Stephen Starr To Open 2 New Restaurants In Atlantic City — His First There Since The Pandemic

The Philly restaurateur, who grew up going to the Jersey Shore, says preparing the establishments at Ocean Casino Resort is a 'full circle moment.'

Stephen Starr plans to open two new restaurants this summer in Atlantic City — one that serves Thanksgiving fare year-round and another with a menu centered on steak frites.

The restaurants, located inside the Ocean Casino Resort on the boardwalk, are the restaurateur's first in Atlantic City since he closed his Buddakan and Continental locations there during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those restaurants — offshoots of two of his best-known Philadelphia restaurants — operated at the former Playground Pier from 2006 to 2020.

The names of Starr's new restaurants, which will replace the Ocean Casino's former Sky Cafe and Harper's, and their opening dates have not been announced. The menu for his Thanksgiving-themed restaurant also includes comfort foods like pigs in a blanket, tuna tacos, pierogis and home-style meatloaf, a spokesperson for Ocean Casino Resort said Thursday.

"It feels like a full circle moment for me to work on restaurant projects in Atlantic City, a place where I formed some of my finest childhood memories, both at the beach and on America's most popular boardwalk, where I worked as a teenager," Starr said in a news release.

Starr, who built an eclectic empire of restaurants in Philly over the last three decades, has ventured outside the city over the years to open restaurants in New York City, Washington and a handful of locations in Florida.

Ocean Casino Resort previously had planned to open four new restaurants from Philadelphia restaurateur Michael Schulson last summer. But Schulson — known for Double Knot, Harp & Crown, Sampan and nine other restaurants — backed out of the arrangement months after the announcement.

"It has become more of a haven for me and my family — a place where we escape, reconnect, and relax together," Schulson told the Philadelphia Business Journal in July. "It was a difficult decision but with closer consideration and after talking more with my family, we won't be opening our concepts there this summer."

Ocean Casino Resort, formerly the Revel casino, has 1,860 guest rooms and suites after completing an $85 million renovation in recent years. In addition to the Gallery Bar Book and Games lounge and Balcony Bar, the hotel's restaurants include the Jose Garces concept Amada, Italian restaurant Linguini by the Sea and Ocean Steak.

Starr, who owns 18 restaurants in Philadelphia, has two more on the way in Center City. Borromini, an Italian restaurant, will open this summer in the former Barnes & Noble at Rittenhouse Square, and Starr also is planning to open another next year at the former Devon Seafood Grill at 225 S. 18th St.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/staff-contributors/michael-tanenbaum/

Hilton To Return To Atlantic City As Part Of A New Hotel-Condominium Project, Developer Says

Hilton has reached a deal to operate a hotel at a former Atlantic City casino once the building is refurbished into a combination hotel and condominium complex, according to the developer behind the project.

Colosseo Atlantic City Inc. has plans to rehabilitate the former Atlantic Club Casino, a boardwalk property that has been vacant since closing in 2014, turning one tower into 100 condominiums while the other tower will be hotel rooms.

Rocco Sebastiani, president of Colosseo, said the property could reopen by 2026. Colosseo purchased it in 2019 from TJM Properties and it had previously been eyed by Stockton University as a site for a satellite campus.

“There’s a strong demand for a second home, and there’s just no inventory,” Sebastiani said. “There is a generation of people that are looking for – we don’t want to say luxury – they just want a Shore home. They want something new.”

Hilton operated a casino-hotel at the building until 2012. Last called the Atlantic Club, it closed in 2014, a year that saw several city casinos shut down.

“Hilton is committed to growing our presence in New Jersey and meeting our guests’ needs in the destinations where they want to travel – with the right hotel in the right place at the right time,” a company spokesperson said. “We recognize the opportunity for growth in Atlantic City and look forward to announcing exciting details in the future.”

Sebastiani said he’s dealt with a cumbersome permitting process while Atlantic City officials said Colosseo had been in “non-compliance” with state construction codes.

The state’s Division of Codes and Standards will now have jurisdiction over the project, said Lisa Ryan, a spokesperson for the Department of Community Affairs. Atlantic City officials praised the decision to keep the project moving forward.

“This decision was made because the city construction official (Anthony Cox), who had also been performing building subcode duties, resigned last month from doing building subcode work,” Lisa Ryan, a spokesperson for the Department of Community Affairs, said. “Without a building subcode official, the city cannot conduct a building plan review or approve certificates or permits related to the project.”

Atlantic City Solicitor Michael J. Perugini said in a statement, “Mr. Cox was, at all times, within his rights to enforce the New Jersey construction code to protect the interest of the City of Atlantic City and the community in which the developer is moving forward with his project.”

https://www.nj.com/staff/eric-conklin/posts.html

$100M Year-Round Water Park Gives Families More To Do In Atlantic City

It was awful weather for the first full day of summer Thursday: rainy, cold and windy.

But it was perfect for what Bart Blatstein is selling.

The Philadelphia developer is about to open Island Waterpark, a $100 million indoor aquatic recreation facility designed to appeal to family tourism and give visitors something else to do besides gambling as Atlantic City seeks to become less dependent on the spin of the slot machine reels, the roll of the dice or the flip of the cards.

It is an effort that Las Vegas has used with great success in recent decades as that city emphasized resort amenities, entertainment and most recently, professional sports, in addition to gambling.

The Island Waterpark, which will formally open June 30, is another big bet on non-gambling entertainment in the seaside resort. In recent years, Atlantic City, its nine casinos and some non-gambling businesses have unveiled attractions including a giant Ferris wheel, high-end restaurants and shopping and entertainment venues.

“It’s hard to believe we’re really here,” said Blatstein. “I’m so excited for this project and for the people of Atlantic City. You can bring the family and have something for the kids to do, too.”

“Statistics show people will travel up to seven hours to go to a water park,” he said. “And it’s not just us here. We have nine casinos, 300 great restaurants and 20,000 hotel rooms. We all benefit from this.”

Blatstein, president of Tower Investments, whose Keystone State projects include the mixed-use Northern Liberties development in Philadelphia, has been particularly active on the non-gambling front in Atlantic City.

He bought the Showboat, a former casino hotel, from Stockton University in 2016 and operated it as a non-gambling hotel. Since then he has added an indoor arcade and go-kart track there.

Another attempt at non-gambling attractions did not fare so well. Blatstein bought the former Pier Shops from Caesars Entertainment for $2.7 million and reopened it in 2015 as The Playground shopping and entertainment complex. But that project fizzled despite what Blatstein said was $52 million worth of investments, and he sold it back to Caesars five years later for an undisclosed price.

“We make all our money in Philadelphia, and he spends it all in Atlantic City,” said Brandon Dixon, Tower Investments’ president, repeating a joke he says Blatstein hates.

The project is the first in a long string of Atlantic City water park proposals to actually, well, hold water.

In April 2017, a local investment group led by investor Ronald Young signed a deal to buy the former Atlantic Club casino, announcing plans for a family-friendly hotel, anchored by an indoor water park. But when financing dried up, so did the water park plan.

Young said he had previously been rebuffed in his plan for a water park at the former Bader Field airport site.

In 2012, a group headed by developer Tom Sherwood proposed a sailboat-shaped hotel and water park project in the Marina District.

The Island Waterpark, built on a vacant lot between the Showboat and the Ocean Casino Resort, includes 11 slides, a 1,000-square-foot (90-sqaure-meter) surf simulator, and a lazy river encircling much of the park. It also has a Kids’ Cove, a 30-foot-tall (9-meter-tall) tree house that can be booked for private parties, cabanas and an adults-only nightlife section.

Tickets range from $69 to $119 per person depending on the time of year, with discounts available for military, first responders and seniors.

Its garage is aggressively patrolled by a private parking enforcement company that requires parking to be paid before a driver leaves his or her vehicle to enter the complex. Several attendees at a preview event Thursday night returned to find violation notices on their vehicles threatening to turn the matter over to a collection agency if fines were not paid within a week.

By WAYNE PARRY

Caesars Atlantic City Plans Lobby, Casino Floor, Pool Upgrades This Year

Caesars casino will renovate its casino floor, lobby, valet area and outdoor pool this year as part of a $200 million makeover, its parent company said Tuesday.

Caesars Entertainment said the work is part of a $400 million investment it is making in its three Atlantic City properties, which also include Harrah’s and the Tropicana.

“This major investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to elevating guests’ experiences at our resorts as well as advancing the Atlantic City tourism economy,” said John Koster, regional president for the company’s Eastern Division.

The Boardwalk casino will get a new lobby and valet area.

It also will renovate its outdoor pool on the rooftop of Qua Baths & Spa, including cabanas.

The casino recently completed renovations to 750 hotel rooms and suites featuring a Roman theme and elements of the Atlantic City beachfront. It also plans restaurant projects including Nobu Atlantic City, a restaurant and hotel within Caesars.

Nobu Hotel Atlantic City will open following the restaurant’s debut, on the top three floors of Caesars Centurion Tower and will feature redesigned rooms and suites with Japanese-inspired decor.

The casino has said chef Gordon Ramsay will open the East Coast’s first Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen restaurant at Caesars this summer.

The projects at Caesars casino will cost $200 million, half the company’s $400 million investment into Atlantic City that should be completed by the end of 2023.