Local Ties to the White House

The restaurant, once situated at the base of the 9th Street Bridge in Ocean City, where Jill Biden was a waitress for a couple summers

By Bill Barlow

First Lady, Jill Biden, spent family weekends at her grandparents home in Hammonton and summers in Ocean City. For two summers, she worked as a waitress at Chris’ Seafood.

Her family continues to have a strong connection to Ocean City, where one of her sisters owns property.

After some sources raised concerns about security, Shore Local has decided not to include the name of Jill Biden’s sister.

Jill Biden spent summers waiting tables on the Jersey shore. Her sister Jan, who is a year younger, still works as a waitress in Ocean City to this day. Her three other sisters pictured are Bonny, Kim, and Kelly. Photo credit: Biden Campaign

Contacted on Monday, her sister declined to be interviewed for this story. She was making pies that morning, and said she could not talk because she was covered with flour. But when pressed about whether she would be able to speak at any time, she said she was advised not to.

She’s a well-known figure in the area in her own right, working for years at a local café, where the regulars have all known that she is the sister-in-law of the former vice president, now the president-elect.

The Biden family has vacationed in Ocean City after Biden’s term as vice president, keeping a very low profile. In a story for the Philadelphia Inquirer shortly before the election, writer Julia Terruso delved into Jill Biden’s Philly roots, including her shore connections.

Said Jill, ” In the summer we would go down for the day to Ocean City for family time at the beach, which was always a treat, and on the drive back to Hammonton we’d stop at the Weymouth stream to clean off all the sand and cool down before returning to our grandparents.”

Writing to NJ Monthly in 2010, Jill Biden stated that she still loves the beaches in Ocean City and Stone Harbor. She mentioned getting a thrill from meeting Bruce Springsteen at the inauguration.

Eight years ago, Joe Biden visited Seaside Heights to inspect the devastation of Sandy. Then the vice president, he described himself as a Jersey “Homeboy,” according to a news report from the time.

Biden met Jill Tracy Jacobs in 1975. His first wife and year-old daughter were killed in an automobile accident in December of 1972, shortly after his election to his first term in the Senate.

Jill was born in Hammonton and grew up in Willow Grove, Pa. her career has been in education, and she holds a doctorate from the University of Delaware along with other degrees. She also did some modeling work for an agency in Wilmington. She is believed to be the first spouse of a serving vice president to hold a paying job.

Reports are that Jill Biden will also represent another White House first. She plans to continue to teach at Northern Virginia Community College after the inauguration, as she did while her husband served as vice president.