Construction of Restaurant on Seaside Heights Pier Planned for Fall, Attractions Pitched for Summer

The Dupont Avenue Pier in Seaside Heights, N.J., July 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The developers approved to build a casual oceanfront restaurant on a pier in Seaside Heights will likely begin construction of the new venture just days after the summer season ends, the property owner’s attorney told borough planning board members Monday night, while asking for one more season of temporary attractions.

The Dupont Avenue pier, still vacant since being rebuilt after Superstorm Sandy, will eventually be home to a family-friendly restaurant that will seat 164 patrons – 87 seats on the first level and 77 on the second level – and also feature a rooftop observation platform. It will not have a liquor license. The restaurant was approved in 2021, but its developers have requested several extensions of time, the last of which runs out in April 2026. Joseph D. Coronato, the owners’ attorney, said work is expected to begin within days after the end of the upcoming summer season.

A rendering of a potential final layout of the Dupont Avenue Pier in Seaside Heights. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

---

Get Daily Island News Updates Your email address:* Please enter all required fields Correct invalid entries

The Dupont Avenue Pier in Seaside Heights, N.J., July 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

“They’re ready, and they believe they’ll have the building permit by the end of June,” said Coronato. “I think by the second week of September they’re going to start construction.”

The restaurant will compliment the Ocean Club complex next door, which features beach cabanas and a private pool, alongside a modern bar and restaurant with a large oceanfront deck on the exterior.

“We will have an open-air retractable portion in the back with a series of garage doors, and on the second level we will also have garage doors that will open up,” explained architect Jason Hanrahan, at the time of the building’s approval. “The restaurant will seem like an open air facility when the weather is right. The location lends itself to an indoor-outdoor restaurant.”

Because the pier owners do not want to begin construction during the busy summer season, they have proposed three attractions for the summer – one of which will be returning from last year. Over the course of the last several seasons, the pier has been leased to small business owners who have hosted small children’s rides, a bungee jump machine and a roasted corn stand. This year, the roasted corn stand wishes to return, alongside a face-painting booth and a dart-throwing game where visitors would pop balloons.

“Nothing on the site plan is going to be changing,” said Coronato, who was seeking instruction from the board at an informal workshop meeting on how to best present the plan at a regular meeting later this month. Planning board officials, led by board attorney Steven Zabarsky, suggested Coronato present a site plan to the board which will detail how the attractions will be handled – especially the safety aspects surrounding the dart game.

“We had safety gates and lockups because there were cars involved,” Zabarsky said. “Now we have dart-throwing,” which would likewise require some type of plan to ensure safety.

Coronato said he expects to present the plan at the board’s meeting scheduled for Monday, June 30. If approved, the borough would allow the attractions to open immediately, assuming necessary permits and coordination with the borough were in place.

A rendering of a potential final layout of the Dupont Avenue Pier in Seaside Heights. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

After the final season of attractions is completed, the pier will be cleared for construction. The future restaurant will feature several decks for oceanfront dining, with the property adding up to about 15,000 square feet once completed. As proposed, the top deck will be for observation purposes only and will not have any tables present. An elevator will be installed to take patrons from floor to floor.