(The Hometown View resumes on Monday, August 25)
If you’ve listened to me over the years you know Seaside Park is one of my favorite places and I treasure my time off when I can enjoy the beaches there and other parts of the town which make it such a popular destination. That includes the Sawmill Café which has become a sort of landmark since opening on the boardwalk 31 years ago. However when a new ordinance goes into effect this Monday it may signal the slow death of a place which has been enjoyed by young and old alike.
Last month the Borough Council approved an ordinance to close all businesses that hold liquor licenses at midnight and it does not take a rocket scientist to figure this was aimed at one place….the Sawmill. That’s because there are only two other places in the town that hold liquor licenses….the Windjammer Motel and the Seaside Park Yacht Club. While they may be affected it is not nearly the financial blow being delivered to the Sawmill and its owner Steve D’Onofrio who by the way has been a generous supporter and friend to many causes and organizations over the years.
Seaside Park loves to throw around that they are a family town and the Sawmill does not fit their image. Sure there have been problems at times but that’s what you get with a busy tavern in a shore town, especially in the summer and on weekends. There is a strong feeling that this new ordinance is the culmination of a strained relationship between public officials and D’Onofrio over the addition of a second floor called “The Green Room” a few years back.
I don’t have all the information and I’m sure you can get two very different stories. However I do know that whenever the issue of the early closing was debated those opposed to it always outnumbered the few local residents who obviously wish there were no liquor licenses in the town. By the way I’m sure some of them did not even live in Seaside Park when the Sawmill first opened in the summer of 1977.
At a time when businesses are struggling the earlier closing can only have a negative impact on the many others who benefit from the popularity of the Sawmill, especially those nearby on the boardwalk. As for the future of a place known for it’s fair prices and large slices of pizza…well that’s in doubt. How does a bar at the shore survive when it gives last call at 11:30pm and has to clear out the place by midnight? The answer is it probably doesn’t and I guess that is what some have wanted all along.
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1 comment:
This is extremely sad to hear. Though I do not go to the Sawmill often late night I do know how great it is and that last calls at 11:30PM will kill business. I hope there is something that could be done to change this and I am sure the owners are still fighting it.
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