OCEAN CITY — The Chamber of Commerce’s ceremonial scissors have gotten a workout recently, with a flurry of ribbon cuttings for grand openings of businesses in recent weeks.

“It’s a lot,” said Michele Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce.

They’ve included business expansions, new locations for longtime stores, restaurants and yoga studios on Asbury Avenue, on the Boardwalk and in other locations.

The city has long had multiple businesses that have remained open for decades, with the children and sometimes grandchildren of the original owners taking over the operation.

That seems to be changing.

“I do think this winter, we were in transition,” Gillian said. “We’re seeing a transformation from an older generation retiring and a new generation that’s coming in and recreating Ocean City in a new way.”

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She said it’s been fun to watch.

Some generational businesses remain, but several have closed recently. In some cases, the owners have said they were ready to retire. Those include the Spinning Wheel Florist, which owner Mark Videtto closed this year, and Wards Pastry, both on Asbury Avenue.

Walt Hohman’s grandfather started the bakery in 1941, but when Hohman was ready to retire in 2022, he could not find someone who wanted to take over the business.

The site has approvals for retail space on the ground floor and apartments upstairs. Plans are displayed on the front of the building, along with a QR code for more information.

There seems to be no chance that business will be open this summer. Nor will the site of a former Hallmark store, where paper also covers the window. Down the street, the former Ron Jon Surf Shop at Eighth Street and Asbury Avenue has a “for lease” sign in the window, which is also covered.

The surf shop chain extensively renovated the space at 761 Asbury Ave. in 2020, only to shut down in October of 2024. The site had previously been an interior design store.

“I hope someone comes in and fills that. It’s a beautiful space,” Gillian said.

The closed shops on that block of Asbury Avenue have been part of City Council discussions. Over the winter, residents and officials questioned whether there was trouble in the city’s economy.

Gillian, whose husband, Jay Gillian, is the city’s mayor, said young entrepreneurs are changing retail in Ocean City, and she sees plenty of reasons for optimism.

“I think it was premature, the criticism from people downtown. These young new owners deserve recognition,” Gillian said. “I think we’re in a really good position in Ocean City to promote these businesses.”

Crowds showed up at the shore for Memorial Day weekend, with significant numbers on Asbury Avenue and the Boardwalk. On a weekday morning after the holiday, as some stores began to open for the day, amplified shouts of encouragement drifted onto the block from a second-floor pilates studio and several people strolled the downtown.

Gillian is not the only one hopeful about Ocean City retail. At the annual Business Persons Plunge on Friday, an annual high-profile kickoff to the season, organizer John Walton said multiple businesses have opened, expanded or been renovated.

“That is what this is all about, to let the public know,” Walton said, still dripping from his dip. He said people are bullish on Ocean City. That extends to the real estate market. Walton said sales are up compared to last year.

“Everything is going great,” he said.

There are a few signs of problems, however. Both hotel bookings and summer rentals appear to be slow coming into the season.

“They have been a little slower than usual,” said Pete Madden, a real estate agent and City Council president.

At a recent panel discussion on the local tourism outlook, the repeated message was one of uncertainty heading into the summer, with impacts from tariffs, tax policy, federal spending and multiple other volatile elements at work in markets and on potential visitors’ checkbooks.

Indications are that many consumers are worried. That could mean visitors spending less and shopping around before deciding on a summer vacation.

“People are waiting to make vacation plans. They are booking closer to departure time than ever,” said Ben Rose, director of marketing and public relations for the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority, speaking at the 17th annual Shorecast hosted by the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University.

Still, May saw a steady stream of ribbon cuttings, as announced by the Ocean City chamber. They included financial firms, newly renovated pizza shops, a new location for a long-running surf shop on the Boardwalk, a balloon boutique and a new yoga studio.

There are several secondhand clothing shops in Ocean City, and a new one just opened at 1014 Asbury Ave., called the Garb Collection.

Owner Caitlin Quirk emphasized sustainability rather than affordability.

“The Garb Collection is a community-driven solution to textile waste, giving new life to pre-loved clothing and empowering individuals to divert their items from ending up in a landfill,” she said.

It’s not the first time Ocean City businesses have changed to accommodate new generations or new economic realities. Once home to department stores and men’s shops, boutiques now line Asbury Avenue, and Gillian recalled Boardwalk locations like the Connoisseur Shop and a store at The Flanders that sold expensive Asian rugs.

She sees a thriving local economy.

“Ocean City is changing. It has transformed over the last 10 years. That’s in every shore community,” Gillian said. Everyone still has a favorite T-shirt or pizza shop on the Boardwalk, but the city’s retail has to offer a variety of options.

That has included new ways to operate, with Stainton’s acting as a model for businesses with multiple offerings in one place. Once a landmark department store, Stainton’s now has several independent shops operating together.

The same model is being put into practice at the former Sun Rose bookstore, where the former owners will be one of several offerings at what has reopened this spring as Three Little Birds.

Still to come is the ribbon cutting on The Yard, an outdoor netted playground and sports simulator from TJ Heist already drawing stares at 741 West Ave.

With average property values for a home in Ocean City hovering around $1 million, property values can be a challenge for retail.

“For some of the neighborhood businesses, the land is worth so much more as residential,” Gillian said. But she added that the city needs to preserve the retail uses, because it is an important part of life on the island and part of what makes the residential uses valuable.

Residents and visitors can still buy a new faucet or wrench, a washing machine or stove, a card for a friend or even a car downtown, Gillian said.

“That’s part of Ocean City’s charm,” she said.

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