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John McGillion, owner of Johnny Mac House of Spirits on Main Street, is under contract to add another liquor establishment to his portfolio of Asbury Park properties.

McGillion has bought the Cameo bar, housed in a landmark art deco structure on Main Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues, he said.

The closing of title on the property, as well as approval by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, must still take place before McGillion assumes ownership, he said. In addition, the city must approve a person-to-person transfer of the liquor license. McGillion declined to name the purchase price.

Current owner Angela Dottore confirmed the contract to sell the property and license to McGillion. The bar has been in her family close to 50 years, she said. Dottore inherited the Cameo from her aunt and has operated it for the past 14 years.

The bar will be renamed “Candy Bar,” and cater to a gay clientele, McGillion said.

The Cameo’s current facade will change to reflect the bar’s new name and concept, said McGillion. Those changes are not yet finalized and will be evolving as the project moves forward, he said.

The Cameo bar once had a cameo role in a movie — a scene from the Mickey Rourke film Homeboys was shot there, Dottore noted.

McGillion also owns Kim Marie’s on Kingsley Street in the waterfront zone. The property, formerly the Adriatic restaurant, is currently under renovation. The Candy Bar was originally planned for the Kingsley Street location, but instead McGillion decided to put it at the Cameo site, he said.

McGillion also won planning board approval last week to expand Johnny Mac House of Spirits to include new outdoor areas, bars and banquet facilities. Click here for the Sun’s story on the Johnny Mac approvals.

McGillion is also a partner in the former YMCA building on Main Street, where eventual plans are for a hostel-hotel type of facility catering to the gay community, he has said in the past.

Back in 2007, McGillion caught the attention of the New York Times for his innovative free food bars — similar to his Johnny Mac concept — in the Williamsburg and Greenpoint sections of Brooklyn.

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