🤑 Shore goes bougie | Down the Shore

I moved to Ventnor from Philly 27 years ago this July 3, when my daughter was 3 months old. We had walked her home from Pennsylvania Hospital in a snugli, and for those first three months, never ventured much further than the water ice place on South Street, and so her very first car ride was over the Walt Whitman Bridge headed Down the Shore, the ultimate Shoobie. Immediately, I had a foot in two camps. I wasn’t a real local, but now I was full-time, my kids would go to local schools and camps, hang out on the hot sand with the other middle school kids, take off on the handlebars of friends’ bikes, know the lifeguards, scoop water ice at Mento’s, work as beach badge checkers, cheer for the Ventnor Pirates, run track and row crew for Atlantic City High, have friends trying to sneak by with their packs of Natty Ice.

Back then, it was a local’s town. The influx in the summer was dramatic: It was always shocking to see people I knew from Philly suddenly appearing in my town acting like it was the finest place on earth. Where’ve you guys been?

It was a town of families that had been here for generations, plus newer year-rounders who came down for jobs in the casinos. The Heights was filled with families of cocktail waitress or blackjack dealer moms who worked the swing shift, and firefighter, police officer, or general contractor dads. The homes were affordable. We were no Margate, and I mean that only in the best way.

Fast forward. The Ventnor of today is, well, a different place. Hurricane Sandy, 10 years ago this October, forced a lot of people to walk away from damaged homes, or to sell while they could. The casino closings in 2014 led others to leave for casino jobs elsewhere. The real estate market of today is still so hot that homes are selling for twice their assessed value in formerly modest year-round neighborhoods in Ventnor Heights . School enrollment in Ventnor has leveled off, but it’s down to about 650 from a high of more than 1,000 when my kids were there.

Like so much of the Shore, much of Ventnor is now the property of, and under the influence of, affluent second home owners. With that comes increased ratables and property values, new construction, an influx in new businesses and restaurants, not to mention a very fine Farmer’s Market and, suddenly, a lot of organic wine.

On July 1, Vanessa Wong of Fishtown Social fame will open Wahine Wine Co. and Fish & Whistle Market, a natural wine shop and gourmet food market at the base of the Dorset Avenue bridge, across from The Dorset, the new brunch spot that replaced the homespun classic Annette’s. Florida Cold Cuts has been bought by a group connected to esteemed Shore restaurateur Cookie Till, and while they are committed to keeping the old-school stylings, and chicken salad, of Vern and Marion Sutley, they’ve already swapped out the liquor offerings. Solenta organic tequila anyone?

📮 Has the Shore gone bougie? Can regular people get a foothold anymore at the Shore? What is lost or gained in the character of these towns? Let me know what you think by replying to this email and. I’ll include your most interesting responses.

I write about changing Ventnor here.

⚡ The Fourth will be lit and lit up. Watch out for possible thunderstorms.

— Amy S. Rosenberg (🐦 Tweet me at @amysrosenberg. 📷 Follow me on Insta at @amyrosenberg. 📧 Email me at downtheshore@inquirer.com)

📺 Gym, tan, mini golf: Productions crews for MTV’s Jersey Shore 2.0 reboot were seen setting up camp in Atlantic City down by the inlet in two large houses in the first block of Atlantic Avenue. High jinks, and very nearby Hot Bagels and North Beach Mini Golf, to follow.

🎡 Boardwalk en Blanc The debut of the Parisian-themed pop up Dîner en Blanc in Atlantic City showed the old Boardwalk still can bring the elegance. About 2,600 people dined in front of Showboat and on Garden Pier, both owned by Bart Blatstein, who helped bring the event to A.C., with tables stretching to Ocean Casino. Check out Vernon Ogrodnek’s gorgeous Atlantic City Dîner en Blanc photos.

🎰 Down to the wire: Casino workers were in negotiations with Tropicana, Caesars, Harrah’s, Borgata, and Hard Rock, with a strike deadline of July 1 for the first four and July 3 for Hard Rock. A strike could cost four casinos $2.6 million a day, the union, Local 54 of Unite, said here.

⭐ Sightings: Dining at Cafe 2825 in Atlantic City was Andrea Bocelli. Jason Kelce was in Sea Isle City ahead of a bartending gig at the OD to raise money for autism, and Nick Sirianni was in Ocean City.

⚖️ Watch the Tram Car, bicycles, indictments and flooding: Tough news cycle for Wildwood, as its past and current mayors were indicted for fraudulently getting state health benefits, a charge they say was an administrative error. Elsewhere, streets were flooding in heavy rain despite new pumps, and residents were urging a crackdown on kids on bikes “playing chicken” with the Tram Cars.

🚫 No point: Stone Harbor is closing the Point until July 8 for as it struggles to repair damage from erosion. The 123d Street parking lot will be closed until 3:30 p.m. July 1, then again from July 5 to July 8. .

👨‍🍳 Craig Laban visited six new restaurants in Wildwood and Cape May, including Wildwood BBQ and Block Party in Cape May, in part one of his annual Shore dining review.

🎆 Fourth of July: The beach is a beautiful place to watch fireworks, and the long weekend presents many options. Here’s our guide to July Fourth Shore Fireworks.

🍫 Indulge in chocolate-covered blueberries. The mighty Jagielky’s is marking 50 years since it opened the chocolate shop in Ventnor on June 30, 1972. You know what to do.

🌙 Cleanse your energy: Attend an oceanside Crystal & Sound Healing Ceremony on July 2 at 7 p.m. at the Caspian Avenue Beach in Atlantic City Inlet, presented by Sea Goddess Healing Arts.

🐢 Experience Barnegat’s ecosystem at Barnegat Bay Day on July 6 at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences’ family learning experience where kids can explore the Barnegat Bay ecosystem.

☂️ Also, board games. Don’t forget: Down the Shore, it rains, and it stops raining. And then it’s delightful. Stay ready. In the meantime, here’s our Rainy day guide to the Shore.

Beach-spreading (verb, noun). The practice whereby beachgoers set up tents, canopies, chairs, tables, gear, and moats in such a way to maximize the area they claim for their family. We coined the term beach-spreading in this story.

This weekend, I saw beach-spreading in which the sand-anchored canopy lines were stretched so wide that the family claimed twice as much space as they really needed. (True story).

Congrats to John Bealin, who was first on the buzzer with the answer to last week’s trivia, with Mary Scherf close behind. And to the many, many, many people who also knew that Gay Talese was the writer who grew up in Ocean City, the son of a tailor, in fact.

Here’s Kevin Shelly’s 2011 interview with Gay Talese from NJ Monthly.

This week’s question: The Jersey Shore is known for the iconic surf boats used by beach patrols for rescues and in their epic lifeguard races. The boats have inspired the new competition category of Coastal Rowing, which fans hope will debut in the 2028 Olympics.

One Jersey Shore family has been responsible for building the fiberglass boats seen up and down the Jersey coast. Who is that family?

A. The Van Zandts

B. The Van Duynes

C. The Van Drews

D. The Van Sants

If you think you know the answer, email me here and the first one will get a shout out.

Marge Schott of Margate sent in a vivid description of how her experience of the Margate beach has changed over the years, most dramatically after the 2017 beach replenishment, which residents bitterly fought.

I have lived in Margate over 50 years, love Iroquois Ave beach from walking over the steps, seeing the beautiful ocean to walking a zig-zag path for a glimpse of the ocean; from knowing everyone on the beach to trying to locate a familiar face; from searching the natural rock formations for ocean treasures to walking around ugly outfall pipes; I am thankful I have memories of the natural beauty of Iroquois Ave beach that once existed.

📮 Send me your Shore memory for a chance to be featured here or tweet me @amysrosenberg.

Happy Fourth. I’m handing off next week’s newsletter to my colleague Tommy Rowan, a true shoobie aficionado.