BYOB Could Lure New Restaurants

To the Editor:
I am back in the South for the winter and will return to Ocean City in May unless I can persuade my family to sell our house so I can move to Savannah for our summer house.
I read Bill Barlow’s Feb. 19 story on dining clubs in Ocean City. Unlike many of the parochial people in the Northeast who rarely travel beyond their limited sphere, I have had the good fortune to see many beach towns in America. One of the cities that come to mind is Delray Beach, Fla., which has transformed from a run-down strip of stores to a thriving, contemporary restaurant scene bringing in significant tourist and residence dollars.
I compare that to Asbury Avenue, which looks and feels like something out of a broken-down Pennsylvania coal town. When the nicest facilities are a workout gym, a chain pizza shop, and a chain coffee shop, what does that tell us?
The used car dealer squeezed between houses is my favorite landmark. You simply can’t be a high resort without a used car dealer on the main shopping and dining area.
In the years of owning property in Ocean City, I have seen the town transform from a nice working man’s vacation destination to major holiday weekend escape for wealthy individuals from the Greater Philadelphia area.
The city leadership has made massive improvements in beautification of the city such as the entrance off the Ninth Street Bridge. It’s simply a nicer place.
Every tear-down is replaced with a “summer mausoleum,” where, in some cases, we rarely see signs of life. These new residents all flock off the island, I assume, for shopping and entertainment other than the one or two obligatory trips to the boardwalk with the grandchildren.
I don’t care what they do, since I never spend any money on the island other than my annual beach tags. However, I think it’s interesting we lay claim to being America’s “Greatest Family Resort,” but every trash day the clanging of recyclable alcoholic beverage bottles reveals that label is anything but true.
I would use BYOB (Bring your own bottle) to bring in nice restaurants where we can actually get something other than waffles, crab fries, and hoagies and make an attempt to make Ocean City a dining destination.
If the last census data is close to accurate, it says the town’s year-round population has shrunk 25% since 2000 down to 11,000 residents, who have an average age of 53.
I think it’s a shame that 11,000 people dictate what’s good for the 130,000 summer folks, many of whom are property owners. At the very least, the town leadership should attempt to understand the needs and wants of the seasonal “pests.”
In the end, we are all still paying just as much in taxes for the excellent schools, superb law enforcement and responsive municipal services.
Perhaps if the next census shows significant population attrition, we will be headed in the same direction as Avalon, lights on Memorial Day and out Labor Day.
It’s fine with me. I love going to other towns, like Margate, Avalon and Sea Isle City, but the highlight for me and many others is the stop at a liquor store on the gateway to America’s Greatest Family Resort.