Business Buzz
Summer is in full swing here at Seven Mile Beach! And that means lots of new businesses to try out — and anniversaries of your favorites to celebrate! Whether you’re in the mood for a gourmet bowl or in need of a refreshing ice cream treat to cool down after a morning on the water, Avalon and Stone Harbor truly have it all. Learn more about some of the expansions and new places opening their doors for the summer.
Owner Jennifer Ryan of Spa Avalon
Spa Avalon
2488 Dune Drive, Avalon • 609-368-3400 • spaavalon.com • Facebook & Instagram
During the summer of 2007, Seven Mile Beach welcomed its first day spa — and Spa Avalon’s love of supporting beauty, relaxation and skin-care needs for their guests has kept them going for 15 years.
Jennifer Ryan, the spa’s current owner, said that she and her employees are dedicated to helping all their clients achieve their skin-care goals.
“A lot has changed in the beauty industry — as a matter of fact, it is forever changing,” she says. “We are passionate about keeping up with the latest skin care and products.”
Spa Avalon offers natural nail care manicures and pedicures, waxing, body scrubs, tanning and massages — as well as more advanced procedures such as diamond-tip microderm, Celluma LED light therapy, and PCA peels.
The spa’s estheticians and massage therapists are knowledgeable about all skin types and bodily mechanics. Last year, Spa Avalon received four gold awards from Best of the Jersey Shore in the spa, massage, waxing, and facial categories.
Ryan, who worked as a cosmetologist for several years before transitioning to the skin-care industry, said she never could have imagined owning a day spa, especially in the town that she loves so much.
What makes it so great? Spa Avalon’s amazing client base.
“It makes our job easier, seeing guests’ smiling faces daily and the same faces year after year,” Ryan said. “Our guests become friends and share parts of their lives with us. We see their families grow. It’s so much more than just running a business.”
Expansion isn’t off the table, either. Ryan says she will just have to see what the next 15 years hold for Spa Avalon.
Spa Avalon is fully open for the summer season. It’s open 10am-3pm Monday and 10am-5pm Tuesday through Saturday.
Earle Collins IV (left) and brother Erik are the third generation to run Dennisville Fence, which opened a new location in Somers Point.
Dennisville Fence
229 Shore Road, Somers Point • 609-861-4031 • dennisvillefence.com • Facebook
Collins Iron Works, now known as Dennisville Fence, was founded in the early 1950s by Earle S. Collins II after he served in World War II. The company is now in its third generation of Collinses, all three having served for our country. Earle III, who served with the Navy in Vietnam, took the helm in 1980 and purchased Dennisville Fence. He retired in the early 2000s and the company is now run by his sons Earle IV, who also was in the Navy, and his brother, Erik.
The family has grown, and the business has expanded from chainlink fencing into vinyl, wood, and aluminum fence and gates, vinyl and aluminum railings, and more. The company’s growth can be attributed to the team that has grown with it along the decades, starting with the first shop in Lower Township, plus two additional shops in Dennis Township, and now a recently opened fourth location in Somers Point. The new storefront in Somers Point opened for this spring, and serves their growing customer base through Northfield, Margate, Longport, and points further north.
“In addition to our professional installation services, we’ve always provided delivery of materials right to a home or job site,” says Earle Collins IV. “With the largest selection of fence and railing products in South Jersey, our new location will make it easy for contractors and DIY homeowners in the Somers Point and surrounding areas to get the materials they need when they need them.”
And while so much has changed since Earle II founded the business, what remains constant is the ambition and dedication from the team to manufacture, sell, deliver, and install the highest quality fencing and railings to its customers throughout South Jersey.
Dennisville Fence continues to provide professional installations and materials-only sales of fencing, railing, outdoor shower enclosures, and outdoor lighting to customers. But if you’re thinking about a project, act now! Bookings for fall 2022 and spring 2023 are filling up quickly, and it’s made easy with 18 months of no-interest financing.
Avalon Surf Camp owner Dave Koehler stands with fellow instructors as a morning surf lesson begins.
Avalon Surf Camp
12th Street Beach, Avalon • 609-961-6156 • avalonsurfcamp.com • Facebook & Instagram
Dave Koehler spent the summers of his youth on 23rd Street, right down the road from the Avalon Surf Shop.
He fell in love with surfing after Scott Horner, one of the shop owners, taught him to surf when he was 10 years old. He helped around the surf shop throughout his teen years, especially with the earliest iterations of Avalon Surf Camp.
And even when his big-wave surfing career carried him around the globe, he always found his way back to the place that felt most like home to teach more kids the sport.
And this summer, the Avalon Surf Camp celebrates its 15th anniversary.
“By the age of 26, I had a filled passport and had many worldwide surf experiences, but I kept coming back to Avalon to share my love for surfing and run the surf camp,” Koehler says.
Avalon Surf Camp officially began in 2008 with its first private lessons on the 20th Street beach. Even from the beginning, there was a demand for a safe space for kids to learn to ride the waves – starting with around five lessons every day and increasing every summer.
The camp grew with Koehler’s surfing career, especially when he opened the Surf Snack Shack to share the healthy surfing lifestyle at the Jersey Shore. But Koehler says it developed to a whole new level in 2013 when it moved beyond private lessons to the daily morning kids camp at the 12th Street beach.
“There was nothing like it,” he says. “I wish there was something like this when my brothers and I were growing up at the shore.”
Despite the demand, Koehler says he doesn’t plan to expand the camp. He wants to keep the experience — great local instructors and personal attention — the same for the fledgling surfers.
“There’s a lot we can learn from Mother Nature, and New Jersey is a great place to see the ocean come alive year-round,” he says. “If you can surf in New Jersey, you can surf anywhere in the world.”
This year’s camp starts June 27 and runs Monday to Friday through Labor Day, 9-11am. Group and private lessons also are available.
Liz Georgelis, Joseph Gaspero, Tegan Shea, and David Bytheway of The Chillin Pineapple.
The Chillin Pineapple
266 96th Street, Stone Harbor • 609-408-7780 • thechillinpineapple.com • TikTok & Instagram
Joseph Gaspero and David Bytheway grew up working at shops on the boardwalk in Wildwood. So, when a storefront opened on that boardwalk in 2020, it only made sense that they’d continue their careers in the shore town that raised them. Gaspero is lactose-intolerant, so the duo knew they wanted to open a store with healthier, dairy-free dessert alternatives. That’s when The Chillin Pineapple was born.
“No one, really, in Wildwood on the boardwalk was doing anything like that,” Gaspero says. “So, it was just kind of filling the need.”
And now, Gaspero and Bytheway are filling that need on 96th Street in Stone Harbor.
The Chillin Pineapple offers dairy-free, vegan Dole Whip ice cream in a variety of flavors, from pineapple (obviously) to raspberry and watermelon.
The menu also includes a heap of unique concoctions, from pineapple cake and floats to the dish named for the store itself — The Chillin Pineapple, a hollowed-out pineapple filled with pineapple chunks, juice and Dole soft serve.
“A lot of our specials are essentially made because people want to take pictures with them,” Gaspero says. “It just kind of sets that tropical vibe or vacation vibe, too, with the pineapple leaves and the fresh pineapple chunks.”
You can also stop by to quench your thirst with a whipped specialty coffee or refreshing Dole Whip smoothie. And the Stone Harbor location recently introduced a morning breakfast bowl, served in — what else? — a pineapple bowl.
The Chillin Pineapple is now open daily for the season from 10am-11pm on weekdays and 9am-11pm on weekends. Be sure to stop by and enjoy the fresh taste of the tropics right here in Stone Harbor!
Siblings Kelly and Paul McCorristin at the new Son of a Sailor Seafood.
Son of a Sailor Seafood
2150 Dune Drive, Avalon • sonofasailorseafood.com • Facebook & Instagram
Avalon has long been home for siblings Paul and Kelly McCorristin. They grew up right here on Seven Mile Beach, working at businesses up and down 21st Street.
Paul spent more than 15 years at Sylvester’s Fish Market and Restaurant, where he learned the ins and outs of the seafood business. And Kelly, who works full time as the librarian at Avalon Stone Harbor Schools, could be found serving up local favorites at numerous restaurants lining the street during her summers off.
It’s only fitting, then, that 21st Street would be the home of their own business venture.
With the closing of Sylvester’s this year, and the availability of a storefront on Dune Drive, it was finally the perfect time for them to open Son of a Sailor Seafood, a restaurant perfect for enjoying your favorite ocean catch on the patio.
“We’ve talked about opening a spot over the years, but the timing wasn’t right,” Paul says. “When we were approached about opening in this location, we couldn’t pass up the chance to open Son of a Sailor in our hometown.”
The restaurant is set to open at the end of June for dinner, with an expansion to lunch and late-night hours planned for soon after. Paul and Kelly will be focusing their offerings on takeout and counter service, so patrons can take advantage of their outdoor dining space to enjoy a combination of hot and cold seafood appetizers and dinners.
The siblings have seen the positives of owning a business in town for many years, through other family and friends who are also business owners — most especially, their father, owner of local contracting company McCorristin Construction.
With all of that business experience running through their family, Paul and Kelly note that Son of a Sailor Seafood will be a true family business, with appearances from McCorristin siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more throughout the summer — something that’s on brand for the inspiration for the name of the restaurant itself.
“Our name, Son of a Sailor, is an ode to our family,” they say. “It is a tribute to our collective love of the water, Jimmy Buffett, and family traditions.”
Chef Jay Otton and owner Tom Tice of 96 Fathoms Poke Bar.
96 Fathoms Poke Bar and Rum Row
261 96th Street, Stone Harbor • 609-830-3238 • Facebook & Instagram
The Watering Hull, a Stone Harbor favorite situated on the upper floor of Harbor Square, is expanding.
When two spaces directly downstairs became available for summer 2022, it was only natural that The Watering Hull fill the demand, says co-owner Maggie Day, who owns the restaurant with fiancé Tom Tice and business partner Jay Otton.
The Watering Hull’s wait times had been getting longer since its opening in 2015, and the owners wanted to continue serving their customers in the best way they could.
96 Fathoms Poke Bar, open now, is a takeout poke bowl bar, completely customizable, with gluten-free and vegan offerings as well as various protein and higher-end seafood options. Day and her co-owners wanted to cater to the wide audience of busy Seven Mile Beachers with takeout options – whether that’s busy from running a business or running after your kids on vacation.
“My family and I are constantly looking for healthy options in takeout food with our busy lifestyle, and so is everyone,” Day says. “There are a couple of poke bowls on our menu upstairs at The Watering Hull and they are very popular items. So, we want to expand on that concept and do a full-fledged takeout poke bar with a variety of options.”
Rum Row, a rum bar next door to 96 Fathoms, is still under construction but due to open at the beginning of July. The bar won’t just have rum – it will be a full-service bar with rum, of course, but also 30 beers on tap, seltzers, local craft drinks and seasonal specialties.
Patrons at Rum Row will also be able to order poke bowls from 96 Fathoms.
“We’re really proud of it,” Day says of both new offerings. “Small businesses – this is what we do.”
Stay tuned for the updates and hours for Rum Row in early July. In the meantime, 96th Fathoms is ready to build your perfect poke bowl through the summer!