OCEAN CITY – Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian announced the closing of longtime family business, Gillian’s Wonderland Pier and 6th Street Pizza and Grill.
Gillian released a letter on Friday, Aug. 9, saying the business was no longer viable and after 94 years in operation on the Ocean City Boardwalk, he planned to retire and begin a new chapter in his life.
“The property itself is no longer mine,” Gillian wrote, “so we can’t speak to its future.”
The property at 6th Street and the Boardwalk was purchased in 2021 by hotelier and property developer Eustace Mita for a reportedly discounted amount of $10 million. Mita coincidentally held the majority of a mortgage on Gillian’s residence, as well.
A Notice of Federal Tax Lien for the taxpayer identified as Gillian Brothers Inc., dated July 12, 2019, showed unpaid taxes from 2012 and 2014 in the amount of $4,316,542.26.
Gillian said Wonderland Pier would operate into October in order to give ticket holders the opportunity to use up their tickets.
Gillian said he had spent 47 years in the business, beginning work at age 13. He mentioned learning how to fix and operate rides at a young age and learned the business from his father and brothers. He said working in the business forced him to become a jack of all trades. However, “increasingly difficult challenges” have essentially forced the closing of the landmark establishment.
Gillian’s grandfather David Gillian started in the amusement business in 1929 in Ocean City. He retired in 1957 and afterward the business was operated by his sons Bob and Roy until 1977. It was Roy, working alone, who started Wonderland Pier at 600 Boardwalk. He also served as mayor of Ocean City from 1984 to 1989. Jay Gillian became mayor in 2010.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
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