Craft Beer, Bail Changes, Atlantic City Art – Wednesday’s Roundup

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Craft Beer
If you’re interested in the craft beer movement and if you’re particularly interested in how breweries in the South Jersey region are faring, you need to read this piece by Matt Skoufalos of NJ Pen. Skoufalos attended a gathering of the Garden State Craft Brewers’ Guild in Oaklyn earlier this week and covered the growing trade organization’s bid to push back against some of the state’s red tape. while growing a community that will “play nice” with other special interest groups and providing a support network to its members. Also, there’s the inside scoop on a new nanobrewery planned for downtown Haddonfield that could help bring some new visitors into the town. Bail Changes
You might have heard a lot of talk about bail reform since it went into effect on Jan.

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#ACAnonymous: Street Art In Atlantic City

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For a guerilla artist, this one is polite and well-mannered. We received an anonymous  phone call at 9.30am on Monday from Atlantic City’s mysterious new photography phenomenon. Known only by the hashtag #ACANONYMOUS, this photographer has been stapling scenic images of the city in the place of boarded-up windows, worn-out planters and faded signs.This was our conversation:

What is the idea behind #ACANONYMOUS? This is just a way to get my own artwork out on display. It’s not necessarily in your typical way – like in a gallery or having an exhibit – but I guess, this is a public way to get the photos out in neighborhoods and reach people that wouldn’t necessarily get a chance to see the work.

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Icahn & The Taj, Pedestrians and Brown Park Revisted – Tuesday’s Roundup

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Icahn & The Taj
Icahn said he will sell the Taj Mahal after Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have prevented Icahn and others from sitting on a casino license for a shuttered property. Christie said the bill was a “transparent attempt to punish the owner of the Taj Mahal casino,” and Icahn said “I believe other large investors will similarly have no interest in investing significant amounts in Atlantic City or New Jersey as long as Sweeney is in control of the Senate.” Sweeney retorted that the veto “will allow Icahn to exploit and manipulate bankruptcy laws and casino licensing regulations in ways that would enrich himself at the expense of regular casino workers and the families who depend on them.” So there you have it, via Reuters. The big men got shouty and Atlantic County is still down a casino.

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Brown Park Update

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Last December, after years of false starts, renovation began on Brown Memorial Park in Atlantic City, which had become a hang-out for drug abusers, homeless and mentally ill. Now it’s fenced off and construction crews are at work. We stopped by to ask the neighbors what they thought of the changes. You can see our original interview with Councilman Kaleem Shabazz, who spearheaded the effort to renovate the park here.

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Wawa Competition, AC Magnate in HBO Doc, Cardinal Bistro – Monday’s Roundup

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Wawa Competition
Wawa is getting some new competition from Maryland-based Royal Farms, who are building new convenience stores in South Jersey this year. The first one is in Magnolia, Camden County, but another will be opening in Marlton and two more locations will be built by the end of the year, NJ.com reports. AC Magnate in HBO Doc
Atlantic City’s Sara Spencer Washington, a beauty-product manufacturer and hair-salon owner who was one of the first black millionaires in New Jersey, will be the focus of a HBO short documentary premiering this month. “Not only was she an entrepreneur, she was a social activist,” says Royston Scott, the film’s director and Washington’s great-grandnephew. “She refused to be held back by white society.”

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A Bistro With Big Ambition

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Michael Brennan’s first job out of high school was at Le Bec-Fin in Philadelphia. He says he walked into the restaurant at age 18, in an ill-fitting shirt, to find Chef Georges Perrier standing in the door. Perrier hired him on the spot to work front-of-house, probably because restaurant week was coming up and they were about to get slammed. Now 24, Michael’s got his own restaurant, Cardinal Bistro, in Ventnor, but he still seems to have a sense of timing.In the middle of what was supposed to be a “soft opening” this summer, the restaurant critic Craig LaBan wrote a review calling him “one of the young chefs to watch this year at the Shore.” Suddenly, the kitchen was full-throttle.

More about: Business, Cardinal Bistro, Georges Perrier, Le Bec-Fin, Michael Fagan, Sherry McCracken, Ventor, Waiter Nation

Worried About Health Care Repeal, Advocates Hold Vigil Outside LoBiondo HQ

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On Wednesday night, a couple of dozen people gathered outside Rep. Frank LoBiondo’s office in Mays Landing. They were there to protest the repeal of the Affordable Care Act without any replacement plan. “Prior to the Affordable Care Act, we couldn’t afford insurance,” Jenna Alcantara, a small-business owner from Mullica Township told one of the staff at LoBiondo’s office. “To have this be where it is, is very scary to somebody like me.” (You can see an interview with Alcantara in the video below).

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Lawsuits, Underground Railroad – Friday’s Roundup

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Lawsuits
Many predicted that efforts to solve Atlantic City’s financial crisis would ultimately go to the courts and we seem to be entering that phase. On Thursday, Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez moved to block the state from taking unilateral action that would have cut 100 firefighters from the city and made other changes to the remaining workers’ union contract. The case has now been moved to federal court, which will probably increase the costs considerably. The Press of Atlantic City has all the details. So far, the only people winning from the takeover are the lawyers and accountants.

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Baltimore Grill, ReStore At The Shore, Activism – Thursday’s Roundup

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Baltimore Grill
Route 40’s Bill Sprouse brings you news on an Atlantic City icon, plus a nostalgic look at what the Baltimore Grill means to him. (For those who don’t know him, the answer is EVERYTHING, from the white plastic canisters to missing teeth, so you should just go ahead and read it.)

ReStore At The Shore
Habitat for Humanity’s new furniture store is now open in Egg Harbor Township. They are selling great furniture (some of has come from local hotel renovations and they have nearly-new stuff too) – and, if you’re a hoarder looking to offload some clutter, they will come and pick up your unwanted furniture. The Current has all the details. Activism
The Press of Atlantic City has a brief story here about growing activist movements in South Jersey including four in Egg Harbor Township, Absecon, Atlantic City and Margate.

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Baltimore Grill Sale Close?

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The hot chat Saturday night during our bike bar crawl was that the “Wet Willie’s Consortium” is buying the Baltimore Grill—Atlantic City’s iconic, much beloved and completely miraculous spaghetti-and-pizza restaurant—from the Tarsitanos and Riches, who have owned it for decades. The Baltimore Grill is impossible to describe (for me anyway) objectively. It’s like a scene from Mean Streets (this one) has been lifted out of 1973 and carried forward through time to be dropped down across the street from the school where you went to kindergarten. It’s an institution. Wet Willie’s sells slushies spiked with high-octane rum out of big swirly vats, like you see on Spring Break.

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