Atlantic City restaurants and bars are selling package goods which means more people are able to walk around the city with open containers.
ATLANTIC CITY — The COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily closed the Boardwalk casinos.
But the Boardwalk’s park benches remain open.
For years, residents and politicians have debated whether alcoholic drinks should be allowed in open containers on the Boardwalk and in other resort areas that cater to tourists.
Now, it’s happening organically, as more people can be spotted sitting on benches or strolling the Boardwalk with open containers.
Some Boardwalk bars and restaurants still offer takeout services. Customers buy a beer or a drink, walk a few feet and sit on a park bench to enjoy it.
“That’s what summer at the shore is about, going to the Boardwalk,” said city resident Joseline Montes, 32, as she sipped a beer with friends on a Boardwalk bench last week.
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As happy hour approached on a recent cool, cloudy Friday afternoon, the Boardwalk was mostly deserted. But people could still be spotted with adult beverages. Much of the activity centered on The Biergarten and the Bungalow Beach Restaurant near Tropicana Atlantic City.
A sign outside Bungalow Beach advertised $5 margaritas. A steady stream of people walked into the open-air Biergarten for a drink.
“We do miss going in and listening to the music,” Montes said, “but we have to do it this way now.”
City officials have campaigned for open container laws in the past. Last December, City Council narrowly approved a resolution urging the state Legislature to act on a bill that would permit open alcohol containers in certain areas of the city, including the Boardwalk.
The city’s Police Department and the municipal Alcohol Beverage Control Board also supported the legislation.
The bill passed the state Senate last June but stalled in an Assembly committee last fall.
An executive order by Gov. Phil Murphy has allowed takeout alcoholic drinks in the state during the pandemic. And legislation in Trenton once again seeks to make open containers of alcohol permissible in Atlantic City's Tourism District.
Julie McGuigan and her husband, Matt, are Atlantic City summer residents who live full time in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. They sat on a bench across from The Biergarten and enjoyed beers in aluminium cans last week.
“We’re old,” Julie McGuigan, 53, said with a laugh. “We just want to sit here and have a drink. It’s just being outside, not sitting in a bar.”
McGuigan said there are positives and negatives to open containers.
“I think it’s great as long as you’re respectful about it,” she said. “I don’t think it’s hurting anything, but it might open a can of worms as well.”
Proponents of an Atlantic City open container law want to emulate New Orleans, where people can drink in the French Quarter if containers are not glass.
People in favor of an open container law for Atlantic City say it will boost tourism. When the casinos reopen, they’re going to need all the help they can get to rebuild their business.
“If you can walk around and enjoy a beer,” said Matt McGuigan, 54, “I think it will bring more people down.”
Ana Castano and her family drove more than two hours from West New York in Hudson County to visit Atlantic City on a recent Friday. Castano enjoyed a margarita while on the Boardwalk.
“This is something different,” said Castano, 31. “It’s a good experience. The beach is there, all the attractions. You get to walk around with the kids. Who doesn’t like having drinks? That’s the best part about it.”
An open container law also could draw more South Jersey residents to the Boardwalk, especially ones who have spent most of the past few months in their homes because of the pandemic.
“It releases stress,” said 33-year-old Javier Gonzalez, of Atlantic City. “I’m tired of being inside the house.”
