April 27, 2021
Street View/Google Maps
The three Wildwood bars on the 3700 block of Pacific Avenue – Shamrock Beef and Ale (shown above), Club Amnesia, and Castaway's Pirate Bar – had their liquor license suspended from May through September because of repeatedly violating COVID-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants in New Jersey.
A group of Jersey Shore bars that repeatedly breached the state's restrictions on eating and drinking establishments during the coronavirus pandemic will be prohibited from serving alcohol this summer due to their infractions.
The three adjacent Wildwood bars on the 3700 block of Pacific Avenue – Shamrock Beef and Ale, Club Amnesia, and Castaway's Pirate Bar – operate jointly under one liquor license, which is suspended from May through September as part of a settlement with the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The penalty was announced by the state Attorney General's Office on Monday.
The bars' violations include a lack of social distancing between patrons and employees and keeping the bar open past the state's former 10 p.m. curfew imposed on restaurants and bars. As COVID-19 cases spiked last November, New Jersey had required that restaurants to shut down indoor dining between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and to restrict bar seating.
ABC agents discovered some of the infractions on March 3 – two days after the bars had completed a 100-day loss of its liquor license for earlier COVID-19 violations.
Shamrock, Club Amnesia and Castaway's had been cited a dozen times for violating New Jersey's guidelines on indoor food and drink service during the COVID-19 pandemic since May, officials said..
The settlement also requires the liquor licensee, Tommy G's Shamrock, LLC, to get rid of its current management team.
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said that the liquor license suspension "sends a clear message that flouting COVID-19 public health measures will not be tolerated."
"As the weather warms up, ABC will be keeping a close eye on clubs, bars and restaurants that attract summer crowds to make certain they’re doing their part to ensure patrons are enjoying themselves safely," Grewal said.
Shamrock Beef and Ale first opened in 1937 and is among the business in Wildwood that remained opened all year. On its website Shamrock says it will be closed until Oct. 1 and then reopen under new management. Club Amnesia shows the same date for its reopening, and Castaway's Pirate Bar, which is open seasonally, will not reopen until May 2022.
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