Spicy Cantina (Credit: Spicy Cantina/Facebook)
A proposal to add a large rooftop restaurant and bar over top the building that houses Spicy Cantina, Midway Bar, and the Coin Castle arcade is touted by its owners as an upgrade consistent with the changing clientele along the Seaside Heights boardwalk, but a vote to allow the expansion will wait until January due to concerns raised by a neighboring resident.
The borough’s planning board heard about two hours of testimony this week from an architect, planner and attorney representing the owners of Spicy Cantina – Wayne Cimorelli and the Storino family – on the proposal, which drew positive commentary from several members of the board as they familiarized themselves with the application. Three residents of a neighboring 14-unit condominium building raised concerns over potential entertainment on the rooftop, however Spicys’ representatives quelled the potential objections by providing details on soundproofing and their plans for the space.
The expansion of Spicy Cantina, a Tex-Mex style restaurant and bar, represents an effort to bring a higher-end product to the boardwalk, Cimorelli said, referencing a change in the style of visitors to town in recent years. New customers, he said, are seeking modern aesthetics and acoustic music as compared to the bassy club beats that were once in prime demand. The building itself, including both the restaurant and arcade portions, will be upgraded as part of the plan.
Spicy Cantina (Credit: Spicy Cantina/Facebook & Google Maps)
“The original arcade building will be re-clad with architectural shingles,” said architect Gary M. Lepore. “We’re also doing a 15.5-foot addition to the building from the current roof level, which would be restrooms, kitchens, and stairwell access to the second-level rooftop.”
That portion – the addition which will house a kitchen area, restroom facility and stairway – will create a physical barrier between the rooftop and residential units to the west across Ocean Terrace, and glass sound-proofing materials will also be used in construction, Lepore said.
“We will be re-painting that portion of the building, and then the rooftop pavilion has a metal steel structure over the re-located Spicy’s bar, and the addition of the building and public seating area,” he explained.
A tracked ceiling system can be raised and lowered to account for inclement weather during the summer, and chillier weather during the fall and winter. Closing the ceiling will shut off the outside patio to the bar area, said Lepore.
In all, Cimorelli said the rooftop restaurant and bar will add 294 seats and about 4,810 square feet of space.
“There is a limited back bar area – we want to maintain the water views across the railings and the outside deck,” said Cimorelli.
The existing interior bar on the second floor of Spicy Cantina will be moving to the new area while the existing interior bar space may be turned into a taco bar.
The business employs about 165 people during the height of the summer, with the expansion requiring about 50 additional staff members. Spicy Cantina is divided between a downstairs bar and restaurant that serves seafood and traditional boardwalk fare, plus the full-service Mexican restaurant upstairs that is already an open-air setting with a row of seats overlooking the boardwalk and Atlantic Ocean. The addition of the rooftop area would add to the space of the restaurant and provide a picturesque setting for those seeking food and drinks. Entertainment would not include “nightclub style” music, Cimorelli said, but would likely include acoustic music and the occasional themed cover band.
The presence of entertainment during the summer raised concerns by three neighboring residents, though much of the noise in the area has been attributed to the adjacent JR’s bar and grill, which converts into a nightclub after dark.
“What we did downstairs is put glass windows across from JR’s, so we could insulate the downstairs music so it would not affect the condos,” said Cimorelli. “That has been very, very effective. Any music or any kind of sound will be buffered. We really want to be good neighbors – that’s a big part of the plan, avoiding complaints about sound. As we do with Spicy’s, our speakers would face the ocean.”
The food preparation area and restroom area will be in between the seating area and the rear wall, adding a physical barrier constructed between the public-facing portion of the restaurant and the condominiums. There will be no lighting facing the west side, representatives said.
“The deck upstairs is going to be food-driven,” said Cimorelli. “To be successful, you really need to sell food, and that has been our experience downstairs as well.”
Cimorelli explained that the purpose of the expansion is to better align the restaurant with Seaside Heights’ modern visitor base.
“We’re trying to be a part of what we think is beginning to blossom,” he told board members and neighbors. “When the condos were first built across the way from us, [development] kind of stopped. We sat dormant for quite a while – probably a decade – and now it’s bing, bing, bing. It’s happening. So this is our way of being what we need to be, raising the bar quite a bit and having an ocean view.”
One resident of the condominium complex said he retained an attorney, but has not formally objected to the proposal. With that in mind, attorney Steven P. Gouin, representing Spicy’s, said he hoped to address any concerns with the neighbor and his attorney, who was not present at this week’s meeting. Gouin requested the board hold off on voting on the matter until the board’s next meeting, planned for Jan. 6, 2025.
Cimorelli said the project is in line with several other businesses that have upgraded their facilities in recent years, representing large investments in the community, including Casino Pier, the adjacent water park and miniature golf attraction, as well as the go-cart rides.
“This project is, hopefully, a part of this evolution,” he said.
