Atlantic City OKs booze on boardwalk to boost crowds

Many folks could use a drink right about now, and they’re now able to do it while strolling the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

Searching for ways to boost business and tourism amid the coronavirus pandemic in a resort whose casinos remain closed and restaurants still can’t offer indoor dining, the city has dropped a longtime prohibition on drinking on the boardwalk to try to capture the party spirit of places like New Orleans.

Mayor Marty Small issued an executive order Monday allowing for public consumption of alcohol in a few areas including the boardwalk, the non-residential areas of Gardner’s Basin and some local streets just off the boardwalk in an area known as the Orange Loop after the streets designated with orange markings in the Monopoly board game.

“This is awesome,” said Eileen Kasunich of Galloway as she hoisted a cocktail with friends on the sidewalk outside the Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall. “We’ve been inside so long, stuck indoors for 100 days. We want our city back.”

Owners of bars and eateries on and near the boardwalk were delighted by the change, hoping to create a party atmosphere to rival famous nightspots around the country like New Orleans and Key West.

He and other merchants said offering to-go drinks will help businesses that were devastated by closures since March.

“Having the ability to sell drinks to go is definitely helpful because: Who’s in the bars now? No one,” he said. “You go from 100 to zero during the pandemic.”

The move stems from a measure New Jersey enacted a few weeks ago allowing towns to temporarily serve alcohol for consumption in designated public areas during the pandemic. Several towns have taken advantage of it.

Atlantic City has long wanted to allow people to take beer and cocktails onto its boardwalk as part of the long association of the iconic place with strong drink: The introduction of the hit HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” about corruption in the seaside resort during prohibition, ended with hundreds of bottles of bootleg liquor washing up on Atlantic City’s shoreline.