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August 2, 2004
THE BEACH PLACE RELOCATES TO ASBURY PARK, NJ; ED AND EDDIE GASPER SEE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR UP-AND-COMING BEACH COMMUNITY
Long hours and high traffic are the keys to success for seasonal retailers like
the father and son team of Ed and
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| Long hours and high traffic are the keys to success for seasonal retailers like the father and son team of Ed and Eddie Gasper. This formula has brought five prosperous seasons for the Gaspers' popular Jersey Shore eatery, The Beach Place. This summer, the restaurant relocated from Belmar to the newly renovated Asbury Park boardwalk.
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Eddie Gasper. This formula has brought five
prosperous seasons for the Gaspers' popular Jersey Shore eatery, The Beach Place.
Yet this summer, the restaurant relocated from Belmar to the newly renovated
Asbury Park boardwalk, trading the guaranteed customer volume of a thriving tourist
town for a place on the ground floor of what Ed sees as the state's most promising,
up-and-coming beach venue.
The Gaspers are excited to be part of the Oceanfront Asbury redevelopment
effort now underway in Asbury Park, according to Ed. "I wanted to get in on what Asbury Partners, the master redeveloper for Oceanfront Asbury, is doing to transform this city," he said. "Right
now, the Asbury Park beach is the best kept secret in the state. Five years
from now, that will be a very different story. Every day, new people are
coming here, and nobody can believe how gorgeous it is - the boardwalk is brand
new, the beaches are perfectly clean, and the lifeguards and attendants are
great."
The Beach Place, which has taken up residence in the Fifth Avenue Pavilion,
offers a full-service breakfast and lunch with al fresco dining on the boardwalk.
Eddie, who graduated recently from the Culinary Arts program at Johnson & Wales
University, has created an eclectic menu with healthy gourmet offerings of
fruit salads, omelettes and portabello mushroom wraps - a departure from traditional
beach fare. The Gaspers work closely with Piancone, an established restaurant
in Bradley Beach, which prepares some of the specialties offered at The Beach
Place. All cooking is done on-site.
Ed, now retired from a 30-year career as a stock broker, has been involved
in seasonal businesses for 40 years. In addition to operating The Beach Place,
he has worked in the party boat and charter fishing industries as well. "Seasonal work can be very interesting and very rewarding," he said. "We
believe that Asbury Park will evolve into a place where The Beach Place will
thrive. Our commitment here is long-term, and we are exploring opportunities
to grow here as the redevelopment progresses."
Already, the Gaspers have become involved enhancing this progress. Ed has
expressed his advocacy of opening the pass-through to Ocean Grove and has
launched an effort to install benches on the boardwalk. Recently, The Beach
Place provided food and beverages for more than 100 young people from the
summer recreation program of Asbury Park, who participated in the City's Community
Health Center "Safe Sun, Safe Skin" beach
event.
The Oceanfront Asbury project - comprised of 3,164 residential units, a 450,000-square-foot
retail and entertainment component, municipal services and urban empowerment
initiatives - is expected to be completed in phases over 10 years. It will
ultimately produce an estimated $1.25 billion in total economic redevelopment
and restore the City's historic stature as the "Jewel of the Jersey Shore."
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