Middle Awards 6th Liquor License

COURT HOUSE – Middle Township Committee’s meeting Dec. 16 saw the award of the municipality’s sixth plenary consumption liquor license, following a successful $803,000 bid by Teresa Hand.
The Hand family owns and operates Fred’s Tavern in Stone Harbor. Thomas Hand nodded to his wife after the meeting, saying, “This is her project.”
The plan calls for a waterfront restaurant on a site near the Grassy Sound Marina. The vacant building, the former home of Al’s Seafood, will be renovated and have a bar added.
A busy winter and spring will hopefully result in an expected opening by May. “It will be a seasonal restaurant,” Thomas Hand said.
Teresa Hand said the menu would be American seafood cuisine.
The municipality earned the sixth plenary license based on its population growth in the 2010 census. The license was claimed in 2018, but it was not offered for sale until spring 2019.
Holders of the other township licenses objected to any move that would hurt the value of licenses, for which they paid as much as $750,000. To protect the value of the existing licenses, the municipality’s first bid process required a minimum bid of $750,000. It elicited no response. 
A second bid process, with a minimum bid required of $600,000, ended up with Hand’s high bid, winning at $803,000.
Teresa Hand is the sole owner of Salty Hands, Inc., a New Jersey corporation that is the official holder of the license.
Committee members praised the project as a welcome addition to the municipality.
Calling the plans “awesome,” Committee member Theron “Ike” Gandy said, “I can’t wait to see what you do with it.” Michael Clark also praised the venture.
Mayor Timothy Donohue said the municipality looked forward to supporting the new business.
The site for the new restaurant can be seen from the Route 147 overpass, to the right and down, as one drives out of North Wildwood. The existing building sits as a neighbor to the Grassy Sound Marina.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.