and did not receive
the first interest payment until
1996, the offset would occur on
the 1996 tax return filed in 1997.
Q: I sold short in 1995. Why are
the gross proceeds reported on the
form 1099-B if the position was
not closed by year end?
A: Because gross proceeds must
be reconciled, you can simply
attach a written statement to the
FINANCIAL FOCUS
schedule D of form 1040 stating
that the dollar amount of gross
proceeds represents the proceeds
of a short sale that was still open at
year end. The transaction is a tax-
able gain or loss in the year in
which the securities are delivered
to close out the sale.
Q: I did a 1035 exchange from
one annuity to another. The insur-
ance company issued a 1099-R.
How do I reconcile this on the
form 1040?
A: Use form 1040, Line 16, pen-
sions and annuities, to do the rec-
onciliation. On line 16A, enter the
value of the annuity as shown on
the form 1099-R. On line 16B,
enter the taxable amount, which is
zero. The form 1099-R should
show a "6" in box 7, indicating
that a 1035 exchange occurred.
Q: Last year, I separated from
my employer. I had my 401 (K)
directly transferred into an IRA. A
form 1099-R arrived from the
company. What should I do?
A: The IRS refers to this trans-
action as a "direct rollover," for
which the 1099-R is properly
issued. The form 1099-R should
show a code "G" in box 7 indicat-
ing that a direct rollover has
occurred. On line 16A of the form
1040, enter the gross'amount Of
the distribution. On line 16B, enter
the taxable portion, which if the
entire amount (other than after-tax
contributions) was rolled over,
would be zero. Later this year, you
and the IRS will receive a copy of
the form 55498 showing that a
rollover contribution was received
in 1995. You are not required to
send a copy of the 5498 to the IRS.
Q: I took a distribution from my
IRA and rolled it back within 60
days. What should I do now that I
have received a from 1099-R?
A: You should reconcile the
rollover on line 15, "IRA distribu-
tions," on the form 1040. On line
15A, enter the value of the distrib-
ution and on line 15B, enter the
amount that is includable in
income, which should be zero if
the entire distribution was rolled
back. Both you and the IRS will
get a form 5498 (see note in previ-
ous answer) showing receipt Of a
rollover contribution.
Q: How is a return of principal
from a unit investment trust han-
dled on the tax return?
A: Treat the return of principal
as a sale on schedule D of form
1 040. Enter the amount of the pay-
ment as both the sales price and
the cost basis so that there is no
gain or loss. Then reduce the over-
all cost of the investment by the
return of principal.
Q: A mutual fund paid a divi-
dend in January 1996 but it
showed up on the 1995 form
1099-DIV. How is this possible?
A: If a dividend is declared by a
mutual fund in the last quarter of
the year, payable to shareholders
of record as of a date in that quar-
ter, then as long as the dividend is
paid before the end of January of
the following year, the dividend is
taxable in the prior year. Example:
A mutual fund declares a dividend
on November 15; 1995, payable to
shareholders of record as of
November 30, 1995. The dividend
is paid January 15, 1996, and is
taxable in 1995.
Q: My account statement shows
that I received both short-term and
long-term capital gains distribu-
tions from my mutual funds. How-
ever, my form 1099-DIV omits
the short-term gain and reports
only capital gains distributions.
Why?
A: Short-term capital gains dis-
tribUtions from a mutual fund for
individual taxpayers are treated as
ordinary dividends. They are
taxed as ordinary income and
reported as ordinary dividends,
even if they come from a tax-
exempt mutual fund. The term
"capital gains distributions" on the
form 1099-DIV refers only to
long-term capital gains distribu-
tions.
Bruce Chilcoat is an account
executive and certified financial
planner with Dean Witter
Reynolds in Georgetown.
