MIDDLETOWN –Super Storm Sandy claimed another victim this month when the iconic Sandy Hook watering hole and eatery, the Sea Gull’s Nest, was torn down.
But according to the National Park Service, the dilapidated structure’s demolition has left a blank canvas for something new to rise in its place. The development would have to be something that could structurally withstand a weather event similar to Sandy, or possibly, something that could outrun it.
Daphne Yun, Gateway National Recreation Area public affairs specialist, did not rule out an expansion of Sandy Hook’s food truck offerings.
“We have had a couple of food trucks there over the past few years. It was something we started experimenting with in 2014 and we’d like to continue, and possibly grow that model in cooperation with some kind of structure,” Yun said.
The food truck craze has found a home in the Two River-area, with popular springtime events like the Middletown High School South Food Truck Fest, Keansburg’s Taste of Spring Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival and the larger, more diverse Jersey Shore Food Truck festival at Monmouth Park emerging as annual seasonal staples.
The city of Asbury Park has also embraced the concept.
“My favorite food truck area is North Eats,” Middletown resident Ed Norris said near the site of a bulldozed Sea Gull’s Nest, referencing Asbury Park’s outdoor boardwalk food court, featuring a rotating cast of some of the area’s favorite food truck vendors. “They always have a good variety and you can’t beat the setting. If something like that could happen here, I’m sure it would be popular.”
Though the National Park Service is interested in growing its food truck program, Yun was adamant that it would be in combination with a newly designed, permanent food-service facility, “to preserve some of the magic of the Sea Gull’s Nest.”
However, Yun added that the design of a fully-operational, dine-in restaurant setting would need significant tweaking if the facility hopes to survive another catastrophic weather event like Sandy.
“We definitely want to have some kind of structure there, one that meets the needs of the beach patrons and has some of the same magic, but at the same time it will need to be more resilient. That could mean something with a flow-through design, or something with components that can be removed,” Yun said.
Yun noted the National Park Service has already implemented a
similar setup – a permanent and resilient structure with food truck selections
– at its properties in Jamaica Bay, Queens and Staten Island.
“We’ve had to consider the future while redesigning these areas,” Yun said. “Altogether we have 60 miles of coastline that suffered lots of damage. Resilient designs have been the key for us.”
The Sandy-inflicted damage to the Sea Gull’s Nest was substantial but, according to Yun, at first the park service believed the structure could be rehabilitated.
That was until an engineer was brought in to evaluate the site in 2013 and determined the foundation to be irreparably damaged.
Maintenance to the site was officially off the table once the concessionaire was unable to fund the cost of those repairs. A settlement with the park service was sought, upon which the contract was cancelled by mutual agreement later that year.
“This is a wistful moment in our hurricane recovery process,” Sandy Hook superintendent Jen Nersesian said in a media release. “Many good times were had watching the sunset from that deck. But it is a step forward to the next stage of building back, and building stronger and smarter for the future.”
This article was first published in the May 16-22, 2019 print edition of The Two River Times.
