Dentato’s Clam Bar searching for new home in Seaside Heights
Dentato’s Clam Bar, a long-standing boardwalk restaurant known for its sausage sandwiches and fresh seafood, will serve its last meal at 800 Boardwalk in Seaside Heights next month.
Owner David Moore was recently notified that Casino Pier, which owns the building and the boardwalk beneath the restaurant, would not be renewing Dentato’s
lease for 2024. The seasonal restaurant, located on the boardwalk at Sherman Avenue between Casino Pier’s arcade and amusements pier, operates from Easter through Columbus Day.
Casino Pier is owned by the Storino family, which also owns the Breakwater Beach water park in Seaside Heights and Jenkinson’s in Point Pleasant Beach. A representative from Casino Pier declined to comment on the decision.
Moore’s family has run the restaurant, plus nearby Marie & Paige’s Fresh Baked Pretzels, since the 1990s. The pretzel stand, which is also closing, and Dentato’s operate under the same lease, which is renewed every three years.
“My family’s been up there for 28 years, I’ve been ... working there since 13. It’s just a shame,” said Moore, 33. “(And) it’s not just us. We’ve had employees that have worked for us for 10 years. It would be impossible to do it without all of them.”
Moore, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Krysta, said they were not given the option to negotiate a new lease.
“It’s not like they tried to raise our rent and we walked away,” he said.
The Moores will vacate the building by the end of November and hope to find another location on the boardwalk in time to reopen next summer. They are not aware of future plans for the original Dentato’s space.