Atlantic City’s First Legal Distillery Nears Opening

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Atlantic City will soon boast its first ever legal distillery, thanks to brothers Eric and Mark Ganter. The Little Water Distillery may not be the first to ever produce spirits in the city, but it will be the first to do so with federal and state licenses. The distillery, which began life as a family daydream after Eric and Mark’s dad received a still for his birthday in 2013, will launch an American whisky dubbed WHITECAP around December 15, just in time for those of us who failed to do all our holiday shopping this past weekend. The whisky is the result of a collaboration with a distillery in the Appalachian mountains that the Ganter brothers struck up a friendship with during their multi-year process to launch their Atlantic City site. The name is a play on the white caps of the mountains and the Atlantic ocean, Eric Ganter explained.

More about: Atlantic City, Business, Atlantic City, distillery, little water, small business, tumble inn

Atlantic City Demolition Bids Sought

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Atlantic County Improvement Authority is seeking sealed bids for demolition of two Atlantic City houses. One of the three-story homes is 2415 Arctic Ave between N. Georgia and N. Florida Aves. The other is 104 South Albion Place, just up the road from Chef Vola’s between Pacific Avenue and the Boardwalk. Bids will be opened at 2.30 pm on Tuesday Dec. 6.

More about: Government, Atlantic City, demolition

There’s Something Happening On Pauline’s Prairie

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Something is happening down in Atlantic City’s Inlet neighborhood. A machine has appeared and some serious fencing has gone up around two vacant blocks. It’s not quite on the scale of the Gateway Project yet, but it looks like Boraie Development’s plan to build 250 rental units in one of Atlantic City’s most persistently development-starved neighborhoods is getting underway. Better known to some as Pauline’s Prairie or the mother ship of Atlantic City’s vacant lots, the site has been empty for 50 years. The project – dubbed The Beach at South Inlet – is set to include a gym, lounge, pool, parking, restaurants, shops and – yes – a grocery store alongside the housing units, but it has been slow to advance from initial plans laid out in 2013.

More about: Atlantic City, Homepage Featured, Atlantic City, boraie development, CRDA, Inlet, Pauline's Prairie, The Beach at South Inlet

Princeton Antiques Book Shop Is An Atlantic City Treasure

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You’ve probably driven or walked by Princeton Antiques Book Shop on Atlantic Ave in Atlantic City. It’s a tall, colorful and eye-catching building with hundreds of books in cases outside. Maybe you’ve even thought about going inside. Apparently, a smattering of locals each week stop in to tell owner Robert Ruffolo just that – that they’ve always wondered what it looks like inside. It is an above-ground catacomb lined with books.

More about: Business, absecon island, Atlantic City, books, bookstores, princeton antiques book shop, robert ruffolo, Stockton

CRDA, Miss America And Boardwalk Hall

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The Miss America Organization is getting 1,800 square feet of prime Atlantic City real estate from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority for $1,500 a month, according to CRDA, but the nonprofit pageant says it’s not a done deal. “We are currently in discussions, and there is no further information at this time,” said a spokesperson for the Miss America Organization in an email, after we sent them a copy of a CRDA press release announcing their new office-space arrangement. Miss America Organization currently has office space at The Claridge and it was not immediately clear what would happen to that space. CRDA said the lease, which will start in April, was signed between the organization and Spectra Venue Management, which operates Boardwalk Hall and The Convention Center. When we questioned the price of the lease, they told us that the office space is “not upscale or highly visible and it features no windows.”

More about: Watchdog Journalism, Atlantic City, CRDA, miss america organization, starbucks

Atlantic City: Waste Removal Proposal Changes

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Atlantic City, seeking to reduce costs by contracting out some of its waste removal among other municipal services, has a new proposal out that includes changes that came up in a pre-bid meeting with potential contractors. The fact that there was a pre-bid meeting and there were interested parties with questions is probably a good thing for the city (given how well the closed auction for Bader Field went). The changes are incorporated in this document here and mostly focus on requiring the contractor to provide waste containers to apartments and condominiums and defining “bulk waste” in some detail. Bids must be submitted by 11am on Tuesday Oct. 18.

More about: Government, Atlantic City, bid, contract, waste

Triad Associates Gets AC Consulting Contract

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Atlantic City’s Purchasing Board awarded a one-year contract to Triad Associates to provide consulting services related to Community Development Block Grants for one year. Triad, based in Vineland, is a community development group that has worked in South Jersey and further afield for almost 40 years. The Purchasing Board’s award, posted on the City’s site here, also shows that a request for proposals to provide technical assistance to Atlantic City businesses drew no bidders.  

More about: Government, Atlantic City, triad associates

UPDATE: Atlantic City’s MUA Seeks Bankruptcy Advisor To Tackle Casino Trustee’s Claims

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This story was updated on Monday Sept. 26 to include new information in the first three paragraphs and other details from an interview with the MUA’s executive director. Atlantic City’s Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) is seeking bankruptcy counsel, according to a request for qualifications published on the authority’s website on Friday. The MUA is seeking legal advice after it was sued by the trustee supervising the bankruptcy of Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Mahal casinos, the water authority’s executive director Bruce Ward said on Monday. The MUA was a vendor to the casinos and the legal action is part of a typical bankrupcty process, Ward said.

More about: Atlantic City, Atlantic City, atlantic city municipal utilities authority, bruce ward, emergency loan, mua