Boardwalk eateries looking to serve alcohol

Concession owners say liquor licenses needed to operate year-round, make profit

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Owners of the new eateries on the boardwalk are looking to serve beer and other alcoholic beverages in the hope of making their businesses profitable and remaining open throughout the year.

The new concessions, which opened this summer, were only permitted to serve food and non-alcoholic beverages, though an initial request for proposals had stated that the city could allow the sale and consumption of alcohol at certain locations.

Sean Sullivan, owner of Beach Local Café, at Grand Boulevard; Greg LaPenna, owner of Shakes & Shuckers, at Lincoln Boulevard; and Brian Braddish, owner of Riptides, at Edwards Boulevard, are seeking permission from the city, which owns and rents the spaces, to renegotiate their five-year lease agreements and apply for state liquor licenses in response to customer demand and in order to boost revenue.

“At the end of the RFP process, it was decided that they weren’t going to allow it this summer,” said Sullivan, who previously owned Swingbelly’s in the West End. “We all kind of went into it with the idea that if we can’t have something to drink this year, then next year.”

But the move is opposed by Long Beach AWARE, formerly known as the Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing underage drinking and drug abuse in town. The group sent a letter to the City Council last month urging members to deny the request by the concession owners, who had approached AWARE about their proposal.

“They came [to us] and said they could not continue to make money without a liquor license, and asked what could they do for us to support it,” said Judi Vining, executive director of Long Beach AWARE. “The research says that the more outlets you have in a community, the more underage drinking you have, and we’re way beyond that tipping point.”

More than hot dogs and burgers

The concessions were part of the boardwalk improvements following Hurricane Sandy. Last year, the City Council approved an $8.6 million project to rebuild five comfort stations and restrooms at Grand, Edwards, Lincoln, Pacific and Riverside boulevards that were wiped out by the storm, and to add food concessions and other amenities to make the boardwalk a more “family-friendly destination” and offer more than hot dogs and burgers. Gentle Brew and the Hurley Surf Center occupy the other two spaces.

“I thank Long Beach AWARE for sharing their thoughts and concerns, and look forward to having a full conversation with all of the interested parties and organizations in the coming weeks,” City Councilman Scott Mandel said.

The city said earlier this year that is was looking to keep the concessions open in the spring and fall, in the hope of attracting visitors in the off-season. Sullivan said that he, LaPenna and Braddish invested heavily in renovations earlier this year, installing commercial kitchens, plumbing and fire alarms, which delayed their openings until later in the summer. Sullivan declined to disclose his monthly rent or the cost of the renovations. LaPenna did not return a call seeking comment, and Braddish could not be reached.

“Both the concession owners, the city and the locals, everybody would like to see us remain open much longer in the season or even all year-round,” Sullivan said, “but the only way to accomplish that, financially, is to have some form of SLA license to drive revenue.”

Vining said that there are already more than 90 establishments in Long Beach that sell alcohol, and that the rate of underage drinking is 20 percent higher than the state and county averages. Last December, she said that 68.4 percent of 11th-graders had reported drinking in the previous month, up from 44 percent in 2013, an increase she attributed in large part to the toll that Sandy had on the community.

In her letter to the City Council, Vining wrote that allowing alcohol sales on the boardwalk would send the wrong message to kids — and that the concession operators won the leases “fully knowing that there would be no alcohol allowed to be sold.”

“We understand the financial toll that Sandy and her aftermath have taken on our community and fully support and encourage economic development,” Vining wrote. “However, four years later, it is time to look at the toll she has taken on our youth. The numbers don’t lie, and the research is clear. We now need to carefully consider our economic choices when they endanger our youth.”

Schools Superintendent David Weiss, who sits on AWARE’s board of directors, agreed. “Clearly, the widespread availability of alcohol increases the risk factors for students,” he said.

But Greg Fried, AWARE’s board president, said that while he shares Vining’s concerns, he believes that because the establishments would remain focused on food, they should have the same opportunities as other private businesses.

“These aren’t bars and hangouts,” he said. “The Overlook, they serve beer and wine, and the Allegria [Hotel] serves booze. Does anyone really believe that three more places serving alcohol are going to make a difference? I obviously strongly oppose underage drinking, but that’s not the only consideration here.”

Trying to reach a compromise

Sullivan said that the business owners had approached Long Beach AWARE before reaching out to city officials in the hope of working with the group and addressing any concerns. They had offered to make compromises, such as increasing the age for those who could purchase alcohol from 21 to 23.

“We were fully willing to work with them about moving this forward and taking any concerns they had into consideration,” Sullivan said. “We were quite disappointed that they weren’t receptive.”

Sullivan said that additional renovations, including an enclosure, would be made to the structures so that they could operate year-round. Beach Local currently has 12 seats inside, as well as picnic tables in an outdoor patio area. “Alcohol would be contained inside the premises,” he explained.

Sullivan, who was one of the Herald’s People of the Year in 2012 and 2013, is known around town for his volunteer efforts, especially after Sandy.

Braddish, also known for giving back to the community, is the former owner of the Tiki Bar in the West End, which closed in 2010 after its liquor license was revoked by the State Liquor Authority when it failed to pay a $10,000 fine for serving alcohol to minors.

Ultimately, Sullivan said, it would be up to the SLA to grant the licenses, and concession owners would work with the city to restrict alcohol use on the boardwalk.

“If you go to Rockaway, if you go to Jones Beach or any beach on the Ocean Parkway — every place but Long Beach — someone who is of age can buy something to drink,” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to make it a cool place to go and have dinner, and watch the sunset on the boardwalk. The thing that people asked for the most all summer long was exactly that — something to drink with dinner.”