As Local Institutions Go Out of Business, Ask Yourself an Important Question

By Scott Cronick

A couple of weeks ago, Gaspare’s Italian Bistro in Egg Harbor Township closed abruptly after 45 years in business.

Then, like a machine gun blast to local food lovers, three Ocean City institutions called it quits: Voltaco’s Italian Foods – which had one of my favorite cheesesteaks – announced it will close Oct. 9 after its 69th season, then Wards Pastry – my go-to donut shop for the best donuts this side of the planet – said it’s time to stop making the donuts on Sept. 18 after 98 years, followed by OC Surf Cafe – my favorite breakfast spot in South Jersey – announced it will also close Sept. 18 after 10 years.

When all four of these were announced, social media went bananas, with posts lamenting the loss of these legendary places.

But the question that kept coming to my head in response to these semi-false laments was, “When was the last time you ate there? When was the last time you supported this place that you say you are so sorry to see close?”

The day after Wards announced its closing, Owner Walter Hohman’s phone was ringing off the hook and lines were out the door.

“That’s the way it used to be,” he said. “Business is good; it’s just not what it used to be.”

And that is the case for most restaurants … not just in South Jersey, but across the nation. And don’t let this get political. It goes way beyond politics. It’s about people’s changing habits over the last 10 years or so, more restaurant and food choices, continued rising prices, difficulty obtaining products, the COVID aftershock and skyrocketing real estate making it impossible not to cash in.

But one of the biggest contributors to businesses shutting down is people just don’t want to work anymore. There, I said it. It’s true. Not everyone, of course, but a lot of people just don’t want to work like our fathers or grandfathers did. We all pampered our kids too much. Hell, I was pampered. I didn’t want to work as hard as my father, who was a TastyKake route owner who worked his butt off six days a week. And it has gotten way worse when it comes to the current generation.

Back home in the Scranton, Pa., area, Augustini Bakery – a bread and pizza shell supplier to Northeast Pennsylvania for more than 100 years – surprisingly shut its doors despite having a huge business with hundreds of customers. Now, hoagie makers and pizza joints throughout NEPA are scrambling for a replacement. Everyone is saying other bread and the pizza just isn’t the same. Why did they close?

The answer is easy: No help. Period. It’s that simple.

“It’s not fun anymore,” says Hohman, 57, who started working for Wards in the summer of 1976 and bought the business in 1988. “I just don’t want to do it anymore. It’s not what it used to be. Like right now, we can’t fill the orders we are getting after our announcement because we just don’t have enough help. Believe me, this is not a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

Hohman tried selling the business to other bakers, but they had issues finding help but, more importantly, making financial sense buying a building in the heart of Ocean City’s business district and paying the mortgage with donuts and snapple pie.

“It’s a lot of donuts to make,” Hohman said. “If I didn’t pay off my mortgage 20 years ago, I probably wouldn’t have lasted this long. I made a living schlepping donuts, but I will retire because I was able to sell the building.”

Don’t feel bad for Hohman. He is going to live the life he put on hold because he was always working, including working in his garage on his JEEP, wood working, checking out Peter Luger’s Steak House more often and travel. Walter will be just fine.

But feel bad for those younger restaurant owners who are just starting out, trying to get through these tough times – made tougher by the high-paying Local 54 deal that was just struck by casinos that will make finding workers in local restaurants even more difficult … or that restaurant owner who is too young to retire but sees his cash register ring half what it used to despite rising prices.

Then ask yourself: “When was the last time I went to that restaurant?”

Then go to it.

Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.