Sea Bright, booming after Sandy, could be the next Jersey Shore hot spot

Susanne Cervenka | Asbury Park Press

Sea Bright was always Mary Pizzurro and Ray Paolantonio’s "hidden gem."

It was the family-friendly beach destination for the Fair Haven couple and their children, a casual night out for dinner and home to Paolantonio’s squash club.

While Sea Bright still is a jewel for many, it’s becoming increasingly clear — from the booming real estate values, the traffic circling to find parking and the bustling restaurant scene — that this beachside borough is hardly a secret anymore.

"It used to be busy in the summers during peak hours. Now it’s just all of the time," Paolantonio said. "It’s never really empty here. On Friday night, it’s like Times Square."

It’s a well-marked change from the Sea Bright that was devastated after superstorm Sandy inundated the 1,400-resident community in October 2012. Virtually every property in town was damaged or destroyed, eliminating about $60 million in taxable property value.

Now the impact Sandy had on Sea Bright is better gauged through its growth than its loss. Millions of dollars have been poured in Sea Bright in private and public investments in the nearly six years since the storm struck.

More: From hot dogs to luxury apartments in Sea Bright

The result? Sea Bright, which has been a beachside resort town since it was founded in 1889, is turning into a year-round destination, a hot spot of the Jersey Shore that rivals places like Asbury Park and Red Bank.

Check out the gallery at the top of the page for images of Sea Bright throughout the years.

"All of the sudden, Sea Bright has become a darling of the Shore," said Brian George, owner of Northshore Sea Bright, a menswear clothing story and The Porch, a womenswear store. "The downtown is vibrant. Our business was good before Sandy. It’s only gotten better."

Sea Bright didn't just rebuild after Sandy, Mayor Dina Long said. The community strengthened itself by building a new seawall, raising homes and eyeing new precautions to protect itself from future flooding.

"I miss the old Sea Bright, but I think the new Sea Bright is vibrant and it is more resilient to the future because of the opportunities for rebuilding and to make much-needed improvements to our downtown," she said.

A booming restaurant scene

Sea Bright’s resurgence was anchored with the return of longtime businesses like the beach clubs, Donovan’s Reef and Anjelica’s and the anticipated return of The Mad Hatter coupled with new additions like Tommy’s Tavern + Tap.

More: Chef David Burke to open Sea Bright restaurant

"Was it a destination before? Yeah, but now there’s a lot more variety," said Cono Trezza, who has owned Sea Bright Pizza for 12 years and rebuilt his business twice after flooding from Sandy and Hurricane Irene in 2011.

"Competition is the best advertising for me. I can see when Tommy’s gets so crowded, (patrons) start moving down the street. There’s enough money for everyone," he said.

Opening Tommy’s in 2015 was an opportunity that came with high risk, owner Tommy Bonfiglio said.

The building he chose for the project, the borough’s former post office, was flooded by Sandy, which made it difficult to get a bank loan. He ultimately funded the project out of pocket.

"We took the chance and it paid off. I went from being a lunatic to being a genius," Bonfiglio said.

What to do in Sea Bright? Watch the video below for five fun things to check out in Sea Bright.

5 fun things to check out in Sea Bright Sea Bright is booming six years after superstorm Sandy. Check out the fun things to do in the beachside town.

More: 10 new restaurants at the Jersey Shore

But he also wouldn’t have been able to get a space that large had Sandy not hit.

Bonfiglio said he sees more potential still for growth in Sea Bright, but it’s "pockets of opportunity" rather than "broad stroke growth."

He expects Sea Bright to draw more restauranteurs now that the existing establishments have proven it’s a restaurant destination.

"You can’t help but notice it. The town is alive and thriving. It’s Sea Bright Thriving," said Bonfiglio, a play on words of Sea Bright Rising, the home-grown nonprofit that helped the borough recover in the wake of the storm.

Sea Bright Rising started as a vehicle to feed residents in the days and weeks following Sandy but became a long-term recovery resource.

More: Donovan's Reef reopening in Sea Bright

In all, Sea Bright Rising raised and distributed $1.6 million in Sea Bright, which helped residents and businesses rebuild and helped the borough on some infrastructure projects, former Sea Bright Rising director Ilene Winters said.

"Sea Bright came back with a vengeance. It gives us a great sense of pride to have anything to do with its comeback," she said. "I think everyone who came to town was very forward thinking. They understood Sea Bright was never going to go away."

Vacation guests turned residents

BeachWalk at Sea Bright, the only hotel in town, has been busy since it reopened after Sandy, hotel manager Heather Schutt said.

Weekends fill up quickly, but that demand is now spilling over into the week, leading her to add more staff for the reception desk as well as their tiki bar and pool, she said.

"Sea Bright was always known as the best-kept secret," Schutt said. "The word is out. I can’t keep up during the week. We have a lot of return guests and a lot of word of mouth."

More: Bed & Breakfasts add relaxation to summer

The town is also seeing a boom through alternative lodgings, like Airbnb rentals where guest arrivals were up 146 percent as of Jan. 1 compared with the year prior, the company said.

"This has been a great year for Airbnb in Sea Bright, with more hosts, guests, and businesses enjoying the economic opportunity of the world’s largest home sharing community than ever before," said Josh Meltzer, head of Northeast Policy for Airbnb.

Sea Bright has about 30 properties listed on Airbnb, from renting rooms to entire houses, with prices ranging from $60 to over $2,000 per night.

But the community is also drawing more attention from people looking to move there.

The average sales price for homes is up 27 percent from the year following Sandy to present, according to multiple listing service data from Monmouth Ocean Regional Realtors.

Average home sales last year were $937,521 in Sea Bright last year, up about 35 percent compared with 2008, the year the housing market crashed, the data showed.

It’s not just restaurateurs and residents looking to invest in Sea Bright.

New owners purchased the Monmouth Squash Club and Swim School, a fitness club that’s existed in various forms for decades nestled off Ocean Avenue via an alley next to Anjelica’s.

Tertius Raubenheimer, a co-owner and general manager, said part of the reason for the investment was to fulfill a longtime dream of owning a squash club. The opportunity just happened to be in Sea Bright.

But it also adds comfort that there is so much activity in Sea Bright, he said.

"It just gives you so much more confidence (as a business owner) when you can come into a town and see it developing and building," he said.

Susanne Cervenka: @scervenka; 732-643-4229; scervenka@gannettnj.com