🏖️ Welcome back to the beach! | Down the Shore

Welcome back to the beach! Wait, scratch that. I mean, welcome Down the Shore! Like a lot of things these days, the distinction is controversial. Just ask “NorEaster Nick” Pittman (and we do, below), a South Jersey weather person who recently admitted he never said “Down the Shore,” and was hit with 2,000 passionate responses. 🌊 As a Brigantine guy, Nick said he always just went to the beach, and that down the shore makes no sense to locals. Let’s just say a lot of people disagreed.

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And so a big welcome from me, Amy Rosenberg, to Down the Shore, a weekly newsletter that will be your beach buddy this summer to keep you in the know about all things Jersey Shore.

Philly people, of course, will always lovingly go Down the Shore, and sometimes even Downashore, and swear by it, but those already here usually just go to the beach. But why so much passion about the phrase? It got me thinking about the different experiences of people who come for a week or two or a day, and really commit to the experience, vs. locals who know we’ve got all summer (all year!) to get our fill. You could make the case for both.

One weekend last year, I went rogue and left Jersey altogether to go with family to Jacob Riis Park in Queens, N.Y., where we battled epic traffic, searched for faraway (in Rockaway) parking, waited on lines for food, spent hours and hours by the water, and, well, it was awesome. A truly joyful experience of something I can take for granted. But yet. The experience of casually feeling the wind shift, heading out for a late-day swim, of staying ready for the rain lifting, of seeing the same people at the same time in the same places, and all those sunsets, well, that’s the local’s treat.

🦀 This year, going Down the Shore will cost you. Rising real estate prices have put rentals and Shore homes out of reach for many, and some old Jersey Shore year-round neighborhoods are feeling like the domain of summer people. Let’s just say, I’m seeing new construction and Land Rovers in surprising places. Even the prices of boardwalk tchotchkes in Ocean City are sky high.

Does this change the character of the Shore? Ten years ago, after Hurricane Sandy, then-Gov. Christie vowed to save the blue-collar appeal of the Jersey Shore. Has that ship sailed? Is the Shore now better or worse?

📮 Let me know what you think by replying to this email.

🏄 Surf’s up for summer 2022, a season that feels ready to just be itself, hopefully free of the worries of the last two years. Tides will be going out through early afternoon this Memorial Day weekend, so stretch out.

— Amy S. Rosenberg (Tweet me at @amysrosenberg, follow me on Insta at @amysrosenberg, email me at downtheshore@inquirer.com)

🎡 Where the deals are. In Atlantic City, they want you to know their real estate is the best value you’ll find at the Shore. A.C. recently invited the LGBTQ community for a tour, and places like the Orange Loop and North Beach Mini Golf are investing. Meanwhile, keep watch on these 18 beach block lots up for auction.

🎪 Are outdoor dining tents out of character in Longport? Mayor Nick Russo thinks so. Longport wanted to do away with the elaborate COVID-19 streeteries on Longport’s one stretch of restaurants, to the dismay of Ozzie’s and Catch. After Catch chef Joe Tucker promised, “next year no more tent,” and a smaller footprint, Longport gave a basic go-ahead for another tent vibe summer. Meanwhile, in Margate, the city has reclaimed a block of Essex Avenue that had been blocked off for a festive extension of Boca Bistro.

🎧 Listen to Tucker plead his case to Longport.

👨‍🍳 Why was chef Carl Messick sprinting around Cape May after espresso cups and butter dishes? The veteran chef’s new restaurant, Grana, had 800 reservations before it even opened. It’s in the old Godmother’s building, which was once the Old Ship, which was once a pharmacy. So many things used to be something else around here. Read Jason Nark’s inside story of Grana’s opening.

👕 Boardwalk finishes and Wildwood kisses. Wildwood completed its first phase of boardwalk re-decking in time for Memorial Day weekend, but at least some North Wildwood beaches will likely be closed due to storm erosion. Meanwhile, ABC’s The Bachelorette was spotted filming a hometown date in Wildwood to air this summer.

💏 Local hero kisses Bachelorette after funnel cake.

😌 Cannabis has arrived. No doubt you’ve heard, weed is legal for adults to buy in New Jersey. The closest to the Shore is still Egg Harbor Township, but look eventually for spots in Atlantic City on New York Avenue and Pacific Avenue behind Boardwalk Hall.

🚫 You still can’t legally smoke weed on the beach (or drink alcohol 😉). Where to buy marijuana on your way to the Shore.

🚌 OurBus will drive you from Philly to the Shore.

🥇 Rejoice in another year at legendary Smitty’s Clam Bar in Somers Point, which is for sale but back for another season. Feast on Mike Klein’s guide to new Shore restaurants.

🚨 Discover a fish bowl. A.C.’s Fishheads was evicted from Gardner’s Basin in a kerfuffle involving N.J. Green Acres restrictions. But you can still go by land or sea to Sirens Bar & Grill in Bungalow Park to feel like you’ve come to a resort island. Which, come to think of it, you have. Their “Signature Fish Bowl” drinks are 20 ounces. 🍹 Order actual fish from the food menu. 🍻 Here’s Tommy Rowan’s guide to Shore breweries.

🎸 Find new venues. Louisiana blues guitarist Tab Benoit will be at the new Exit Zero Ferry Park in North Cape May this Sunday, and A.C.’s Anchor Rock Club has a full summer schedule. Heard of the Lizzie Rose Music Room? Read Dan DeLuca’s summer music preview.

🍪 Make a reservation. This summer, you might actually have a shot at a reservation at Steve & Cookies, the Margate institution. No longer is there just ONE DAY, in March, where they take a summer’s worth of reservations, with a line out the door and phones jammed. Steve & Cookies now uses Resy, 30 days in advance. Revolutionary. In the meantime, here’s our guide to MDW activities.

Offshore (noun) This is confusing but essential. While the official definition of offshore is something moving from the shore out over the ocean, like offshore winds, Down the Shore, it means the opposite: where you end up when you leave the Shore and cross a bridge.

For now, to legally buy adult-use cannabis, you’ll still have to go offshore.

In what town did the mayor cause controversy by living with the police chief, and which is also the home of the Shore’s “diviest bar game?”

A. Wildwood

B. North Wildwood

C. West Wildwood

D. Sea Isle City

If you think you know the answer, click on this story to find out.

If it’s the middle of the night and Shore winds are rattling, you may be hiding, but “NorEaster Nick” Pittman, 29, is out of bed broadcasting on Facebook. Nick’s worked for two local stations that closed. But now, independent, he’s got more followers than any Philly-area forecaster except Cecily Tynan and Adam Joseph.

How has Brigantine changed since you were a kid? When I was growing up, it was more a middle-class town. Everyone was working in the casinos. Nobody I went to school with is there anymore. Their parents aren’t there. Brigantine was always different than Ocean City, Avalon, but Brigantine is becoming that. As houses get passed down in the generations, they’re saying this plot of land is worth a million bucks.

Can you explain the fly and wind connection again? It’s insane. There are people that post, “Are there going to be flies today?” If you grew up on the beach, you know an onshore flow will be cool and no bugs. But the offshore flow [land breeze] will be buggy.

Why does Brigantine have so many greenheads? There’s marshy area just to the north. The north side of the area is undeveloped. Even a north wind coming down beach is going to be blowing the greenheads down.

Things are always shifting at the beach, washing up, disappearing, and it is usually good for your psyche. Simply walking my dog with music in my ears as we step in and around the tide can be, well, beautiful.

That’s a memory of mine I make nearly every day. Send us your Shore memory in 200 words. Tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space during the summer.

📮 Send me your Shore memory for a chance to be featured here..

See you at the beach! And let me know your favorite one, and why.