Exclusive Details on Moorlyn Theatre

It’s Night in Venice weekend! The tributes to Jimmy Buffett begin tonight, with the Landsharks performing at the Music Pier. We have your full Night in Venice guide, along with an exclusive on the reopening of Moorlyn Theatre. Let’s get to it.

In the email today:

• 📆 Upcoming Events in (and around) Ocean City

• 🎥 Moorlyn Theatre To Reopen on the Boardwalk Next …

• 🚤 Night in Venice Details

• 🏖️ Ocean City Set For Record Summer

• 🔗 News Links

• 🍝 Inquirer Names Two Ocean City Restaurants as “E …

• ⚾️ We Need To Get Alec Bohm To Come To Ocean City

• 🍑 A Summertime Staple

• 📈 Previous Poll Results

• 📊 Poll

• 🌊 Tides

📆 Upcoming Events in (and around) Ocean City

For the sake of time, and space, since there are so many events this week, we recommend you check out each of the following links for the onslaught of mid-summer events in Shore towns.

You can see the full list of events in all nearby Shore towns with the following links: Ocean City | Sea Isle | Margate | Avalon | Stone Harbor | Somers Point | Wildwood | Cape May | Ventnor

Also note the Ocean City Library has many events for adults and kids alike on their calendar, which can be viewed here.

🎥 Moorlyn Theatre To Reopen on the Boardwalk Next Week(!)

I spoke to Town Square Entertainment Principal Partner Clint Bunting this week. He told me that his company, which purchased the old Moorlyn Theatre on the Boardwalk a couple of years ago, will be reopening the theatre as early as next Thursday, July 25.

As we’ve outlined previously, crews have been working on the inside of the building this summer. The last hurdle has been the screens themselves— a speciality contractor will be in Moorlyn on Monday to get them hung and ready for the reopening.

So what can we expect out of the revamped Moorlyn?

• 4 individual theaters

• laser projectors, Dolby Atmos sound

• comfortable, slight-recline seating (though not the massive full-recline chairs Town Square uses in some of its other theaters, as those seats require more space than is available at the Boardwalk location)

• all-new everything: coastal-inspired floors, walls, drapes, high-end tile, and a brand new roof to replace the original, which had accumulated 7 layers and still had leaks

• sconces that were originally designed to be used in Disney in the halls

“Our belief is that if you make something really nice, people will treat it really nicely,” Bunting said.

Bunting says Moorlyn will remain open through about January 2 (to capture the busy holiday season) and then close until around Easter time next spring.

Like Town Square’s other theaters in Northfield, Stone Harbor, Rio Grande and Ventnor - which, I’ll add, are awesome - the vibe will be “retro high-style”, according to Bunting.

Our exclusive pictures, taken today just prior to sending this email, confirm it:

Bunting said the city has been wildly supportive of the project to bring back the iconic Boardwalk venue.

“The mayor and council have been awesome,” Bunting said. “They’ve been very, very supportive.”

Bunting and his two partners at Town Square, Brett DeNafo and Scot Kaufman, specifically wanted to call out two locals who were instrumental in getting it done: Council President and real estate agent Pete Madden, who helped with the property purchase commission-free, and real estate lawyer John Batastini.

In the fall, a new retro style marquee will be placed outside the theatre on the Boardwalk.

Bunting said things are still on track for a Thursday opening. You will be able to get showtimes and tickets on Town Square’s website right here.

🚤 Night in Venice Details

Night in Venice is tomorrow night. The theme will be a Summertime Vibes: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett.

Here are all the details:

• Parade begins at 6:30 p.m.

• Starts at Ocean City-Longport bridge and travels South to Tennessee Avenue, looping in and out of the lagoons

• Grandstands will be set up at street ends on Battersea, North, 1st, 6th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 16th, and Tennessee

• Parking with free shuttle service that will run starting at 4:00 p.m. is available at the Ocean City Municipal Airport (25th Street and Bay Avenue), Soccer Field at Tennessee Avenue (Off Shelter Road), and the Ocean City Community Center (1735 Simpson Avenue)

• ESPN’s Marty Smith will be the grand marshal, and Eagles great Brandon Graham is considered a “special guest”

Here are full details from the city. And some details specifically for the Riviera neighborhood.

Tonight, Jimmy Buffett tribute band the Landsharks will perform at the Music Pier at 7:30 p.m. You can get tickets here.

🏖️ Ocean City Set For Record Summer

Don’t believe everything you read.

Inquirer Shore reporter Amy Rosenberg, who hates the Shore, wrote about the Shore rental market (oddly about a week after we did…) in a recent article.

See if you can spot the one key variable she left out in discussing market dynamics:

You can’t talk about demand without talking about supply.

As we told you, there is more availability and last-minute discounts. But there’s also more inventory.

One Berger agent I spoke to estimates total properties listed through the agency, Ocean City’s leading rental brokerage, are up as much as 20%, but that total weeks rented would end up roughly on par or even up slightly from last year.

And to further back the claim of steady Shore demand, Maddie Vitale of OCNJDaily.com reports on beach tag sales so far this summer:

Now, you may be wondering about sales vs. prices.

Beach tag prices increased before last summer. That increase did offset a 7% decline in YoY sales as of around this time last year (the 2023 season ended down only 4% in total tags sold). But the revenue lift this year over 2023 is indicative of an increase in sales volume since prices have remained the same from last year.

Ironically, the mid-summer beach tag sales numbers reported last year came on the heels of another fear-mongering article about a downturn in Shore rentals.

So what’s happening? Well, the pandemic bubble is over. More owners are listing their places for rent - there are various theories as to why, from needing the income to owners wanting to travel more - and so owners who were used to filling all weeks at elevated prices are bit perturbed that it’s not as easy as it was a few years ago.

That’s understandable, but it hardly spells doom and gloom for the Shore. We’re still at or near all-time highs in America’s Greatest Family Resort.

🔗 News Links

• Teen who collapsed on Boardwalk returns to thank firefighters who saved his life 🚑

• Ocean City named New Jersey’s favorite beach for 11th year in a row by New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium poll 🏆

• Lucy The Elephant will announce she is running for President at the age of 143 on Saturday— this will make her the third-oldest candidate running for president as of writing this 🐘

🍝 Inquirer Names Two Ocean City Restaurants as “Essential” in Shore Dining Guide

Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan, who doesn’t hate the Shore, included two Ocean City restaurants in his “Essential Shore Dining Guide”:

• Bakeria 1010 (955 Asbury Ave.)

• Kizbee’s Kitchen (611 E. 8th St.)

He praised Bakeria for having some of the best Detroit-style pizzas in the region, and Kizbee’s for being one of the best gluten-free bakeries in the region.

We plan on reviewing Bakeria, but when I called on Saturday for a pie they were out of their trademark square crust by 6:00 p.m…. so, that’ll have to wait. One of our co-owners had their cheesesteak this week though:

He said: “Well seasoned meat, loads of cheese. Meat chopped up which I prefer. Meat-to-bread ratio very good. Roll not too doughy or thick, which I prefer. Only criticism is roll was a little soft. By Shore standards it was a very good cheesesteak. Easily in top 3 on island.”

We’ll report back on the square pizza.

Read LaBan’s full guide here (may be behind a paywall).

⚾️ We Need To Get Alec Bohm To Come To Ocean City

Spotted, Alec Bohm in Wildwood with a Fred’s Tavern shirt:

Uncle Bill’s patron Cole Hamels needs to talk some sense into him.

🍑 A Summertime Staple

The peach sundaes are in-season at Kessel’s! Got this one last night— perfect.

📈 Previous Poll Results

In our last newsletter, we asked who was in favor a proposed new mini golf course (in addition to the other new mini golf course) on 34th Street:

A sampling of responses:

“Would much rather see restaurants/deli/pizza or sandwich shops going in for more walkable dining options. Shopping would also be nice. No need for another mini golf course in the area”

“Parking! Location is dangerous with Wawa, CVS, Acme and lots of traffic both ways, especially at dusk with sunset vision obstruction. People will try to park at the Acme lot and run across a very busy road. I miss the mini golf next to the 46th St. firehouse…walkable for a great portion of south end vacationers and residents.”

“More entertainment for guests of OC the better.”

My take: People are sensitive to congestion, especially in an already congested part of the island. But other Shore towns (and 9th Street…) have major attractions on their main thoroughfares into town. Wildwood, Sea Isle, Stone Harbor— all feature heavy commercial zones as you enter.

Now, maybe you can argue you don’t want Ocean City to be like Sea Isle and Wildwood (fair!), but I’d argue that their feature businesses and attractions just over the bridge don’t detract from the town. And mini golf is, of course, hardly an offensive attraction. That the random backhoe that has been parked just off the bridge all summer and the collapsing Seaspray are much worse than a family-fun golf course.

But maybe, just maybe, let’s get a good restaurant or two in the other empty commercial areas of 34th Street to bring balance to the force. All those golfers need to eat, after all.

📊 Poll

🌊 Tides

July 19, 2024

• Low Tide: 1:16 AM

• High Tide: 7:16 AM

• Low Tide: 1:10 PM

• High Tide: 7:38 PM

July 20, 2024

• Low Tide: 2:08 AM

• High Tide: 8:05 AM

• Low Tide: 2:04 PM

• High Tide: 8:25 PM

July 21, 2024

• Low Tide: 2:57 AM

• High Tide: 8:52 AM

• Low Tide: 2:57 PM

• High Tide: 9:10 PM

July 22, 2024

• Low Tide: 3:44 AM

• High Tide: 9:39 AM

• Low Tide: 3:48 PM

• High Tide: 9:57 PM

July 23, 2024

• Low Tide: 4:29 AM

• High Tide: 10:28 AM

• Low Tide: 4:38 PM

• High Tide: 10:46 PM

July 24, 2024

• Low Tide: 5:13 AM

• High Tide: 11:19 AM

• Low Tide: 5:28 PM

• High Tide: 11:38 PM

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