Belmar Kicks Off 2011 Summer

For many, Memorial Day weekend signals the unofficial “start of summer.” No place was this more true than at Belmar this weekend, as thousands upon thousands of beach goers made their way to the shore to enjoy everything the beach had to offer.

All weekend long, people could see out-of-towners parking as far back as Main Street, walking with beach chairs and umbrellas down many of the borough’s streets to enjoy the beach and warm weather. This influx of visitors led to a great weekend for local businesses and the community as a whole.

For many looking to cool off with a favorite treat, one of the most popular boardwalk stops was the 10th Avenue Freeze Out ice cream eatery at the boardwalk. Store owner Jessica Szczepanik said though she remembered some Memorial Day weekends with a better turnout, she was still thrilled with the amount of patrons her ice cream store saw throughout the weekend.

“We’ve done better some other years, but I still think we’re doing pretty darn well today,” she said. “We’ve been getting a lot of recurring customers, and I think we’re in store for a pretty good summer here.”

Tenth Avenue Freeze Out is actually a reference to a Bruce Springsteen song of the same name. Ms. Szczepanik noted every summer, a busload of Springsteen fans will actually come to the ice cream shop to test out the ice cream, and that day is one of her favorite days of the year for the store to be open. 

Perhaps some of the busiest people in the borough this weekend were those sitting on the boardwalk, checking the beach badges of those who wanted to make their way onto the beaches of Belmar. Kathy Lane, a member of the Belmar Beachfront Staff, noted she was quite pleased with the turnout to the beaches so far, adding so far everyone has been very pleasant to deal with.

“We’ve all been super busy on the boardwalk, and nobody has been grouchy to us, yet,” she said with a laugh. “Pretty much everyone we have encountered has been nice to us, and this is something I have been looking forward to every year.”

Another busy Belmar beach employee was Kelsey O’Donnell, who was home from college and working at the seasonal beach badge stand. For those who want to purchase a seasonal beach badge, the cost is $50, or $7 for a daily badge. There are discounts for children and seniors.

O’Donnell said she has been super busy all weekend, but she was glad to say that many of the seasonal beach badges have been sold. 

“We’ve been getting a nice, pretty steady flow of people coming to purchase beach badges,” she said.

One such person who was ready to enjoy the borough’s beach was Keith Heumiller of Freehold. He said he was very glad the summer has arrived, and was ready to enjoy the Belmar beach. He also added a quick thank you to the troops for Memorial Day weekend.

“I love the Belmar beaches, and God Bless the troops this Memorial Day,” he said enthusiastically.

This is also the first time a Belmar summer has had a new mayor in over 20 years as well, as recently Matthew Doherty was elected to take over for the retiring Kenneth E. Pringle. Mayor Doherty said he was thrilled with how this weekend went, and thought it was great for the community and local businesses alike. 

“The beaches have been crowded, and this is great for local businesses,” he said. “We’ve had a long, difficult winter, so this is a pleasure to have such a nice start to the summer season.”