After last year’s Hurricane Sandy, the odds were against Atlantic City… and yet, the community has rebounded with a slough of openings, renovations, and business feats that have instilled a new-found excitement in its tourists and hope in its residents. Check out all that AC has been up to this year and if you didn’t get a chance to “DO AC” this summer make sure you go in the Fall.
Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffet’s casual dining restaurant chain opened its 24th location in Atlantic City on Memorial Day this year, with a wildly popular free performance from the man himself. The complex includes a LandShark Bar & Grill on the beach, Five O’Clock Somewhere Bar, the chain’s first-ever coffee shop, retail shops, and over 17,000 square feet of themed gaming inside the Resorts Casino Hotel complex.
Yubōka
Chef Jose Garces continues to brighten Atlantic City’s culinary scene with the addition of dim-sum locale Yubōka, situated right next to Amada on the casino floor of Revel. The establishment is outsourcing some of their menu items from Dim Sum Garden in Philadelphia, Garces’ favorite place for dumplings. Garces also unleashed the Distrito Cantina food truck on Revel Beach, which sells the same fresh guacamole, tacos, and refreshments (sans alcohol) as its indoor mainstay.
Revel Casino Hotel
A huge undertaking for the recently bankrupted resort, Revel unveiled its day-to-night HQ Beach Club this summer. White couches, tables and plush lounge chairs, cabanas, private bungalows and “fish tank” plunge pools surround the boardwalk-level triangular pool. HQ’s crowning glory is the DJ booth with a large LED screen, whose sound encapsulates the 45,000 square foot space, including a separate dance floor, with an integrated Turbosound system.
Steel Pier
The East Coast’s beloved landmark, left unscathed after the storm, is currently employing a three-phase makeover, including a whole new building over the arcade and new food court area. Plans detail a 200-foot Ferris wheel, museum, and retail entertainment space. In addition, the re-imagining of the Marine Ballroom – complete with stage and 2,000 removable seats – will made the Steel Pier a year-round attraction come 2015.
Where did you go the last time you were in Atlantic City?
Have you re-discovered any old gems from “The City That is Never Turned Off” or visited any of these new spots?
Let us know in the comments!
