LAKE COMO – Salty’s Beach Bar will close in November, the operator said, ending a 3½-year run that had been tied up behind the scenes in legal battles.
The operator, Michelle Fontanez, also reached a settlement with the property’s owner, Reginald Hyde, who also owns Bar Anticipation, to drop her bid to buy the property in exchange for $585,000, according to court documents.
“For me, it came to a point where, even if we didn’t settle and we went to trial and won, even winning felt like losing,” Fontanez told the Asbury Park Press Monday. “It was just a no-win situation.”
Salty’s is a no-frills bar on the Jersey Shore that took the place of Paul’s Tavern, a staple that had operated in town since 1979. It features live music and attracts an older crowd than nearby Bar Anticipation.
Belmar: Playa Bowls bought by new owner, which has big plans
It joins a list of bars and restaurants at the Shore, from the Boathouse Bar & Grill in Belmar to the Mad Hatter in Sea Bright, that have been entangled in legal fights.
Jay Reed, 26, of Asbury Park, said he was devastated to hear the bar was closing. He often rode his bike to Belmar and then made the convenient trip to Salty’s.
“Iit’s just a nice vibe,” Reed said.
Spring Lake: Off-duty Belmar lifeguard saves swimmer caught in rip current
Paul’s Tavern was put on the market after its owner, Paul Heaney, died in 2020. And Fontanez, who has owned Surf’s Up Candle store next door to the bar for 11 years, expressed interest in purchasing it from its owner — Pay Day Realty, a company owned by Heaney’s estate and Bar A’s Hyde, according to court papers.
The estate agreed to sell the bar, liquor license and property to Fontanez in Februrary 2021 for $1.5 million, according to court papers.
Fontanez changed the name to Salty’s, renovated the bar and reopened, according to a complaint.
But nine months later, as she was getting ready to close, Hyde exercised what he said was his right of first refusal and purchased the property from the estate, prompting Fontanez to file a lawsuit.
Hyde didn’t immediately respond to an email asking about his plans for the site.
Fontanez took to Facebook to say she would close the bar Nov. 3 and thanked her customers and staff.
“Trust me when I tell you this was not an easy fight in this town,” she wrote. “That being said I have met some of the best people in the world throughout this experience and for that I wouldn’t change a single thing. I am very proud of what I did accomplish and will walk away knowing I always gave it my 100%. I want to thank every single one of you who have always believed in and supported Salty’s.”
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter for the Asbury Park Press. He has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Salty’s Beach Bar in Lake Como closing after 3-year ownership fight
Source Agencies
