As we’re entering the holiday season, this seems like a fitting time to celebrate the people and the businesses that have been a part of the Atlantic City region’s landscape for so long. All have contributed, decade after decade, to the area’s economy, as well as the enjoyment of residents and visitors, past and present.
We have detailed many of the rich and storied histories of a number of fabled establishments and people in these pages previously, including restaurants like the Knife & Fork Inn, Dock’s Oyster House, the Irish Pub and Gilchrist’s. We have explored the famed candy retailers Kilwin’s, Jagielky’s and the Sweet Shoppe. But it’s time to give a hearty, holiday shout-out to several other institutions that have defined Atlantic City and neighboring Margate over the years.
In the mid-1980s, I was hired to play drums behind the late and great Sinatra-styled singer, Sonny Averona, for a month-long stint at the original Golden Nugget on the Boardwalk.
Because it was a six-night-per-week job, I elected to stay in Atlantic City for the month in a tiny studio apartment on Kingston Avenue. The job was grueling, and aside from the performances, there was really only time for eating and sleeping.
To make my food choices easier, I decided, for the first two weeks, to eat at White House Subs every day. Founded in 1946, White House is still the best when it comes to subs, and it is regularly named as one of the places to eat when visiting the city. Though Sack O’Subs may be a close second, and others may have other favorites, there is only one White House; those 14 consecutive sub-eating days netted me about 15 pounds in pure, pleasurable, cheesesteak weight.
Margate Dairy Bar has been serving up some of the finest hamburgers, hot dogs and all kinds of ice cream each season since 1952. It’s difficult to resist, which is why Dairy Bar fans of every age flock there each and every season.
When my family decided to rent a house in Margate in the summer of 1957, I vividly recall that our parents’ first stop was Casel’s, a supermarket where everything that is sold, from meats to produce and beyond, is absolutely of the highest quality. And it’s been that way, believe it or not, since 1929.
In 1982, the Seiden family took over what is now called Casel’s Marketplace and has done everything possible to ensure that the market’s reputation for quality has continued.
Retail stores in the Atlantic City area come and go, though many of the stores in Margate’s shopping district have been there for quite some time. None, however, has been there as long as Knit Wit, now open for almost 50 years —since 1980 at its present location and for a few years prior at a smaller property down the block — as one of the as one of the area’s top destinations for ladies’ clothing, shoes, etc. Founded by Ann Gitter in Philadelphia in the 1960s, later expanded to Ventnor Avenue in Margate, and suburban Philadelphia, it still packs them in 362 days of the year. Gitter’s credo, “Never underestimate the power of a good outfit on a bad day,” has never been more true. Ask anyone who checks into Knit Wit regularly to see the latest collection.
Michael Pedicin Jr., Andy Lalasis and Dane Anthony are three shore-based performing artists who may be stylistically different from each other, but share a long-time love for our area and for decades have enriched the sounds that we hear.
Saxophonist/educator/conductor/recording artist Pedicin, featured in these pages some seasons ago, came on the Atlantic City scene almost at the moment casino gaming was realized. He has conducted and contracted for many of the leading casino/hotels through the years, working with everyone from Mathis to Sinatra, and still managed to get a medical degree as a psychologist in the midst of it all.
These days, he continues to be active as an innovative instrumentalist — Pedicin was one of the first “jazz crossover” artists in history — and as an educator by way of his considerable activities with the South Jersey Jazz Society.
Bassist Andy Lalasis, profiled in Shore Local about two years ago, is also a jazz performer who has been on the Atlantic City music scene since the beginning of legal casinos. He first gained traction here as a member of the house band at Elaine’s Lounge in the old Golden Nugget, where he backed singers such as Billy Daniels, Keely Smith, Billy Eckstine and Buddy Greco.
Thankfully for us, he continues to be heard in the area as he continues to be, as our previous story described him, “a first-call bassist.”
Whenever I run into vocalist/bandleader Dane Anthony, I always refer to him as “the hardest working entertainer in Atlantic City.” That’s not an exaggeration, by the way.
Since 1978 or thereabouts, Anthony has led one of the busiest, most exciting and most consistent rock/cover/party bands in the area. Over the years he has performed at the Golden Nugget, Hard Rock and just about every other casino.
It’s more than energy that the ageless Anthony brings to the table. He has sincerity and passion for performing, and for the music he plays that makes even the oldest and most oft-played rock/pop chestnut sound new again.
Honorable and celebratory holiday mentions for their longevity, spirit, and contributions to the shore include:
Lucy the Elephant (built in 1881), Ocean City’s Flanders Hotel (1923), Somers Point’s Circle Liquor Store (1938), Somers Point’s Charlie’s (1944), Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar (1946), Storybook Land in EHT (opened 1955), B.F. Mazzeo’s in Northfield (1965), and Somers Point’s Fitzpatrick Deli & Steakhouse (mid-1970s).
The wish for next year: That those mentioned in this story will still be here.
