Bye Bye Brigantine. 7-11 Shuttered, L’aragosta Moves to Ventnor

laragosta brigantine

After many successful years running L’Aragosta Restaurant at the Lighthouse Circle in Brigantine, the Presta family is moving on.

Look for Mr. & Mrs. Presta & family to set up not ONE….but TWO dining destinations in Ventnor. One location is already up and running. It’s called ‘Amici’ at 6525 Ventnor Ave and features panini & gelato. Their 2nd location will soon be open at 7309 Ventnor Ave, next to Greens & Grains & No.#7311. That Presta business will soon be open for fine Italian dining.

It’s unknown why the Presta’s decided to move out of Brigantine.

The 2 local Wawas should get much busier as Brigantine’s lone 7-11 has been shut down. While WAWA will certainly do nicely as a 7-11 alternative, Real Estate executives in Brigantine are not too happy about having another boarded up business in town, especially in such a high profile location on Brigantine Blvd.

7-11 Brigantine Mayor Guenther
Bye Bye 7-11

‘It’s almost impossible to run a successful business in Brigantine’ said Councilman Andy Simpson recently. Mayor Guenther & Councilman Sera echoed that sentiment at a Brigantine public forum held a few months back. Guenther thinks Hurricane Sandy is the culprit for Brigantine’s bad business environment, while Sera suggested that second homeowners were a viable ‘revenue source’ to run the city. Councilman Sera also mentioned his support for protecting a handful of businesses, even if that meant others would fail.

UPDATE JUNE 8  According to the Don Williams radio show on JUNE 8, 2015 (1400am WOND) & Press of AC… SUN BANK in Brigantine will be closing soon. In studio guest; Doug Keefe (Brigantine Economic Development Committee and Brigantine Chamber of Commerce) also said SUN BANK was closing and that he was considering buying that property on Brigantine BLVD. Doug has a track record of buying old bank properties in Brigantine. He had excellent timing with his bank property purchase at the Lighthouse Circle a few years back….which was quickly flipped to CVS for a nice tidy sum.

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23 thoughts on “Bye Bye Brigantine. 7-11 Shuttered, L’aragosta Moves to Ventnor”

  1. When will this town wake up? I have owned a second home here dor twenty ywars and the city government has done nothing except take care of their family and friends at the expense of second home owners. A drop in home values, higher taxes and business leaving is not because of Sandy. Its because of you mayor and city council. I would not recommend anyone to buy a second home here.

    1. Dan is right on target. When I see comments from elected officials “protecting a handful of businesses, even if that meant others would fail.” you know Rome is ready to topple. We live in a country where the small business owner has enough hurdles, let alone his place of business becoming a target for local “I got mine” politicians.

  2. I agree with you Dan. It not ‘Sandy’s’ fault. There is no plan, no vision. Seems to be status quo with the mayor and council. As long as second homeowners have ‘no vote’ there will be no change.

  3. the mayor and his side kicks should erect a sign at the bridge. VISITORS NOT WELCOME THIS IS A PRIVATE ISLAND TRY VENTOR MARGATE OR OCEAN CITY what a disgrace nothing on the island for family fun could not even get shark park open for memorial day but had NO PROBLEM getting things done fast for GOLF COURSE CONNCESSION WAY TO GO BOYS!!!!!!!!!!

  4. I agree with everyone but the Presta were huge ripoff artists. And, I told them so. Look forward to people that wont decieve and take money for poor quality.

  5. The problem lies in the outdated politics, nepotism and Old Boys Club. Where in New Jersey is there a Mayor for 20 ++++ years. An Assistant Mayor who make stupid comments “We have the Kennedy’s”-how embarrassing. We need to bring the salaries in line with other cities our size, not Manhattan. We are a tiny island with around 4000 full time residences who are trying to get off the island too. Vacation investments are supposed to appreciate not depreciate. We need to close the schools and seek alternatives and police share with other communities. EMT will be part time and the Fire Department will be cut down in size and labeled “Foundation Savers”. Anyone who goes against the Old Boys Club in Brigantine will be chum in the bay. So I don’t think anything will change.

  6. Why do the people vote for this mayor for 20 years! Then complain about him and his good old boys. Get him out. Scum

  7. Agree with Dan. They treat us like second class citizens and tax us in a disproportionate manner. I lived on the Island for ten years as my primary residence and because of family obligations had to move. When I was able to return, albeit as a second home owner, I was no difference from when I was a full time resident. In addition, I don’t “weekend it.” I come down for 5 months straight and my adult children and their families join me regularly, which means even more patronage for the restaurants, shops, etc. I only “weekend it” during the winter and then regularly! It’s time to stop treating us as “less than!!” It’s time for get rid of all the corruption and nepotism and turn this lovely little island into a desirable place to not only live but do business! Let’s face it, what business owner would be attracted to a venue with a corrupt governing body?

  8. Agreed, Dan! They treat us like second class citizens and tax us in a disproportionate manner. I lived on the Island for ten years as my primary residence and because of family obligations had to move. When I was able to return, albeit as a second home owner, I was no difference from when I was a full time resident. In addition, I don’t “weekend it.” I come down for 5 months straight and my adult children and their families join me regularly, which means even more patronage for the restaurants, shops, etc. I only “weekend it” during the winter and then regularly! It’s time to stop treating us as “less than!!” It’s time for get rid of all the corruption and nepotism and turn this lovely little island into a desirable place to not only live but do business! Let’s face it, what business owner would be attracted to a venue with a corrupt governing body?

      1. Yes, but my understanding is that you would have to “white lie” plus forfeit your vote where you truly reside.

  9. Brigantine is a joke. A laughing stock. You think you want to be up there with Ventor, Margate or Sea Isle! No way! The town is pathetic and cannot even keep a decent diner open in summer let alone in the off season. I started coming down as a kid in the 1960’s when it was a an affordable family town. Grew up and went on to better more social towns then married into a family that were Brigantine loyalists over 28 years ago and have seen nothing but greed and pathetic attempts at making a beautiful shore town into a tragic political joke that makes the old saying truth is stranger than fiction a true reality!!!! Get real and grow up! It is 2015 and if you do not embrace progress and stop the cronyism we may well see Brigantine as the first shore town on Dateline or even better 60 minutes for the brazen crap of a so called political system that is practiced there!

  10. lets not get carried away, businesses fail everyday, laragosta got the boot for not fulfilling lease agreement (not paying the rent?, and food was mediocre at best); 7/11 was poorly run w inferior product not able to compete with wawa. end of story.

  11. Angela Di Somma

    The reason Laragosta moved to Ventnor is because they are having a resurgence in businesses .They are calling it SoHo South.Brigantine needs to find out what Ventnor is doing right & model after it……

  12. UPDATE JUNE 8 According to the Don Williams radio show on JUNE 8, 2015 (1400am WOND) & Press of AC… SUN BANK in Brigantine will be closing soon. In studio guest; Doug Keefe (Brigantine Economic Development Committee and Brigantine Chamber of Commerce) agreed that SUN BANK was closing and that he was considering buying that property on Brigantine BLVD. Doug has a track record of buying old bank properties in Brigantine. He had excellent timing with his bank property purchase at the Lighthouse Circle a few years back….which was quickly flipped to CVS for a nice tidy sum.

    1. CVS made Keefe an offer he couldn’t refuse. No insider dealings there just luck and impeccable timing.

  13. THIS IS A RESPONSE TO “BRIGANTINE SAYS” ABOVE–PLEASE READ ALL THE ARTICLES.
    McClay & Guenther Join Hands and Say OK to $5 Million Expense with Limited Detail, May 20, 2015 By Brigantine Taxpayer

    Attendees to the meeting noted that Councilman Rick Delucry (D) was the only elected official to exercise his fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of Brigantine. Delucry performed due diligence with this $5 million dollar expense that will be handled by taxpayers. Most of the burden will be taken on by part-time residents and 2nd homeowners.

    Yes “taken on by part-time residences and 2nd homeowners. AND THEY DON’T HAVE CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOLS.

  14. I’m delighted that there are more comments on this topic than ever before. People need to get ticked-off. It is all caused by the “Old Boys” Club. who raved after the November election that they got their island back. That just proves there is a “mob” mentality here. Talk about a Boardwalk Empire. Excellent suggestions made here, many not new.

    The problem is Guenther and his posse. The reason he’s mayor for 22+ years is because the only people who vote are the ones he has given patronage jobs. They need to be thrown out as well as the firemen and the schools.

    Brigantine always had a “backwaters” reputation- greenheads, sleepy fishing town, etc. It seemed to lose that rep in the early 2000’s and had excellent press. Now with the Philadelphia Magazine article stating that Brigantine & Atlantic City are the ONLY 2 shore towns with depreciated values, we are all losing money and feeling quite inferior to the rest of the shore towns. I agree with Chris’ suggestions – there has to be an uprising among all homeowners.

    Since Guenther was re-elected he has shown his dis-honesty with the Golf Course by refusing to show the books and this Shark Park fiasco. Totally disorganized and what are they going to do with all the $$ donated? Why don’t the 3 shifts of firefighters go work at the park instead of washing their trucks? The park would be done in a week.

    1. Municipal Employee Welfare – excess financial or other assistance, such as health, life and disability insurance(s), retirement funding and other hand-outs given to municipal employees and municipal contractors provided by the local government subsidized by the taxpayers.

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