Madison Marquette seeks replacements for four boardwalk businesses
'This is an opportunity to add new life to an already vibrant boardwalk'
Boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette employees are hard at work looking for new tenants to fill four now-empty retail spaces on the boards.
“This is an opportunity to add new life to an already vibrant boardwalk,” Madison Marquette director of retail services Carrie Turner said. “We’re excited.”
Four businesses decided to leave the boardwalk following this summer, including delicatessen Sully’s in the First Avenue pavilion; Siculiano’s pizza restaurant in the Third Avenue pavilion; The Sand Witch pop-up eatery near the golf course; and Aqua, a bar and restaurant on the northern side of Convention Hall.
There are also openings in the Fifth Avenue pavilion, but those spaces are already in negotiations for new tenants, said Turner.
Turner is currently seeking new tenants for the four departed businesses, she said, and Madison Marquette will likely have the new lineup established by January.
While the boardwalk redeveloper is open to many options for new tenants, they’d “really love to bring more seafood” to the boardwalk, Turner said. “It’s certainly something we’d be interested in exploring.”
Also, since the redeveloper owns the liquor license at the former Aqua spot, there is a chance Madison Marquette could run a bar and restaurant there itself, Turner said, although that’s “not the only option. It’s in the mix and it’s absolutely possible.”
Usually, Turner finds tenants when they approach her asking for availability, she said.
“We have a lot of interest and a lot of folks coming to us,” she said. “They end up providing us with information about their experience in the field and what they’ve done and what they’d like to do, and we just have some informal discussions.”
Turner will often visit an applicant’s existing business and check into their financial viability, she said.
Interest in the boardwalk’s eight pop-ups “is always huge,” Turner said. “That is the most sought-after space. They’re very popular.”
The pop-ups are shipping containers that have been refurbished to accommodate businesses on the boardwalk. The boardwalk’s current tenants in the pop-ups are mostly food vendors. Madison Marquette currently does not have plans to build any more pop-ups, Turner said.
