Michael L. Diamond

@mdiamondapp

WALL - The Circus Drive-In has a prospective buyer whose plans call for redeveloping the Route 35 property without the landmark restaurant, the owners' real estate agent said Tuesday.

News of the sale sparked a last-ditch bid by residents and employees to save the 63-year-old restaurant. But they admitted they faced an uphill climb.

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"I wouldn't say I’m completely over it, but at the same time I kind of understand it’s out of my control," said Gabriella Curry, 28, of Howell, who has worked there for 11 years, most recently managing the wait staff.

The Circus Drive-In has been a summertime destination for generations of residents and visitors who were drawn to its smiling clowns, its big-top tent and its decidedly unhealthy menu.

Its most recent owners, Rich Rose of Sea Girt and Chuck Kavitsky, who lives in Nevada, put the 1.64-acre property on the market about a month ago, sparking an age-old battle between nostalgia and capitalism.

Gerard Norkus, a sales associate with Harold Wien Real Estate LLC, who is representing the owners, declined to disclose the buyer or the redevelopment plans. And he said he didn't know when the deal would close. But he said it became clear the property could generate more money with something other than a seasonal restaurant.

"The numbers don't work," Norkus said. "It just doesn't work. It's a seasonal place, and that's why it was being sold in the first place."

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Started in 1954

The Circus Drive-In was started by Richard and Barbara Friedel in 1954. They operated it for 50 years before they sold it to William Kayal. Kayal's son, David, acquired a majority stake and operated the restaurant until August of 2010, when he sold it to Rose and Kavitsky.

Kayal, who grew up in Wall, said he operated the Circus Drive-In for 32 weeks a year, helping to increase revenue by 30 percent — enough for him to take a vacation during the off-season.

But he said he would work 80 hours a week, managing the ups and downs that Shore tourism business owners know well, from unseasonably rainy summers to a work force that returns to school in the middle of August. When he had a chance to sell the businesses at a profit during the bleak real estate downturn of 2010, he took it.

Still, Kayal said, when he learned Rose and Kavitsky were selling, he made an offer, but was turned down.

"This is one of the things that gives Wall some character," Kayal said.

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Strong emotions

The emotional reaction to its pending sale was unusual. There surely are other restaurants at the Shore that sell hot dogs and pie, amusement parks that offer jobs to teens who return summer after summer. But the response to the Circus Drive-In's possible closing and demolition felt like residents and employees were waving goodbye to their childhoods.

Curry said Rose called her and another manager into a meeting and told them about the plan to sell. Curry began calling the employees she managed, including Samantha Kelly, 19, of Wall, who had worked at the Circus for five years, busing tables, working in the kitchen, serving customers and, last summer, as an assistant manager.

Kelly essentially broke the news on her Facebook page, pleading for someone to step in, buy the restaurant and keep it going. Her post was shared more than 4,000 times and got 1,800 reactions, including more than 860 teary emojis.

Another Facebook page called Save The Circus Drive-In had a petition that collected 2,000 signatures.

Other residents are trying to help. Holly Smith Basile, 46, of Wall, worked at the Circus as a waitress in 1988. Her daughter, Chrissi Michael, now 20, waited tables there, too.

Basile found an official proclamation dated Aug. 9, 1995, from Wall Township that designates the Circus Drive-In as an historic business — along with Dorrer's Corner Garage and Donald's Farm Market — hoping that would be enough for the town to step in and keep it alive.

Short of that, she hoped the new developers would reconsider.

"You have to know you're buying a landmark," she said.

The Circus has been a part of Curry's life since high school. She said she hasn't given up hope, but she also has had time to grieve. And she isn't sure what more she can do.

"I never thought 'closing' would be my reason for not working there anymore," Curry said. "I always thought I’d leave on my own terms, but I guess not."

Michael L. Diamond; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@gannettnj.com