Dentato’s Clam Bar finds new home on boardwalk
Dentato’s Clam Bar, long known for serving sausage sandwiches and fresh seafood at Sherman Avenue and the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, will start the 2024 season in a new location just a few blocks north.
Dentato’s owner David Moore said he is awaiting inspections to open at 1205 Boardwalk, next to Berkeley Candy on a stretch of boardwalk between Fremont and Kearney avenues. He hopes the restaurant will be open the first or second week in April.
“We’re very excited about it,” said Moore, whose family has run Dentato’s since the 1990s. “We’re going to be keeping everything the same, including our prices. Same menu, same employees.”
The new Dentato’s, formerly a pizzeria, is about the same size as the previous location, said Moore, who is reconfiguring the space to accommodate a clam bar and a grill at the front of the restaurant, “so everyone can watch their sausage, peppers and onions cook. Everyone loves that.”
There will be seating in the rear of the restaurant, and Moore is looking to add tables on the boardwalk, which requires a permit from the township, he said.
The move came after his seasonal restaurant lost its lease at its former location, 800 Boardwalk. The family’s nearby Marie & Paige’s Fresh Baked Pretzels stand previously operated under the same lease from Casino Pier, which is owned by the Storino family.
The Storinos also own the building and the boardwalk beneath the businesses’ former locations, and Moore received news in the fall that the lease would not be renewed.
A representative from Casino Pier declined to comment on the decision at the time.
A new location has not yet been found for the pretzel stand.
“We weren’t able to secure a location for the pretzels,” Moore said. “We have all of our old equipment (and are) hopefully looking forward to (reopening in) the future, after we get Dentato’s up and running.”
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com, follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.