New business replaces Overlook at the Beach

Overlook at the Beach, a popular outdoor bar and restaurant at New York Avenue, scrapped plans to reopen this summer amid a dispute with its landlord over concerns about the impact that a coastal protection project would have on business.

A new business, Danny Mac’s Ocean Bar and Grill, has taken over the space, at 5 New York Ave., and opened May 26, according to the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Overlook at the Beach owners Patrick and Mark Evangelista — who also manage a Manhattan location — had expressed concerns in recent months over an Army Corps of Engineers project that kicked off in Long Beach in March, saying that the work would hurt their seasonal business.

Work on the $230 million coastal protection project, which the city approved in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, includes the rehabilitation of 20 existing jetties on the barrier island. The Army Corps is using New York Avenue beach as an access point and staging area for large stones and equipment — directly in front of the building — and work on the New York Avenue jetty began this month.

Overlook initially opened in the spring of 2012 and was shuttered just months later when Sandy struck. After rebuilding and cutting through red tape, the brothers reopened in 2015.

At two public meetings in April, the Evangelistas had told the City Council and Army Corps officials that the work area and beach closure would hurt their business.

According to Patrick Evangelista, their landlord, Charles Mayeri, was concerned that the eatery would see a decline in business. They were in the third year of a five-year lease, Patrick said, when Mayeri recently changed the terms of their agreement.

“My landlord … decided to change the terms of my lease from month-to-month to pre-paying it for the full season including utilities, so I would have had to come up with a large sum of money — a high five figure amount,” Patrick said, “which was not how we did things the first two years of my lease. He wanted to make sure he got his money no matter how business will be impacted.”

Despite their efforts to work out a deal with his landlord, Evangelista said, Mayeri found a new operator for the facility who was willing to pay more for the space.

Mayeri locked the doors of the building with the brothers’ equipment still inside, Patrick said. The brothers — who opted not to pursue a costly legal battle — worked out a deal with the new operator for their equipment.

Patrick said the new business owner, Danny Mac, was unaware that he and his brother were still interested in the facility when he made the agreement with Mayeri. Mac did not immediately respond to the Herald’s request for comment.

However, Mayeri maintains that his tenant “walked away” from the lease due to the nearby construction. He added that, under the terms of the lease, the Evangelistas had normally paid a large portion of the rent before the start of the summer season.

“They had a great summer last summer,” said Mayeri. “But, apparently, the Army Corps construction scared them off and they walked away. I got lucky — I got someone to take the place.”

Mayeri and Evangelista both declined to disclose the rent.

Others familiar with the talks claim that the Evangelistas were hoping that Mayeri would reduce their rent this year due to the Army Corps work, and did not make this season’s initial payment.

“When they didn’t do that, the landlord started to get concerned,” said one person familiar with the negotiations. “[Mark and Patrick] had the opportunity to move forward, but they were looking for a deal to cut the rent substantially.”

James Lynch, a member of the chamber’s executive board, said that while he was disappointed that both sides could not come to an agreement, he was optimistic about the new operator.

“It appears there was a contractual issue and the landlord went for a new [operator],” said Lynch. “The chamber’s just happy … that they’ll be open for the summer.”