EXIT ZERO HOLIDAYS 2013 « $4.95
WINTER WONDERLAND The ultimate Cape May holiday activity guide
Seaside Cheese Co. Over 150 Imported Cheeses, Meats and Gourmet Items! One of the few cheese shops that still cuts European Style Private tastings available... travel the world thru cheese! Local Products (Crab Cakes, Honey and much more)
Order Your Holiday Cheese Trays Now!
110 PARK BLVD, WEST CAPE MAY • 884-8700
inside this issue
the big holiday events guide 5 The activities and happenings you need to know about
a winter wonderland 14 Some fun facts on Congress Hall’s annual festive festival.
the ultimate food and drink chart 17 Everything you need to know about indulging in Cape May.
our readers’ favorite holiday traditions 26 From a ruthless gingerbread house challenge to a day full of holidays.
brewing up a storm 30 An in-depth talk with the guys behind Cape May Brewing Co.
talking trash 44 We meet the invisible heroes — the guys who pick up after us.
the ultimate cape may bargain 56 How to spend $20 and save $450, while having a blast.
the actress and the porches 64 How Broadway star Laura Woyasz fell in love with Cape May.
the chefs of cool cape may 70 Seven of them talk about holiday traditions, and their inspirations.
a very special year 82 Twin holiday bill seals an unforgettable 2013 for Cape May Stage.
holiday treats from east lynne 91 Festive theater you’re not going to want to miss.
the cape may holiday trolley guide 103 Your trip won’t be complete without a festive ride around town.
cover painting by marie natale
about us editor/publisher/designer Jack Wright jack@exitzero.us advertising manager Jason Black jason@exitzero.us staff writer Diane Stopyra diane@exitzero.us staff artist Mike DeMusz mike@exitzero.us photo editor Nicole Dever creative consultant Victor Grasso
Serving fine food since 1988
historical editor Ben Miller photographers Aleksey Moryakov, Frank Weiss graphic artist Doree Bardes contributing writers Kate Chadwick, Mark Chamberlain, Catherine Dugan, David Gray, Terry O’Brien, Tom Sims distribution Ashley Larson labeler Mary Smith exit zero store & gallery manager Michele Mulligan exit zero store & gallery team Diane Carson, Martha Kesler, Sharon Holden, Adam Larson, Beth Olivero, Michelle O’Leary, Janet Westcott
Open Daily for Lunch & Dinner
(609) 884-9119 322 Washington Street Mall, Cape May www.tishasfinedining.com Pet Friendly Back Patio! exit zero
exit zero color magazine is published eight times a year. Annual subscription is $25. Or $50 for these AND our 47 black-and-white issues. It’s a great deal! To subscribe call (609) 770-8479 or visit ezstore.us Published by Exit Zero Publishing, Inc. 109 Sunset Boulevard, Suite D, Cape May, NJ 08204 Telephone: (609) 770-8479 Fax: (609) 770-8481 E-mail: info@exitzero.us Website: exitzero.us Online store: ezstore.us
2 Holidays 2013
If you really want to experience Cape May, show your mug at ours.
A local institution for more than half a century. Classic traditional bar meets full-service family-friendly restaurant. Live entertainment! 426 WASHINGTON STREET MALL, CAPE MAY • (609) 884-3459
“BEST AMERICAN” and “TOP 25 RESTAURANTS IN THE STATE” New Jersey Monthly
Serving Dinner from 5:15pm Please call for Days 3 course prix-fixe $24 from 5:15-6:15pm
weddings • rehearsals • private parties
Beach Avenue & Howard Street at the
H o t e l M a c o mb e r
609 884 8811 unionparkdiningroom.com
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The big holiday activity guide Meet The Big Guy WHY: Because if you haven’t been good, you need to plead your case. WHERE: At the Inn of Cape May, for Breakfast with Santa. Adults, $15; children 12 and under, $10. November 30, December 7 and 14. 10am-12pm. Call 609-884-5404. OR... In the ballroom at Congress Hall, for Breakfast with Santa. Adults, $15.95; children four to 12, $9.95; children under three, free. November 30, December 7, 14, and 21. At 8:30am and 10:30am. Call 609-884-8421.
Columbia Avenue is a particularly good place to see the Victorian houses of Cape May put on a sparkling show during the holiday season.
Meet The Big Guy’s Wife WHY: Because behind every good man… WHERE: On a trolley ride around Cape May, where you’ll hear songs and stories. All seats $8. November 23 through December 21. Launches from the Physick
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Estate. For dates and times, call 609-8845404. OR... In the Congress Hall ballroom, for Story Time with Mrs Claus on Saturday mornings from November 29 through December 31. Build gingerbread houses
with her on Sunday mornings and afternoons from November 29 through December 31. Call 609-884-8421. See The Light WHY: Because a lit Christmas tree is a beautiful, hope-inducing, mesmerizing thing WHERE: At the Emlen Physick Estate’s tree-lighting ceremony. While you’re there, check out the Carriage House Gallery exhibit, An Old-fashioned Christmas: Holiday Traditions through the Years, which captures the feeling of Christmas past with a Dickens Village collection. The Cape Harmonaires will be on hand to entertain with holiday carols and, that evening, the Physick Estate will be open for free, self-guided tours. Visitors are encouraged to share in the holiday spirit and bring a non-perishable food item for the Cape May Community Food Bank. For kids, there are Santa’s Trolley Rides and a chance to visit with old St. Nick himself. November 23. Santa flips the switch at 7pm. Call 609-884-5404. OR... At Congress Hall’s tree-lighting ceremony on December 6. Around 1,000 people turn up for this event, which is
really the North Pole, Cape May style. Festival choir starts at 8pm, lights go on at 9pm. OR... At the city’s tree-lighting ceremony in Rotary Park. This tree could put even the mostly lavishly decorated of Victorian pines to shame. December 6. 6:30pm. Call 609-884-9525. See The Parade WHY: Because the West Cape May Christmas Parade is one of the coolest and largest small-town parades in the state. And it will give you the warm fuzzies. Just ask the folks who live along the parade route, who host their most fabulous parties to conincide with it. There will be floats, dignitaries, plenty of bands and, of course, Saint Nick. WHERE: Begins on Broadway. From 5pm until approximately 8pm. For details call the Borough of West Cape May at 609-884-1005. Get Crafty WHY: Because you haven’t finished your holiday shopping yet, so you’ll want to browse handmade gifts and seasonal decorations that make decking halls a
Down-home cooking... with a terrific view!
breeze. WHERE: At a holiday crafts fair at Convention Hall. November 29, 30. From 10am to 4pm. $2. Call 609-884-5404. OR... At the 27th Annual Crafts At Christmas fair at Convention Hall on December 7. Call 609-884-9565. Go A’wassailing WHY: Because song is good for the soul... especially this time of year. WHERE: At Historic Cold Spring Village which will open its doors for Wassail Day. The Village paths come alive with the sounds and smells of wintertime at this free event. Select buildings will also be open where guests can enjoy hot beverages and treats served by historical interpreters in period clothing. Visitors can meet Father Christmas in the Country Store from noon to 2pm and enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride throughout the festively decorated grounds, for a small donation December 7. 11am-3pm. Call 609-898-2300. See A Show WHY: Because you can’t NOT be in the holiday spirit afterward.
LITTLE ITALY II RISTORANTE
Home-cooked food that will satisfy you, your family, AND your wallet.
PIZZA • VONGOLE ALLA CASINO • PENNE ALLA GIOVANNI SHRIMP FRA DIAVOLO • FLOUNDER MEDITERRANEAN VEAL ALLA VINCENZO • CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA ALLA ROMANA
Beach Avenue & Grant Street, Cape May • 884-3772 exit zero
3704 BAYSHORE ROAD, NORTH CAPE MAY (Cape Plaza Shopping Center) • 889-6610
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An exquisite gourmet experience... so much more than olive oils to indulge in. Plus, three words... bacon olive oil. Need we say more?
• OLIVE OILS • BALSAMIC VINEGARS
• FRESH BREADS • GOURMET SALTS • RUBS/SPICES
• GIFT BOXES • PASTA • JAMS/SPREADS
• SUGARS • MUSTARDS • DIPS
324 CARPENTERS LANE • CAPEMAYOLIVEOILCOMPANY.COM
609.898.4441 exit zero
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WHERE: At Cape May Stage’s Robert Shackleton Playhouse on Lafayette Street, for Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, which answers the question you’ve always wondered: Is it really too late for Scrooge’s ghostly, unfortunate business partner? Chained and shackled, Marley is condemned for all eternity, but when a malicious little evil sprite offers a desperate Marley one chance to free himself, he accepts. To escape his own chains, he must first redeem Scrooge. So begins a journey of laughter and terror, redemption and renewal. This irreverent, funny, and ultimately, deeply moving story retells Dickens’ classic with warmth and infectious zest. November 29 through December 8. Call 609-770-8311. OR... At Congress Hall for Cape May Stage’s production of The Santaland Diaries, which tells the irreverent story of a struggling young writer turned Christmas elf at Macy’s. November 30 through December 12. Mature elves only. Call 609-770-8311. OR... At East Lynne Theater Company for Christmas With Harte and O. Henry, holiday tales from the old West presented in storytelling fashion by Artistic Director Gayle Stahlhuth, who has been praised by
reviewers and audiences for her portrayals of 30-plus roles in the telling of one tale. November 29 through December 14. Call 609-884-5898. Feel The Love WHY: Because generosity and neighborliness are a pre-requisite this time of year WHERE: On The Washington Street Mall, for Hospitality Night. Shopping, wine, and enough Christmas spirit to make your heart grow three sizes. 7pm-9pm. On December 12 and 13. OR... At five of Cape May’s finest bed and breakfasts and private homes, on a lamplighter Christmas tour, where owners will share the Christmas spirit. Adults, $20; children, $15. Call 609-884-5404. OR... At festively decorated homes, inns, and churches on a self-guided Christmas Candlelight Tour, where you can expect homebaked goodies and warm beverages. Heated shuttle service. December 7, 14, and 28. 5:30-8:30pm. Adults, $25; children, $20. Call 609-884-5404. Revisit Christmas Past WHY: Because it turned out pretty well for Ebenezer.
WHERE: At the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate, decorated in the Victorian style, for the Physick Family Christmas House Tour. This is a living history experience... you’ll meet members of the Physick family circa the 1890s. Purchase tickets at the Washington Street Mall information booth, or at the Physick Estate. November 22 through January 1. Call 609-884-5404. OR... At the Carriage House Gallery for an Old Fashioned Christmas, complete with an intricate Dickens Village. It’s all about the wonder of Christmas morning, with model trains and toys beneath a tree. You can stand under there as well, and marvel at the intricate layout of dozens of Dickens Village houses and people. November 22 through January 1. Call 609-884-5404. OR... All over Cape May, where you’ll see the twinkly lights of turret-topped cottages on an Evening Yuletide Tour. Adults, $18; children, $13. November 29 through December 30. Call 609-8845404. Visit A Winery or Brewery WHY: Because man cannot survive on eggnog alone WHERE: At Hawk Haven Vineyard and
Sweet Gifts for EVERYONE on your List!
Try Our Tasting Bar!
135 S unset B lvd ., W est C ape M ay ( behind the E xit Z ero S tore ) 609.425.6434 • C ape M ay H oney F arm . com • F ind us on F acebook ! exit zero
8 July 2013
W
e’ll Be Home for the Holidays
Thanksgiving Dinner 3 pm - 7 pm
New Year’s Eve Celebration Dinner, Live Music & Dancing
New Year’s Day Brunch 10 am - 2 pm
Reservations
609.884.9090 26 Food
27 Decor
HOLIDAY GIFT CERTIFICATES 25 Service
1301 Beach Avenue • Cape May, NJ • petershieldsinn.com
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9 July 2013
Winery, Jessie Creek Winery, and Natalie Vineyards, on a self-guided wine trail. 12pm-5pm. November 22 through December 31. Call 609-884-5404. OR... At Natali Vineyards, Hawk Haven Vineyard and Winery and Cape May Brewing Company, on this self-guided trail. (Try the award-winning IPA at the latter.) November 22 through December 31. Call 609-884-5404. OR... At Hawk Haven Vineyard, for a tour… and cheese tasting on the crush pad. November 29 through January 3. $20. Call 609-884-5404. OR... At Cape May Winery, for a cellar tour and tasting. See how the grapes are grown, and get an introduction to the winemaker’s art. If you dont’ like wine, go for the cheese. November 29 through December 30. $20. Call 609-884-5404. OR... At Willow Creek Winery, for a tour, tasting, or private group tasting. Call 609-884-5151. Ride A Trolley WHY: Because you can be warm and cozy while out and about in a beautiful town! WHERE: Through Cape May’s Historic District, on a Holiday Lights Trolley
Ride. Guides will talk about Victorian Christmas traditions, lead sing-alongs, and play Christmas music. $10. Call 609-884-5404. OR ... On a Ghosts of Christmas Past tour through the city, where a member of the East Lynne Theater Company will regale you with a Victorian ghost tale. Tour begins and ends at Washington Street Mall and Ocean Street. Purchase tickets at the Washington Stree Mall Information Booth at Ocean Street, or at the Physick Estate. Advance reservation is strongly recoommended. Adults, $10; children, $7. Call 609-884-5404. Learn Something WHY: Because Christmas traditions are more fun when you know why you’re doing them… and how to do them right. WHERE: At the Episcopal Church of the Advent for a Christmas Traditions Lecture. You’ll discover how Prince Albert brought some of these traditions to England from Germany when he married Queen Victoria, and how they sprad across the pond. Topics of discussion include trees, cards, carols, and our image of Santa Claus. (His belly didn’t always shake like
a bowl full of jully.)December 7. 2-4pm. $10. Call 609-884-5404. OR... At the Nature Center of Cape May, for Holiday Wreath and Garland Workshops. Using fresh evergreen of Douglas fir, spruce, pine, cedar and other natural materials, create a handcrafted decoration... that will make your house smell as lovely as those Christmas cookies you keep meaning to bake. December 5-8. $15, members; $20, nonmembers. Call 609-898-8848. Take A Carriage Ride WHY: Because the holidays can be the most romantic time of year in Cape May, and the option to ride through the festive streets of the historic district is a major reason why. You’d be hard pressed to find a more cozy spot to snuggle with your honey. WHERE: In front of Washington Commons on Ocean Street, you’ll see the beautiful horses of Cape May Carriage Company. (So beautiful, one was even featured in the inaugural parade of President George W. Bush in 2011.) Visit capemaycarriage.com.
Beautifully decorated cakes for every special occasion. Organic coffee and tea. Sweet and savory pastries.
Now taking Holiday orders for: Pies • Desserts • Breads Cookies • Cheesecakes Nut Breads • Pastry Trays
482 WEST PERRY STREET CAPE MAY 609.884.7454 capemaybakers.com
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Ring in the
New Year with us - MAkE YouR REsERvAtions EARlY!
Open Thursday thru Sunday until Jan. 1st Dinner from 5pm • Late Night, Desserts & Cocktails 3 Course Menu • $30 Anytime
Gift Card Sale
*For Every $100 Purchased* Receive a FREE $20 Gift Card! Available Black Friday thru Jan. 1
HOST YOur HOlidaY ParTY HErE!
• N e W • HaPPY HOur
5-7pm at our new extended bar
$7 House Wines, Martinis & apps
9510 Pacific Avenue • Wildwood Crest, NJ reservations recomended 609.522.5425 www.marienicoles.com exit zero
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a winter wonderland Everything you need to know about Congress Hall’s festive festival exit zero
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8,000
Number of lights on the Congress Hall tree. “There’s nothing like the crisp weather, excitement in the air and that magical moment when the tree is lit for the first time,” says Roseanne Rossi of Turnersville, New Jersey. “Good cheer surrounds you in the most beautiful wonderland.”
32
Height, in feet, of the Congress Hall Christmas tree, donated by the Brinkman family of Sewell, NJ and North Cape May. “It was planted along with another by my father in 1980; one for my son, one for my daughter,” says Fredrick Brinkman. “All of a sudden, it was huge! We’re glad to donate it to a good cause.”
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The Ultimate Cape May Food & Drink Chart What you need to know about the food and the vibe
Meals served
Price range of entrées
Bar or BYOB?
Should I book?
Food for kids?
Other details
B, L, D
$15-$45 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
FULL BAR
YES
YES
ub HU
B, L, D
$5-$25 Cards: V, MC, D
BYOB
NO
YES
u H
D
$15-$28 Cards: V, MC
BYOB
YES
NO
u b H
B, L, D
$12-$36 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
FULL BAR
YES
YES
u b H
Brunch, D
$10-$32 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BYOB
YES
NO
u
ALEATHEA’S 7 Ocean Street Cape May (609) 884-5555, Ext. 226 www.innofcapemay.com
Offers superb food in a graceful setting at the glorious old Inn of Cape May. Plus, there’s a cozybut-elegant bar with access to the oceanfront patio. Check out the antique-filled lobby first.
BELLA VIDA CAFÉ 406 N. Broadway West Cape May (609) 884-6332 www.bellavidacafe.com
“The local café with a wholesome aroma” is what they call it... and that’s how we describe it. You can tell that everything is home-cooked here. Always fresh, always delicious.
THE BLACK DUCK 1 Sunset Boulevard West Cape May (609) 898-0100 www.blackduckonsunset.com
A chic interior and stylish Modern American cuisine from acclaimed chef (and owner) Chris Hubert, but the ambience is anything but pretentious. There’s a nice laidback vibe.
THE BLUE PIG TAVERN 251 Beach Avenue, Cape May (609) 884-8422 www.caperesorts.com/bluepigtavern
Check out why Congress Hall’s restaurant is a favorite of locals as well as hotel guests. They serve classic tavern food for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
THE BLUE ROSE INN 653 Washington Street Cape May (609) 435-5458 www.blueroseinn.com
This is Cape May at its best — a fine, family-owned, recently opened restaurant in a newly renovated B&B on a beautiful, tree-lined street.
THE BOILER ROOM 251 Beach Avenue, (609) 884-8422 www.caperesorts.com/boilerroom
Congress Hall’s chic basement nightclub — all bare metal and brickwork — has an assortment of great music on the weekends and a cool vibe.
Cocktails
Cards: V, MC, AE, D
FULL BAR
NO
NO
u
THE BROWN ROOM 251 Beach Avenue, Cape May (609) 884-8422 www.caperesorts.com/brownroom
Congress Hall’s lovely lounge is called Cape May’s Living Room for a reason. The decor is elegant but casual, the drinks are great, the staff is cool, and the place just says “classy.”
Bar Menu & Cocktails
Cards: V, MC, AE, D
FULL BAR
NO
NO
u
CAPE MAY BAKERS 482 W. Perry Street Cape May (609) 884-7454 www.capemaybakers.com
At the same location since 1979, Cape May Bakers serves fresh coffee, fine pastries, gourmet desserts and cakes for all occasions. Plus great daily specials, too!
B, L
$2-$12
N/A
NO
YES
b H
CAPE MAY BREWING CO. 1288 Hornet Road Rio Grande (609) 849-9933 www.capemaybrewery.com
It’s the first microbrewery at the Jersey Shore, and it’s creating quite the buzz... they won Best IPA at the 2012 Atlantic City Beer Fest. Check out the new tasting room.
Brewery
$5-$11 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
Bar
NO
NO
u b H
CAPE MAY HONEY FARM 135 Sunset Boulevard West Cape May (609) 425-6434 www.capemayhoneyfarm.com
Cape May Honey Farm offers local raw honey, imported honey, and home and beauty products that have been homemade using beeswax.
Honey
$7-$35 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
N/A
N/A
YES
u b H
CAPE MAY OLIVE OIL CO. 324 Carpenter’s Lane Cape May 800-584-1887
This spot features 20 different varieties of olive oils and balsamic vinegars, pastas, spreads, jams, mustards, infused salts and sugars, and much more.
Olive Oils and more
$3-$60 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
N/A
N/A
NO
b H
SYMBOLS KEY
u Onsite parking
Handicap accessible exit zero
H
Takeout available
17 Holidays 2013
U Dog-friendly patio
1,300 Number of attendees at last year’s Breakfast With Santa, in the Congress Hall ballroom. “We took my son Michael, who was five months old, to Congress Hall last year for the first time,” says Angela Dougherty of Skippack, Pennsylvania. “My in-laws, who are long-time Cape Mayans, brought us to Breakfast with Santa, and it was such a special time. He loved meeting Santa for the first time and he enjoyed looking at the spectacular decorations. We hope to make it a yearly Christmas tradition! This is truly a special place that makes everyone feel like a kid again at Christmas.”
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The Ultimate Cape May Food & Drink Chart What you need to know about the food and the vibe CORINTHIAN YACHT CLUB 1819 Delaware Avenue Cape May (609) 884-8000 www.cyccm.com
For a pretty special wedding experience, or any big event, for that matter, check out the Corinthian Yacht Club. There’s a stunning harbor view plus excellent cuisine by one of Cape May’s most acclaimed chefs.
CUCINA ROSA 301 Washington Street Mall Cape May (609) 898-9800 www.cucinarosa.com
Nicely located at the beginning of the mall, on the Congress Hall side, this Italian restaurant is a must-visit. Simply superb food in classy-but-casual surroundings.
C-VIEW INN Texas & Washington Avenues Cape May (609) 884-4712
A locals’ favorite, this is the oldest and friendliest tavern in town with great wings, excellent pub fare and cold beer. And these days they accept credit cards, too!
DEPOT MARKET CAFÉ 409 Elmira Street Cape May (609) 884-8030
Owners Chris and Lisa Shriver are keeping the old favorites at this much-loved café AND adding new specials. Cape May’s movers and shakers often eat lunch here.
THE EBBITT ROOM 25 Jackson Street Cape May (609) 884-5700 www.caperesorts.com/ebbittroom
Enjoy your meal on the Ebbitt Room porch, overlooking tree-lined Jackson Street, or enjoy the simple beauty of this dining room, which is one of the finest in South Jersey.
FISH AND FANCY 2406 Bayshore Road Villas (609) 886-8760 www.fishandfancy.com
Expect superb seafood however you like it — fried, broiled, grilled, blackened or sautéed — and great salads, too. Eat in (there’s an outdoor patio) or take away.
5 WEST PUB 3729 Bayshore Road, North Cape May (609) 889-7000 www.5westpub.com
This sure-to-be hotspot is a gastropub coming to you from the owners of Tisha’s. Expect the same high-quality food and high-quality service, in an atthe-beach atmosphere.
GREEN STREET MARKET 3167 Route 9 South Rio Grande (609) 463-0606 www.greenstreetmarket.com
It’s a family-owned and operated organic market, committed to providing healthy and fair trade-certified foods and products. Check out their rewards program.
HARBOR VIEW 954 Ocean Drive Cape May (609) 884-5444 www.harborviewcapemay.com
A locals’ favorite for a reason. There’s a Key West vibe, good food, regular entertainment, and the views are spectacular. Spend the day — or night. Enjoy sushi on their beautiful deck.
THE LOBSTER HOUSE Fisherman’s Wharf Cape May (609) 884-8296 www.thelobsterhouse.com
Take-out, fish market, restaurant, raw bar, breakfast, dinner... The Lobster House has it all. Drinks on the Schooner American, watching the boats before dinner, is a lovely experience.
LOUISA’S CHOCOLATE BAR 108 Jackson Street Cape May (609) 884-5519
Have a sweet tooth? This is the place for you. The chocolate is of the highest quality... in both familiar and adventurous flavors. Plus chocolate is good for your soul — everyone knows that!
SYMBOLS KEY
u Onsite parking
Meals served
Price range of entrées
Bar or BYOB?
Should I book?
Food for kids?
Other details
Special Event Venue
Please call for more info
N/A
YES
N/A
u b
D
$12-$29 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BYOB
YES
YES
b H
L, D
$4-$18 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
NO
YES
u H
B, L, D
$6-$14 Cash Only
BYOB
NO
YES
u b H
D
$26-$33 V, MC, AE, D
BAR
YES
NO
u
L, D
$5-$19 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BYOB
YES
YES
u b H
L, D
$6-$20 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
YES
YES
u b H U
Health Food Store
Varies Cards: V, MC, D
N/A
N/A
YES
ub
B, L, D
$6-$30 Cards: V, MC
BAR
NO
YES
ub H
B, L, D
$5-$48 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
NO
YES
u b HU
Chocolates
$2 - ? Cards: V, MC, AE, D
N/A
NO
YES
H
Handicap accessible exit zero
H
Takeout available
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U Dog-friendly patio
Oyster Bay STEAKS
Modern American cuisine with a
SEAFOOD
DELICIOUS DINNERS... CREATIVE COCKTAILS
cool and casual vibe...
1 Sunset Boulevard, Cape May (609) 898-0100 • www.blackduckonsunset.com
(609) 884-2111 • 615 LAFAYETTE ST, CAPE MAY
Your search has ended...
CORINTHIAN YACHT CLUB of CAPE MAY offers you a unique venue overlooking beautiful Cape May Harbor. Our ever-changing water view and exceptional cuisine will lend a distinctive touch to your special day.
Let us make make your wedding, birthday, anniversary, cocktail party, or holiday gathering spectacular!
1819 DELAWARE AVENUE, CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY 08204 (609) 884-8000 • cyccm.com and capemaybeachwedding.com
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The Ultimate Cape May Food & Drink Chart What you need to know about the food and the vibe
Meals served
Price range of entrées
Bar or BYOB?
Should I book?
Food for kids?
Other details
B, L, D
$19-$30 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
YES
YES
b H
D
$19-$44 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
YES
NO
u b
L, D
$15-$30 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
YES
YES
D
$18/Mrkt Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
YES
YES
ub HU
B, L, D
$9-$30 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BYOB
NO
YES
u b H
Chocolates and candy
$3-$15 V, MC, AE, D
NA
NO
YES
b H
D
$12-$29 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
YES
YES
u b H
D
$22-$39 Cards: V, MC, D
BYOB
NO
NO
H
L, D
$5-$25 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
YES
YES
H
BAR
YES
YES
u b H
BYOB
N/A
YES
u b H U
MAD BATTER 19 Jackson Street Cape May (609) 884-5970 www.madbatter.com
It’s the original fine dining restaurant in Cape May and still one of the best. The food is always creative and the breakfasts and brunches are hard to beat — hence the lines.
MARIE NICOLE’S 9510 Pacific, Wildwood Crest Diamond Beach (609) 522-5425 www.marienicoles.com
This award-winning restaurant serves modern American cuisine in a cozy, relaxed atmosphere. Savor summer nights on the terrace with a handcrafted cocktail.
MARTINI BEACH 429 Beach Avenue Cape May (609) 884-1925
A lively nightspot with a friendly vibe, great Mediterranean dishes, and a panoramic ocean view. It’s also the place that brought tapas to Cape May — the food is even better shared.
MERION INN 106 Decatur Street Cape May (609) 884-8363 www.merion inn.com
The dim, amber lighting, dark wooden bar, period fittings and classy staff give this place a special ambience. Great food, great cocktails, and great music.
OCEAN VIEW Beach & Grant Avenues Cape May (609) 884-3772 www.oceanviewrestaurant.com
At this oceanfront staple, expect a large menu, full of classic diner food that’s reasonably priced. Locals frequent it, and you know that is always a good sign.
ORIGINAL FUDGE KITCHEN Washington Street Mall and on the Promenade Cape May 800-23-FUDGE • fudgekitchens.com
It’s family-owned and operated, and you can tell. The service AND the fudge are exceptional. And their saltwater taffy? It’s the perfect seashore treat.
OYSTER BAY 615 Lafayette Street Cape May (609) 884-2111 www.oysterbayrestaurantnj.com
A lovely dining room, a beautiful new bar, a new bar menu, great martinis and classic, generous dishes. Check out their happy hour daily from 4-6:30pm.
PETER SHIELDS 1301 Beach Avenue Cape May (609) 884-9090 www.petershieldsinn.com
The Georgian Revival mansion on Cape May’s beachfront is magnificent, and the creative modern American menu matches it all the way. This is one classy eating experience.
THE PILOT HOUSE 142 Decatur Street Cape May (609) 884-3449 www.pilothousecapemay.com
A classic pub and restaurant offering great burgers, excellent comfort good and an authentic ambience. The burgers are big favorites among locals.
RIO STATION 3505 Route 9 South Rio Grande (609) 889-2000
While all around it has changed, the Rio Station is still serving excellent food with old-style, friendly service. Their chicken wings are particularly good.
L, D
$13-$29 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
SALT WATER CAFE 1231 Route 109 Cape May (609) 884-2403 www.saltwatercafecapemay.com
A fun new addition to the Cape May food scene. The harbor setting is mighty fine, and so is the food, which is freshly prepared. The soups are simply superb.
B, L
$6-$12 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
SYMBOLS KEY
u Onsite parking
Handicap accessible exit zero
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Takeout available
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U Dog-friendly patio
Great food, great drinks and great music...
12,000
Number of homemade cookies served at last year’s treelighting ceremony. 1.7: The number of seconds (according to a Congress Hall server) it typically takes for guests to empty each cookie tray.
1,537
Number of dollars collected for charity during last year’s Winter Wonderland. “Hope is the wonderful byproduct of faith,” said Cape Resorts Co-Managing Partner Curtis Bashaw. “Faith that Santa will come, that dark nights lead to new and glorious mornings, and that giving trumps receiving every time.”
...are always guaranteed.
106 Decatur Street @ Columbia Avenue Cape May (609) 884-8363 www.merioninn.com
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Number of times Blue, the Cape Resorts mascot (above), was pulled to the ground by overexuberant children during last year’s tree-lighting ceremony. “Not to worry,” says project coordinator Pat Miller. “Blue’s impervious.”
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6
Number of months before Christmas that Congress Hall staff begin preparations for Winter Wonderland. Staff carpenter and project manager Robert Shepanski says his biggest sources of inspiration are his two daughters.
The Ultimate Cape May Food & Drink Chart What you need to know about the food and the vibe
Meals served
Price range of entrées
Bar or BYOB?
Should I book?
Food for kids?
Other details
L, D
$4-$12 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
N/A
N/A
YES
u b H
B, Cafe
$1-$7 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
NO
NO
YES
H U
SEASIDE CHEESE COMPANY 110 Park Boulevard Cape May (609) 884-8700 seasidecheesecapemay.com
A huge plus for the area when it opened, and this place, a short walk from downtown Cape May, continues to delight with gourmet treats. Private tasting room is available to reserve.
STAR COFFEE SHOP 29 Perry Street Cape May 800-297-3779 www.caperesorts.com/thestar
It’s important to get your coffee from people who understand how important quality coffee is. The Star is that place...
SUNSET LIQUORS 106 Sunset Boulevard West Cape May (609) 435-5052
A new liquor store has hit town, conveniently located on Sunset Boulevard. Spirits, wines, beers, ice and snacks — and some of the coolest light fittings you ever saw.
Liquor Store
Please call for info
N/A
N/A
NO
u b H U
TISHA’S 322 Washington Street Mall Cape May (609) 884-9119
In case you’re wondering why they’re not at Convention Hall — they moved to the mall, where they are still serving up irresistible concoctions, PLUS breakfast and lunch!
B, L, D
$18-$35 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BYOB
YES
YES
b U
TOMMY’S FOLLY COFFEE 251 Beach Avenue Cape May (609) 884-6522 www.caperesorts.com/tommysfolly
Situated in the lobby of Congress Hall, this shop has great coffee and some lovely to-go breakfast goodies, as well as healthy and tasty lunch wraps, plus soups, shakes and more.
B, Café
$1-$7 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
NO
NO
YES
u b H U
THE UGLY MUG 426 Washington Street Mall Cape May (609) 884-3459
A Cape May legend, and even better now that they’ve put those wonderful booths in there. Such a treat. It has a classic pub vibe, and always a warm, friendly atmosphere.
L, D
$12-$25 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
NO
YES
b H
UNCLE BILL’S PANCAKES Beach Avenue & Perry Street Cape May (609) 884-7199
Reliably excellent food; There is a reason why people wait a while to eat here... Excellent breakfasts and lunches at this circular restaurant with an ocean view. Plus a pet-friendly patio for your four-legged friends.
B, L
$4-$9 Cash Only
BYOB
NO
YES
u b H U
UNION PARK Beach Avenue & Howard Cape May (609) 884-8811 www.unionparkdiningroom.com
Exquisite dining in a classic old hotel, where both the decor and the food are inspired. Voted one of the best restaurants in the state by New Jersey Monthly magazine.
D
$18-$35 Cards: V, MC, AE
BYOB
YES
YES
u b H
VINCENZO’S LITTLE ITALY II 3704 Bayshore Road North Cape May (609) 889-6610
If you want to bring the family for a fine and fun Italian meal, look no further than here! The kids will love it. Excellent pasta dishes, and they’ve recently expanded their pizzeria!
L, D
$8-$20 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BYOB
YES
YES
u b H
WASHINGTON INN 801 Washington Street Cape May (609) 884-5697 www.washingtoninn.com
Superb gourmet food, and a cool but cozy bar. Check out an amazing wine list of over 10,000 bottles; they’ve got the largest wine cellar in South Jersey.
D
$18-$34 Cards: V, MC, AE, D
BAR
YES
YES
u b H
SYMBOLS KEY
u Onsite parking
Handicap accessible exit zero
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Takeout available
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U Dog-friendly patio
20
Number of vendors at this year’s Winter Wonderland. Our readers’ favorite part? Shopping for those on their gift list — or themselves — next to the floating fire of the Congress Hall pool.
90
Number of hot chocolates served in a two-hour span at last year’s tree-lighting ceremony. “We drink ours on the rocking chairs on the veranda,” says Mary Ann Castagnetta of Cape May. “Can’t wait to do it again this year.”
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$25 is a tiny price to pay for a full year (8 issues) of our lovely, lively, gorgeous color magazine. Please call (609) 770-8479 or visit www.ezstore.us to order your subscription
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24 Holidays 2013
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Number of members in Congress Hall’s festival choir. “This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” choir director Myra Vassian. These are people who come together year after year to share music with the community and to raise funds for Cape May Food Closet and Toys for Tots. It’s an honor and a pleasure to work with such wonderful people.”
A Cape May tradition for over 30 years!
Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Cocktails Live Music • Happy Hour Daily 3-6 PM
19 JACKSON STREET, CAPE MAY (609) 884-5970 • madbatter.com exit zero
25 Holidays 2013
From the makers of Tisha’s An exciting new eatery combining a classic pub with a fine restaurant Result? A great time. Every time.
Our readers’ favorite holiday traditions The Joy Stocking When my kids were little we wanted to take the focus off of “Me, me, me; I want, I want, I want” at Christmas time. So we would put up a stocking called the joy stocking. Every time someone did something nice for us, we wrote down our thanks and put it inside. I might have written something like, “My daughter helped me bake cookies today,” and one of the kids might have written, “Joy to mommy because she took me Christmas shopping.” As they got older, these got a little more serious. Every Christmas Eve, we would open the joy stocking, and take turns passing it around, reading what was inside. They kids loved hearing about each other; it was nice, positive reinforcement. All of my kids are married now, but I still have the messages from the joy stocking – eleven years worth – saved in envelopes. They bring back memories of things we did and places we went. Once my kids had kids, I gave them all joy stockings of their own. – Jeanne Monge, owner of Bella Vida Café, West Cape May
An Away Day Mine and my children’s favorite holiday is Cape May Appreciation Day. We go over to Wildwood for a few hours, then come back and appreciate Cape May the rest of the day! – Glenn Barrie, Skippack, Pennsylvania
Italian Feast Great food and awesome cocktails...
...in a cool casual pub atmosphere
I’m from a big Italian family, and the best part of holiday is the food we enjoy together on Christmas Eve. We have a big family gathering where we eat and eat for hours. My mom, who is in her 90s, still does all of the cooking. – Dave Ripoli, owner of the Highland House, West Cape May
A Salty Evening We have oyster stew every Christmas Eve for family and friends, made only with Cape May Salts. – Alice Eichhorn Burke, Cape May
Window Dressing
37 2 9 B A YSHORE R O A D , N O RT H C A P E MAY ( 6 0 9 ) 8 8 9 - 7 0 0 0 | 5 W E ST P U B . C O M
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One of my memories of Christmas in Cape May was the first time I walked out of my office after dark and noticed that most of my motel guests had taken it upon themselves to individually decorate their motel room windows during West Cape May Christmas Parade weekend. Some guest even picked themes, like a winery, the beach, or other local attraction. Nearly every window was done. Ninety percent of our guests on parade weekend are
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repeat customers. Getting into the spirit of the season has become a big part of their Cape May experience. Now we look forward to it every year. – John Cooke, manager of the Victorian Motel, Cape May
Playing House For years, we have had a gingerbread house contest where once everyone sits down, the clock starts... and so do the libations! The houses are constructed amongst chaos and confusion and sometimes alliances and teams are formed. The houses are judged by friends, family, and the kids and parents of my wife’s day care. The winner has bragging rights for a year while the houses are given to Gina Lanza from Cape May County Special Services School for the kids there to enjoy. – Bill Hienkel, North Cape May
Hosting The Coasties
BestCCWineHppyHldyEZ2013
10/30/13
Winner of the
Wine Spectator
Award of Excellence Four Years in a Row
2010 2011 2012 2013
3:35 PM
My husband Bob and I have wonderful memories at the Cape May VFW, helping a group of loyal and devoted volunteers prepare Thanksgiving dinner for some of the Coast Guard recruits. We got to know them and, many years, met their parents at graduation. When more and more families wanted to have the Coast Guard for dinner in their homes, the large VFW dinner was discontinued. We all loved doing the day with the Coasties, but we are happy they get to be with a family for the holiday. It’s just a wonderful experience, tradition, and memory. – Linda Steenrod, owner of the BillMae Cottage, Cape May
Page 1
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27 Holidays 2013
SJ Magazine
All The Holidays In One Day
Stock Up for Your Holiday Parties!
Since we are not able to be in Cape May during the winter holidays, and don’t get to spend the holidays with our extended families, we had a Holiday Day during our summer reunion vacation in 2002. We started with Easter, complete with an egg hunt/baskets and brunch, then it’s Fourth of July with a parade and everyone in red, white and blue. Saint Patrick’s Day means time to put on our green shirts and have happy hour with green beer and Irish tunes. Next is trick or treating for Halloween. For Thanksgiving, a complete Turkey dinner is prepared and for Christmas, it’s caroling in our Santa hats and bathing suits around a little fake tree. For those who make it to New Year’s Eve, it’s a party. Yes, all of this is done in one exhausting, fun-filled day with around 20-30 cousins. OF course there are some who sneak away for beach time between holidays. We hope our tradition continues for generations. Being able to celebrate all of the holidays in our favorite place with all of our family means everything to us! – Jenny Williams, Schaumburg IL
FREE DELIVERY. CUSTOM HOLIDAY GIFT BASKETS. SPECIAL HOLIDAY BREWS.
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Uncle Bill’s & FAMILY RESTAURANT Breakfast with SANTA Dec. 21 & 22.
It Takes A Village
Have Your Holiday Luncheon at Uncle Bill’s! BEACH AVENUE & PERRY STREET, CAPE MAY (609) 884-7199 exit zero
Every year, we celebrate Baby Thanksgiving. The week before Turkey Day, we have our own Thanksgiving dinner with the friends we’d prefer to have dinner with, who scatter to the winds on Thanksgiving proper. The rules are simple: My wife and I proved the staples: turkey, potatoes (sweet and otherwise), stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans and pumpkin pie. Everyone else is to bring a classic side dish that’s a tradition to their family. We started this about six years ago, with maybe a dozen people. Last year, we had 40. The name ‘baby’ initially referred to the size of the party, since it was small and early. Then some of the ladies got knocked up, so it took on a new meaning. At the conclusion of the evening, everyone is invited to stay for a showing of Holiday Inn, where we recoil at the abject racism, and then ring in the holiday season. – Will Knapp, North Cape May
My brother and sister-in-law, John and Mary Van de Vaarst, live in Cape May year-round. We visit as often as we can and always make a point of coming some time during the Christmas season. John and Mary set up a huge miniature village in the great room. Each year we add something to it when they are not looking and they have to try and find the new item. A family stroll to Washington Street and back is a must! Seeing all the beautiful decorations on all the homes gets everyone in the Christmas spirit. Last year, we started a new tradition: New Year’s Eve in Cape May. We had a ball. Six of us doing a little bar-hopping and ending up in Congress Hall’s lobby, having a cocktail and peoplewatching. Midnight was spent last year and will be again back at the Van home, which is named Dream Come True. – Melanie Thiel, Bangor, PA
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Tr y s o m et h i n g n ew t h i s s ea s o n . . .
celebrate the holidays at The Reeds HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS AT THE REEDS Thursday, November 28
Thanksgiving Family-Style Dinner
Seatings at 2 pm & 5 pm | reservations required Friday, November 29
Holiday Movies | 2-5pm Sweet Grass Ballroom
Tree Lighting Ceremony | 5pm complimentary refreshments, live entertainment & holiday cheer Sunday, December 8 & 15 Santa’s Workshop & Brunch | 10am - 2pm Enjoy a festive holiday brunch... and bring your children to experience the “North Pole.”
Delight your friends, family and co-workers with an exciting new holiday experience. With tantalizing menus and unique holiday-inspired event spaces, The Reeds can accommodate any gathering from 10 to 200 guests.
HOLIDAY GATHERINGS CAN BE ARRANGED FOR • private dinners & cocktail receptions in our bay view Celebration Suites
• upscale soirées in our private dining room SAX at The Reeds • fireside parties in our Sweet Grass Ballroom complete with bay views and an outdoor veranda
Gatherings start at just $25 per person. For more information, contact Krista Ostrander at 609.368.0100 or kostrander@reedsresort.com.
9601 Third Avenue | Stone Harbor | 609.368.0100 | reedsatshelterhaven.com
TRSH-ExitZeroMag-Holiday2013.indd 1
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brewing up
how Cape May Brewing Company quickly went from a dream to a phenomenon Tom Snyder photographed in The Brown Room at Congress Hall on May 16. Photo by Frank Weiss
interview by victor grasso exit zero
photography by frank weiss 30 Holidays 2013
a storm
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T
HEY started life three years ago at Cape May County Airport in humble fashion with a 12-gallon homebuilt setup. Today they run a 15-barrel system that turns out 500 gallons of beer, in 20 different flavors, that’s inspiring a large (and fast-growing) fanbase), and winning awards along the way. In short, Cape May Brewing Company is a phenomenon, one of this area’s most successful, and best-loved, new businesses. We asked another local phenomenon, artist Victor Grasso (who’s a passionate beer drinker and also designs some bottle labels for CMBC), to sit down with two of the three founders of the company, Chris Henke and Ryan Krill (whose father Bob is the third member of the team) to find out if running a brewery is as much fun as it sounds. (Spoiler alert — it is.) Tell me something — if you were a beer what kind of beer would you be? RYAN KRILL: Some kind of weird IPA that doesn’t say anything about what you’re about to have. So you expect one thing and you get something else — a mislabeled IPA. Citrusy or hoppy? Really hoppy, but then there would be something like hot dog
Artist Victor Grasso interviews Chris Henke and Ryan Krill at Cape May Brewing Company
flavor in there, something unexpected. Did you know what you wanted to do at college, and what did you study? CHRIS HENKE: Mechanical Engineering. And I don’t know. RYAN: I started as a business major and hated it. Then I switched over to philosophy and loved it. I wanted to work for myself. I
didn’t care what it was, and I had no idea what it was. I didn’t want to have a boss. You guys went to Villanova, right? RYAN: Yes, that’s where we met. Were you big drinkers? Did you party? RYAN: Villanova’s not like a huge party school but I definitely indulged. When you two were in college did you
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Here is how this caption would look in all bold. does it look strange?
Paul Nease, Ryan Krill and Chris Henke. “I work with my best friend, my dad, and everybody who works here is really cool,” says Krill.
start to have an affinity for craft beer? CHRIS: I did. My roommate and I got sick of Milwaukee’s Best, so by sophomore year we started finding local beers, like Yards. Their pale ale was the first one and we started a bottle collection so we could keep track of what we drank. By junior year we had a pretty big collection. RYAN: I was a little into craft beer, but it was mostly Miller Lite cans for me. It wasn’t until after I graduated college that I got into craft beer. A friend of mine would go to Victory a lot and that was my introduction. How important are the bottle labels? RYAN: Very important. Sometimes you pick a cool label and think, “I got to try this?” RYAN: For sure. You go to Joe Canal’s and there is a sea of bottles and cans. You need to stand out — whether that is really flashy or really subtle and simple. So why do you think the major breweries suck at it? Do you think there’s a kind of outlaw, tenacious upstart attitude to craft brewing compared to the major guys? CHRIS: Definitely. The major guys aren’t relying on a picture. It’s just Bud Light. They rely on the name, and that’s all they market. The lightest, most watery
beer you can drink. With craft brewers, it’s not just a name. I mean, CMB is the local brewery here, but we’re getting bigger and we’re out of our county and that’s not going to hold. It has to be more than just a name. So essentially, you’re an artisan, and you’re making something from nothing and with your own hands. RYAN: Right. And it’s evolving. We’re getting a foothold down here and creating a name for ourselves with the beer and we’re beginning to tell a story and have our story evolve and the labels tell part of that story and speaks to what we’re doing. When did you have the Eureka moment — when you just knew you were going to start making beer? CHRIS: I distinctly remember... it was Ryan’s dad’s backyard in Avalon and we were brewing all summer in 2010 and we were doing a batch of IPA on July 4 weekend — we always made IPA. We were drinking a Terrapin beer and Ryan said, “If these guys can do it, we can do it.” Then he asked if I wanted to start a brewery and I said — of course. As a home brewer I always wanted to do it but I never had the skills. And that was the moment we were going to start a commercial brewery. Does that match up exit zero
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with your memory Ryan? RYAN: That is the exact moment. It’s like what every guy in his mid-20s does down in Avalon in the summer — homebrew. Not fist pumping at the Princeton. So we said, “What’s the worst that could happen?” The beer — I normally leave Terrapin unnamed — but the beer was terrible and it was like, “Why the **** do these guys get to have all the fun?” What was it like in the beginning when you opened? Were you confident it was going to be a success? RYAN: We had no idea what we were doing. We always joke that if we ever wrote about this experience it would be called “figure it out”. There’s no book on guiding someone’s hand on how to open a brewery in Cape May. There’s all these different laws that you need to learn about and you don’t even know what applies to you or what doesn’t — like zoning and all this stuff. A big educational experience. Was there ever a moment where you were like, “What are we doing? We have no money, we’re screwed?” RYAN: There were little hiccups. CHRIS: Little hiccups, but we were naive enough to never get to the point where
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we said, “This is over our head.” Makes you reckless. Makes you go for it? CHRIS: Yeah, so everyone that comes in now and says, “We want to start a brewery”... we say to them, “Don’t do it the way we did it.” It was a year of not brewing, doing paperwork, and research. It was crazy. RYAN: It’s amazing how much brewing you don’t do when you’re starting a brewery. Part of it was that what we were trying to achieve was manageable. The dollars we were talking about, we could afford to fail. We weren’t married, we didn’t have children to support but we both had full-time jobs. I give Chris all the credit, he’s way braver than I was. He quit his job first. And what were you doing Chris? CHRIS: I was a mechanical engineer and started doing that as a consultant, and knew that wasn’t it. What about you Ryan? I was working for a commercial bank in New York City, so I was in finance. It was a nice-paying job. CHRIS: I quit my job and lived off my savings. Would you guys say you put everything into this? CHRIS: Oh, yeah. RYAN: Oh, for sure. So when did you know this was going to work, when you thought, “We’re becoming a success, we got to expand?” RYAN: There’s never been a moment where we were like, “Okay, today we’re going to start a big expansion.” It’s always been like a steady expansion. So there’s never been a moment where someone came in and said, “I want to buy eight billion bottles of beer from you?” CHRIS: It’s funny — every month we have that moment where we have to get another tank. So there is no defining moment? CHRIS: One moment that stands out, before we started brewing and we finally had beer ready to be sold, we sent out Ryan’s dad,
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Paul Nease rakes out the spent grain, which is then sent to feed the pigs and chickens at Beach Plum Farm in West Cape May. Opposite: Chris Henke looks into the mash tun, after the grains have been raked out. exit zero
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Bob Krill, the third partner, to Cabanas with some growlers and I said, “Hey, see if they want this.” And his response to me was, “I’m going to tell them they want this.” He went over there and they drank it and we just started selling them kegs and they took everything we could make. At that point it was like, “Hey, we’re a commercial brewery.” RYAN: It was our defining moment, because I was still working in New York and driving down every weekend trying to do all the administrative stuff and make all this work. We weren’t sure of the ebbs and flows of the summer and winter seasons. I didn’t want to quit my job and try to support myself. But the first winter we were busy, so busy there would be lines out the door. So it was either, continue to work or jump in and make it happen. So now that you have a successful brewery in Cape May, do you guys find yourself with tons of propositions from women, now that you are rock star brewers? CHRIS: I have not. RYAN: I don’t know, maybe I’m just too oblivious to it. Maybe you work so much you don’t really get a chance to get out? RYAN: Not really. I do a lot of events,
which is fun, but I’m not solicited. So Ryan, you’re the figurehead of the company, the face. Do you think that’s because you remind everybody of Quentin Tarantino? RYAN: I get that all the time. How did you become the social aspect of the brewery? RYAN: Um… CHRIS: Personality. RYAN: Yeah, personality. We have two distinct personalities. And you have two different color eyes. You probably pull witchcraft on people. RYAN: Yeah, I have some kind of chemical imbalance up there. So what do you think about craft beer culture? You see a lot of guys with beards, and it’s a very male thing. There are many more male consumers than female. Do you think it’s the salty old sailor, outlaw thing? Because wine was so popular for so long and craft breweries were still kind of underground and now it’s so popular with a certain group. What do you think of the culture? Is it going to last? RYAN: I certainly think it’s lasting. When a lot of people get started on these flavorful beers it’s hard to go back. My dad is
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a good example. He used to drink only Coors Light. And then slowly we got him hooked on these craft beers and now he loves it. Anywhere he goes he’ll just buy an IPA and it has nothing to do with his involvement in this company — it’s just that he’s into it. Yeah, it’s addictive. You can have a glass of wine and put the bottle away, but it’s really hard not to drink an entire six-pack of good beer. RYAN: Right. So you totally avoided my question about the culture of beer drinkers. Do you think it’s trendy to drink craft beer? RYAN: Our customer base isn’t just guys with beards. The extreme craft beer consumers are that type, like Brian [Hink], our assistant brewer or whatever we call him these days. He’s really into it and extreme. But we have all kind of people, like older folks and people coming right out of college being all about our beer. Our customer base is a huge spectrum. So let’s talk about the price tag. You’re artisanal, you’re making everything yourself, so you have to charge more. You’re not a gigantic company with the volume to sell cheap beer. How do you make it appealing? Or are people happy to pay more?
Among the flavors available at Cape May Brewery: from left, sweet stout, Devil’s Reach, Cape May IPA.
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RYAN: I think it’s going to trend upwards but eventually it’s going to flatten out. There are more breweries right now in the US than there has ever been. So it’s important for each brewery to carve out it’s own niche. It’s interesting to see all these breweries pop up, like you see a dozen nano-breweries opening in Philly and another 18 trying in NJ and although we started as a nano-brewery, just like these guys are doing, we quickly shed our skin from that because we wanted to avoid that label. It’s going to be increasingly difficult to be successful. CHRIS: I know what you’re talking about, with the culture, the beards and stuff. We’re trying to cater to both. Early on we made the beers universal. They weren’t extreme beers that the burly men or hipsters wanted. We had our IPA, wheat, and stout. Middle-of-the-road beers that appealed to everybody. Your extreme beer, you can appreciate them but it’s not going to be your favorite beer. So we set it up that if you’re new to craft beer you’re going to like it. We have an old guy who comes in and he never drank anything but light beer his whole life. We give him a little wheat beer as an introduction and that’s how Ryan’s dad Bob got into it. Our original IPA was built for
him, less bitterness, and now it’s not bitter enough for him because his tastes have changed. We’ve kind of become the introductory brewery for the most part but now that we’ve established ourselves we can start with some more extreme beers, like our double stout. We can get away with it because we have a reputation. I don’t think it’s a trend. People are always going to be looking for the extreme thing and people are always going to be looking for something they can drink all night. Sure, and now it’s getting popular to pair beers with food so you have to get even more creative. Which leads me to my next question. With so many breweries popping up, what is it that makes CMB stand out? Do you have some weird science experiment going on back there? RYAN: Right. So one, it’s our name — Cape May Brewing Company, but beyond that is the beer. So we have this really great name and this really great beer that’s getting a foothold in our region. And that’s the goal and that’s what makes it really special. And local ingredients… RYAN: Oh, yeah. For our beach plum beer, we use south Jersey honey, and we give away all of our grain to Beach Plum
Farm. They use the grain to feed their pigs and chickens and then serve those pigs and chickens for dinner at the Virginia Hotel and we’re on tap at the Virginia so if you go there you’ll get a beer that was made with the grain… Circle of life. RYAN: Sick and twisted circle of life. Very good. So how much do you look forward to going to work every day knowing you have no boss and that you’re making beer for a living? RYAN: This. Is. Awesome. I had a little moment this morning, it happens every now and again, where I’m like, “This is ****ing great.” I’m so appreciative. I get to work with my best friend, my dad, and everybody who works here is really cool. What’s a typical day look like? RYAN: Everybody’s day is a little different. I get to do a little bit of accounting in the morning and then tackle whatever project I need to do. I manage the taproom and all the staff as well as oversee some of the brewery stuff. Most of the brewery operations are on Chris, but I get to handle the administrative staff. I like to call myself not the president but the administrative dumpster. And Chris, you’re the alchemist?
The hardest part is picking your favorite... A Cape May Tradition!
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CHRIS: Yeah, I’m toying around with brewing or tanks. Trying to get it all finished up or where it needs to be. We are also always focusing on expanding. RYAN: There’s no typical day. Yesterday I was working on an HR employee manual and the second half of the day was applying for a working line of credit for a Sandy recovery loan. Paperwork. If you were stranded on a desert island and could take one beer, what would it be? CHRIS: Oh, I got to think about that one. Do you know, Ryan? RYAN: Oh, Cape May IPA, and I’m not just saying that to be self-aggrandizing. I really like that beer a lot. CHRIS: The problem is I like drinking so many different ones. RYAN: Maybe one that changes flavor over time. CHRIS: I would say the barley wine we did, the Sawyer’s Swap. Plus I could look at the label. [Editor’s Note: Victor Grasso designed the label.] RYAN: Aww, that’s beautiful. CHRIS: What about you Victor, what’s your one beer? Russian Imperial Stout, without a doubt. So, what’s the sexiest beer out there,
Why is Ryan Krill the (frothy) face of Cape May Brewing Company? “It’s his personality,” says co-founder Chris Henke.
Aleathea’s
the one that gets the ladies going? RYAN: Probably our strawberry wheat beer. And since this is the holidays issue, what would be a great Christmas beer? CHRIS: Apple Pie — it’s our Apple Bomb but with spices. Cranberry beer is also nice this time of year. How do you decide on flavors? Is there a democracy or are you the witch doctor Chris? CHRIS: I try to make what we come up with work in a commercial setting. RYAN: We have team picks where everyone gets to pick the beer they want to make. There are no limits… CHRIS: Well, I might add a limit. RYAN: Yeah, me too. We keep it within the legal boundaries. But one of the guys, Jim [Zolna] in the taproom, he wants to make a pineapple saison. I would never think to do something like that. CHRIS: That’s what keeps it interesting. If you have one person making a beer it’s a reflection of them or what they want. Our guy Paul [Nease], he and I came up with the imperial stout recipe and what he chose to do is something I would never do, it’s out of my comfort zone. I’m happy to do it because COLD BEER IN FROSTED MUGS, GREAT TAVERN FOOD AND GREAT VALUE!
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39 Holidays 2013
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I want to get out of my comfort zone and if it were up to me that beer would be a lot blander. It’s going to be a bold beer and it reflects Paul’s personality. RYAN: And that’s what makes it fun. Our guys now have ownership in this place, they’re a part of it, not just opening and closing valves. we’re calling that beer Paul’s Imperial Stout. CHRIS: Sometimes a beer is made out of necessity. We brewed a saison with special French yeast but we had some left over and we had to come up with another beer to brew that yeast because yeast is expensive. And so Devil’s Reach was born. Has there ever been a disaster where you were like, “God, we can’t drink this?” RYAN: In theory, if a beer went bad you could add a turbo yeast to it — raise up the sugar real high and you could run it through a still and make good old fashioned moonshine. But that’s only in theory. So, in theory, have you ever had a beer that you concocted that tasted like shit? CHRIS: The last time we did our cranberry early in the summer, we were experimenting with new forms of cranberry and way overdid it with the cranberry — it was super-tart beer. So out of that was born the
cranberry shandy. We added lemonade and once again it became one of our most popular beers. Do you think you’ll be doing this for life or do you have any other ambitions? RYAN: I always wanted to be a boatbuilder when I was a kid. But this is way too much fun, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. You’re a pilot, Ryan. How did that happen? RYAN: A few years ago my girlfriend Kaysi [Franceus] got me lessons at the flight school right here. I took a few lessons and I have always wanted to fly, always had model airplanes, I’ve been fascinated with it. It took me about a year and I got my private pilot certificate and now I can rent a plane and fly wherever I want. It’s really, really cool, one of those hobbies that you’re totally engulfed in and can’t think of anything else. How often do you fly? RYAN: It varies, but I try to get up once or twice a week. What kind of plane? RYAN: Fixed wing, single engine, a Cessna 172. So that’s a cocaine plane? RYAN: A cocaine runner, yeah, it’s a
four-seater, single-engine airplane. Do you ever take anybody up for a spin? RYAN: Yeah, I’m trying to get Chris up. What do you guys do to relax? CHRIS: We’re here. RYAN: It’s a ton of work running this thing. It doesn’t feel like work but we’re always thinking about it or doing it. It’s a constant steady flow of brewery this and brewery that and everything is through the lens of that. Any favorite bars or restaurants? RYAN: Wherever we’re on tap. Wherever we open up new bars and restaurants I like to go to all theses places. I like going to Goodnight Irene’s in Wildwood. What about Cape May? RYAN: Mad Batter, Lucky Bones, they both have great beer lists. Where do you guys live? RYAN: Avalon. CHRIS: Philly, but I squat in Avalon. Do you guys hit the cities at all — Philly, New York — to see what’s going on? CHRIS: Yeah, we love doing that. We go to Philly — great beer city, and lots of great breweries. Any specific ones? RYAN: Frankfurt Hall…
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CHRIS: Standard Tap, and I’m always impressed by Victory brewery. RYAN: I like going to Yards. I just had Victory’s Dirty Wolf last night for the first time. RYAN: How was it? VG: Too citrusy for me man, no bitter hops at all. Tastes like grapefruit juice. CHRIS: Well that’s the hops; it’s a different kind of hops, though. RYAN: A lot of people are into that. Who are your beeroes? RYAN: What Sam Calagione has done with Dogfish Head is cool and inspiring. Taking it from nothing in Delaware to making something great. He does really interesting branding with the Grateful Dead Beer, the Pearl Jam Beer etc, and they’re great partnerships for a craft brewery of that size because you’re really getting national attention. Brilliant marketing. CHRIS: Gene Muller from Flying Fish has helped us along since we started, and Yards brewery, which started off real small. Do you make a good living from this? Is it paying the bills? RYAN: Yeah, for sure. I don’t have any mortgage so I’m able to do whatever I want to do. Travel, anything I want, which is iet ean D rran tes e t i d ola Me Choc Dark
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Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Edamame Crunch
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to cut and match the flavors of that steak. Do you guys drink wine at all? Or are you anti-wine? RYAN: I like wine, but it gives me a terrible hangover. Well, I didn’t ask if you drink five bottles of wine at a time. RYAN: No, I’m telling you, one glass gives me a hangover. CHRIS: I like nice dry wine, but going back to the pairings, I agree with Ryan but sometimes it goes too far. We have a saying at the brewery, “Don’t over-think it, just drink it.” I think sometimes with the pairings it can get over complex. My favorite pairings are when you do the opposite of complementing the food with the beer. It works well when you have really spicy food — go with something sweet like a barley wine or a sweet stout that has a maltiness to it. It helps cool your palate for that next bite, whereas the traditional pairing would be an IPA, a spicy beer, very hoppy. To me that makes it even spicier and so I like to look for the opposite instead of spicy with spicy and sweet with sweet. RYAN: I wish there was an Indian place around here. I could go for Indian food right now. n
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great. However, we take most of the money that we make and reinvest it in this. It’s our intention to try to put it back into here, not get rich. So what do you think the connection is between beer and coffee? Why do beer guys like coffee so much? RYAN: Probably because you’re hungover and you need to wake up. There’s a lot more to coffee than Folger’s, just like there’s a lot more to beer than Budweiser. CHRIS: As brewers we drink coffee to keep us going — there can be long days and you need that caffeine. So let’s talk about food with beer. Do you think it’s a marketing thing or do you think beer goes well with certain foods? RYAN: I just did a really successful event with the Virginia Hotel called Steers and Suds. It was a five-course meal and they paired all this different food with our beers. It was great. You pair complex food flavors with complex beers and simple foods with simple beers. For example a wheat beer or hefeweizen pairs very well with a fish prepared very simply, like sautéed with butter and lemon, whereas a steak or something heavy goes really well with a stout or IPA. Something that’s going to have a lot of flavor
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a cape may moment
At the Mermaid Guild auction November 1: Sue Lotozo, Rich Nowakowski, Pat Jackson, Janet Miller and JoAnne Long. Aleksey Moryakov
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talking Trash
Ever stop to wonder what goes through the minds of the men who pick up after you? Here, a team from Waste Management reflect on sloppy restaurants, grateful customers, cat litter, and the leaves changing color. Interviews by DIANE STOPYRA Photography by FRANK WEISS
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N
O ONE — save, perhaps, for little children or the odd inquisitive adult — is paying attention to the garbage truck. Admit it: we put our trash (the five pounds of it we each, on average, accumulate a day) on the curb and forget it, dragging our cans back in from the street once they’ve been emptied like magic. But make no mistake: our intrepid sanitation engineers — that’s how trash men in Cape May jokingly refer to themselves, because in this line of work, a sense of humor is second only to a strong stomach — are paying attention to us. John Hambrose is a spokesman for Waste Management, the company that launches 20,000 garbage trucks across the country daily, including many of those that service Cape May. “Our guys are kind of like the mailman,” he told us. “They know when something is out of order at their customer’s home.” It’s the reason John’s men were once able to put out a house fire they stumbled upon in the wee hours of the morning, and
the reason they were able to come to the aid of an elderly woman who had fallen outside of her home — where she spent two incapacitated hours — last November. “The trash men kept her warm and waited with her until the ambulance came,” John said. “Then they finished picking up trash along their route. They never even told anyone what had happened until the township called, because the woman’s daughter wanted to know who these men were.” Such quiet acts of the above-andbeyond type are a common theme among trash men. A couple of years ago, a 19-yearold Waste Management employee named Art Lawson came upon the car of college student Jeremy Monteiro, who’d driven off the I-295 highway. “The vehicle was hanging from a tree, suspended two feet off the ground,” John told us. “The driver had hit his head and didn’t know where he was. Our guy got him out before the car burst into flames.” Jeremy was treated for neck injuries at the Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Pennsylvania and, because of the bravery of a sanitation engineer, he was able
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to fulfill his goal of graduating from Drexel University with, funnily enough, a degree in engineering. The story received no press, outside of this paragraph. “Our guys do this sort of thing all the time,” John said. There are more life-saving stories — like the time one of WM’s garbage men used a T-shirt as a tourniquet on a motorcycle crash victim, or the time one of them lifted a wrecked car from a guard rail by hooking it up to his rear-load trash truck. And there are crime-solving stories, too. “That’s happened numerous times,” John said. “I remember our guys helping the police nab a graffiti artist who’d been eluding them for some time.” But it’s still a thankless job. And we’re not just a passively thankless public. The trash men we spoke with for this piece told us that dealing with classism goes hand-in-dirty-hand with dealing with waste. There are those among us who take no care with our garbage, letting cans become heavy and maggot-infested, before giving our trash men a hard time when their foul-smelling trucks block our path for a
moment. And, what’s worse, we put them at risk with reckless driving. “We had an employee in a truck in New York back in June,” John said. “He was doing everything by the book. But someone driving a tractor trailer rolled his vehicle, skid across the road, and hit our guy. Both men died. We train our guys, but you can’t do anything about the other person. A couple of times a year, something like this happens.” Traffic incidents are common enough that Waste Management recently had cameras installed in all of their trucks. “Oh, heck yes, we get sued,” John said. “People will back into us, and then they’ll claim it was our fault. Sometimes, there’s this ‘They’re a big company; go get ‘em’ attitude. We have a lot of things on the road; a lot of things can happen. Sometimes it’s our fault, and sometimes it’s not.” The risks don’t stop there. There’s the actual handling of trash, which often contains medical waste, to contend with. And then there’s the animal encounters. The wildest one in Waste Management history? The time a 700-pound black bear came
moseying out the back of a truck, after its driver had completed his route. He’d been enjoying a meal in one of the dumpsters that had been emptied into the vehicle. “Luckily, bears are resilient creatures,” John said. “We think he probably enjoyed the ride.” But despite the dangers — trash men experience twice the fatality rate of police officers and seven times that of firefighters, according to research, while receiving none of the glory — these men (and few women) enjoy the work. “There’s a surprising amount of people who’ve been doing this job for a long time,” John said. “Some guys do it into their 60s, and they love it.” Where the outside observer might see only sludge, bacteria, and countless offenses to all things olfactory (John told us that Cape May waste doesn’t smell, but we know better) garbage men know they’re playing a necessary part in something much bigger. “We’re really trying to define what this industry is, going forward,” John said. Waste Management is the largest environmental solutions provider in North America. Their waste energy plants power
1.2 million homes a day. They have 140 landfill gas to energy projects that power 800,000 homes a day. They have a solar farm. They are experimenting with mechanisms for turning plastics into fuel. They recycle more material in North American than anyone else; it was 12 million tons in 2012, and they’re shooting for 20 million tons in 2020. Up to 2,700 (and counting) of their trucks are natural gas-fueled. And, perhaps most exciting, Waste Management is currently testing a plant in Northeast Philadelphia that, by the new year, should be turning paper and light plastics into 500 tons of pellets per day, pellets which can then be sold and used in the place of coal. This will be only the second plant of its kind; the other, in San Antonio, is already operational. “We’re the only ones doing this,” John says. “And our trash men play a big role.” Because all of the above — from unexpected acts of heroism to the possibility of a more sustainable future — starts with the dirty, underappreciated engineers who whisk away trash like magic.
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...is that five or six days later you’re hungry again. — George Miller
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“I’ve been cursed at before by customers who aren’t happy with where I’ve put their cans. I try to apologize to them. It’s like, just tell me, and I’ll put it back for you right every week. You see the best of people and the worst.”
Frank Jantti I got stuck by a syringe back in the day. It was in the trash of a diabetic, and he hadn’t disposed of it right. That’s very scary, because you don’t know if he has AIDS or Hepatitis B or whatever. But the company took care of me; they had me tested. If I could pick one person to ride around with in the truck for a day, I’d pick Britney Spears. I needed stitches in my hand when I got it stuck between two cans. And I twisted my ankle once, but other than that, it’s been mostly scratches. But I do worry about what this job is doing to my body. I feel pain in my back and shoulders, but you have to go to work. Gross? Getting sprayed by the juice from the truck.
Car accidents. You see all kinds. One time, I saw a kid get killed. He was hit by a pickup truck. I used my two-way radio to call for help. You see something like that, and you talk about it when you get home, but you have to move on. Money. I’m passionate about money. Everybody wants money. I’ve been cursed at before by customers who aren’t happy with where I’ve put their cans. I try to apologize to them. It’s like, just tell me, and I’ll put it back for you right every week. You see the best of people and the worst.
a greater appreciation for them. I tell people what I do and they say, “You got a job? You’re lucky.” They’re happy for me. A can is around 50 pounds... unless there’s cat litter. Good lord. I’ve seen guys pass out from the heat. Drivers are trained to scan their mirrors, to make sure the men standing on the back of the truck are still there. You find stuff that’s so nice you just want to take it home. A lady once offered me $75 for half a tea set at one of my stops.
I wake up at 2am every day, to catch the bus and get to work by 5am. I average about 68 hours a week.
People don’t care. They speed around you without slowing down. I give respect, I hope to get it in return.
Sunrises, you see many of those. Leaves changing color in the fall. People coming off the beaches; I think that’s pretty. You see a lot of things. Doing this job gives you
I have a lot of passions. I’m passionate about waking up every day, doing my job the best I can, and being happy. I feel fulfilled.
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“Sometimes you have to walk through two inches of slop... people will throw garbage and leftover food over a railing from a second story and hope it makes it into the can.”
Dennis Boyle I wanted to be a police officer. That never happened. Twenty-nine years I’ve been doing this. Trash from people in Cape May is the same as trash from people everywhere else; I don’t notice a difference except that sometimes people down here will put little notes on their cans that say “broken glass” or something. That’s nice. I wake up at 4am every day. I pick up the two-yard containers from hotels and restaurants. They weigh about a ton each. Sometimes you have to walk through two inches of slop... people will throw garbage and leftover food over a railing from a second story and hope it makes it into the can. Who’s the most mindful? The Ocean View restaurant. The smell doesn’t bother me. I’m used to it. People walk by, holding their mouths and gagging. I just stand there and laugh.
People throw out brand-new furniture and televisions, like there’s nothing wrong with it. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure... that could be true. I don’t have time to sit there and root through it, but there is some treasure in there. Trash men, garbage men, sanitation workers... what we’re called doesn’t bother me. People hear what I do, and they just look at me like, “What?!” It’s shocking to them. But what do you want? It’s good money. I try to make my day fun every day. I used to dance on the front bumper of the truck. I take my job seriously, but I’m like a big kid. They have cameras in the trucks now for safety reasons, so I’m not supposed to do what I do, but I can’t change. We harass one another to make the day go faster. I once put a dead rat on the seat of my partner. It was a crazy prank. You get to be like brothers. I don’t need this job. But I like physical work. These days, they look at your background, exit zero
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from the time you’re a teenager until before you get hired. You don’t have a good background, you’re not getting hired. I have six kids, ages 19 to 30. All of them are proud of what I do except for the one who isn’t speaking to me. I’d be happy for them to do what I do, if they wanted to. It’s good pay. It’s good benefits. That’s hard to come by. At home, you could eat off my trashcans. We’re not allowed to accept gifts, but one guy tries to give us a ham or a turkey on every holiday, no matter what. I’m just like any other man out there.
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Sean Flynn
job puts you in the outdoors, too. We work in all types of weather. I love the snow.
I’m six-foot-seven. I’ve always been tall. Basketball took up a big part of my life as a kid. I played on a good high school team, and we won a couple of South Jersey titles. Playing took me as far west as Ohio and as far south as Atlanta. It was the era of Michael Jordan, and I really wanted to be in the NBA. When it came time for college, my mother could not afford to send me to a Division 1 school, but I kept my grades up, managed to get a few grants, and played basketball at Atlantic Cape Community College. I think I was only there for six months; I didn’t have enough money to stay. I bummed around for four weeks, and that was the worst time. I had no money and no job. Then my brother, who worked for Waste Management, said, “You need a job? Show up Monday morning.” I’ve been doing this 23 years.
When you’re packing the truck, stuff can fly out and hit you. I’ve seen it happen with a bed spring. It broke a guy’s shatterproof safety glasses. It didn’t damage his eye too bad, but it did look like someone punched him.
I’ve seen no dead bodies down here, but in Atlantic City one time I had a bum jump out of a dumpster. I was preparing to lift it and all of a sudden the lid flies open. “Hey,” he said. “You’re taking my home!” Some people look at you like, “Oh, you’re a trash man? You’re a piece of shit.” That’s happened a lot. Some of the customers on my route, though, we sit down and talk. I get together with a couple of them now and then to play basketball.
I’ve seen some really idiotic driving. I had an old boss who called these trucks weapons of mass destruction. I saw one go through a house once, and into another house, before ending up in the garage. It went by itself. The driver got out to do something and the throttle stayed on. It must have jumped into gear. He tried to jump back in but he fell down. The tires went right by his face. I think he broke his ankle. People who depend on you, they judge you. But I pay no mind to it. I don’t care. I’m working. I’m happy. I’ve met a lot of people in my life who have no grip on reality. I have two children of my own and two stepchildren. They are 19, 17, 16, and 15 now, but when they were little, they loved seeing the truck. Kids always love it. Everywhere we go, children on their way to the beach are always leaning out of their wagon or stroller, pointing. We hit the horn and wave.
Back in the day, it was rip, shit, or bust — get the job done. Now, it’s about getting it done right and being safe. It’s better that way. One of my stops was at a place that had been closed for half the winter. They’d left a refrigerator that had been there the whole season, full of meats and cheeses. The smell of it made my eyes water. I’ve seen guys gagging and letting loose on the ground. It’s not for the faint of heart. If you can’t laugh where you are working, you don’t belong there. The foulest thing I’ve done is pick up dead animals at a taxidermist. Bags breaking open, dead deer popping out, eyeballs hanging from the skull, things like that. I could name a business with a store in Cape May that throws so much out you could feed a small country. The strangest thing I’ve seen someone toss out is $320. Most people don’t think trash men care about this stuff, but I try to keep up with new technologies, like making food waste into fuel, or pulling carbon from the air to make plastic. Imagine how much oil and gasoline would drop in price if that happened. There’s a big future here. I hope they capitalize on it and make a better future for everyone
If you don’t take care of your body, this ain’t the job for you. We might go through 100 guys in a summer who can’t make it. We have a tough group of guys; you’re not up to the challenge, they let you know it. I consider us industrial athletes. I paint miniatures — 28 millimeter. I try to be an artist. Some of my stuff is okay, some is not. Mice, possums, snakes, raccoons... you encounter a lot of animals. The rats down here can be as big as cats. We once came across one in a can at one of our stops. I got the manager of the business, who was a little old lady. She waited for it to stick its head out, then killed it with a hammer. If I weren’t doing this, I’d like to be a forest ranger. I like the outdoors. Although this
“We might go through 100 guys in a summer who can’t make it. We have a tough group of guys; you’re not up to the challenge, they let you know it. I consider us industrial athletes.” exit zero
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Francis Kissling I had cancer. A robot took my prostate out, but I needed eight weeks of radiation. This job paid $500,000 for that. My life is trash. I’ve been doing this for 40 years. The foulest thing is fish. I don’t know about a dead human body — I’ve heard that’s worse — but a fish container has to be up there. People think you’re working for them, because they pay taxes. It takes a hell of a lot more money to run these trucks than what they’re paying, you know what I’m saying? I’m proud that I’ve supported my family. My three kids went to school, and I was able to do things for them. They were in swimming and football. It costs money for uniforms and things like that. And my wife has stayed with me 44 years. That’s got to say something. I had one guy, a senior citizen, try to give me a Christmas tree, back when we didn’t take Christmas trees. I said no, so he threw it in the back of the truck. I said I wasn’t taking it, and I put it back on the curb. He said, “Oh, yes you are,” and threw it back in the truck. I put it on the ground again. I don’t make the rules.
black when we got there, and my helper tells me there’s a cow in the dumpster. But it was a pig, all blown up from being dead. People will say, “That truck stinks.” Well, if we didn’t pick up the trash, it would stink worse. Or they say, “You’re in the way.” It’s going to take three or four minutes to dump that can, and they’d rather stand there arguing with us to move that truck. That’s the hardest job, dealing with the public. It’s harder than dealing with trash. The Old Man And The Sea is my favorite book. Or The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I was once sprayed with five gallons of cooking oil. It soaked one whole side of me, and I smelled all day of chicken or whatever. The driver started laughing and then I started laughing. It was all over my hat, dripping off my sunglasses, down my hair. That was something new. I once stopped a brand-new school bus from crashing into a building. The driver had pulled up to use the bathroom, and out of my peripheral vision, I see
something coming. He’d never put the brake on, and the bus was rolling. It took out a mailbox with a cement pad, and was heading for the building. I thought, “How am I going to stop this thing?” I couldn’t get out of my truck, or it would have run me over. So I went the same speed as the bus, on an angle to it, and I tapped the bumper. I didn’t even scratch the paint. Then I put my parking brake on. The owner of the building came running out, saying, “I saw everything. You’ve saved me a lot of work.” We’ve had guys burn their eyes because people throw out car batteries which explode. My wife is still my girlfriend. She’s salt of the earth. She was 15 when we met and I was 19. I was dating another girl and she told that girl to stop seeing me. I never knew why I’d gotten dumped. It wasn’t until two years into my marriage that my wife said, “I told her to break it off with you, because I knew I was going to marry you.” She’s always been supportive of my work, or I wouldn’t be here. She’s the boss.
Either you like your job, or you don’t. And if you don’t like your job, get out. That’s how I truly feel. Why aggravate yourself every day, complaining everyday? I hate that. There are certain things I don’t like, but you have to put up with it. I am a neat freak. Drivers get worse every year. No consideration, no turn signals, talking on cellphones. They cut in front of you because they assume you’re too big, you’re not moving fast enough. On the parkway, they cut in front of you before they’re even past you. I like female movies. Chick flicks. I like romance, I do. I like good endings. The strangest thing I’ve picked up is a 400-pound pig that had been meant for a barbeque at a trailer park. It was pitch
“The strangest thing I’ve picked up is a 400-pound pig that had been meant for a barbeque at a trailer park. It was pitch black when we got there, and my helper tells me there’s a cow in the dumpster. But it was a pig, all blown up from being dead.” exit zero
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SPECIAL PROMOTION
HOW TO HAVE FUN IN COOL CAPE MAY... AND SAVE $450! Presenting The Exit Zero Discount Deck, the greatest collection of money-saving offers you’ve ever seen... elegantly packaged as a designer deck of cards. NOTE: This pack is valid from January 1 through December 31, 2014 and replaces the Cape May Experience Discount Deck, though you can STILL use that through April 30, 2014. exit zero
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the 2014 EXIT ZERO Discount Deck
U
SUALLY, something that seems too good to be true is just that. Well, here’s the exception to that rule! The Exit Zero Discount Deck, from the publishers of this magazine, really IS everything it appears to be... which is THE best way to enjoy Cape May while saving a lot of money. Even on a normal weekend you could save hundreds of dollars on establishments you regularly visit. And all you pay is $20. Go for dinner at The Ebbitt Room or Cabanas, followed by a trip to the shopping district around the mall and you’ve already gotten your money back. And unlike many other special offers, there are no exceptions or blackout days. These cards are good for every day of 2014. You can buy The Exit Zero Discount Deck from the Exit Zero Store and Gallery at 109 Sunset Boulevard, at our beachfront store at Beach Avenue and Jackson, online at ezstore.us (with free shipping) or call us on 609-770-8479 and pay by credit card. You will also see it for sale at selected establishments around town. PLEASE NOTE: The Exit Zero Discount Deck is valid from January 1, 2014, through December 31. It replaces the Cape May Experience Discount Deck, though you can STILL use that, too. It’s valid through April 30, 2014.
It’s the perfect holidays gift! There are no catches with the Exit Zero Discount Deck. For example, you can save $10 off lunch or dinner at the Ugly Mug (above), with a minimum spend of $50. You can go any day of the week, even a Saturday. The deck is valid from the first to the last day of 2014. It costs just $20 but will save you $450 if you use all the cards! It’s the ideal stocking stuffer. Order now and it WILL arrive in time for Christmas, either as a gift or for you!
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} participating restaurants
Aleathea’s Save $5 on breakfast/lunch — minimum spend $20. Backstreet Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $50. Bella Vida cafÉ Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend of $40. Blue Pig TAVERN Save $10 on breakfast — minimum spend of $20. Cabanas Save $10 on B/L/D — minimum spend of $40. CAPE MAY brewing company Save $5 on a minimum spend of $30. CAPE MAY Fish Market Save $10 on a minimum spend of $50. CAPE MAY winery Save $5 on a minimum spend of $45. Cucina Rosa Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $50. THE Ebbitt Room Save $15 on dinner — minimum spend $75. 5 West Pub Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $30. Harpoon Henry’s Save $5 on lunch/dinner — minimum spend $25. Harry’s OCEAN BAR AND GRILLE Save $5 on B/L, beach service — minimum spend $15. hawk haven vineyard Save $10 on a minimum spend of $50. Island Grill Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $40. Mad Batter Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $50. MagicBrain CYBERCAFÉ Save $5 on a minimum spend of $15. Merion Inn Save $15 on dinner — minimum spend $75. Oyster Bay Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $50. Peter Shields INN Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $50. SeaSalt Save $5 on breakfast — minimum spend $15. SeaSalt Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $30. Tisha’s Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $30. Ugly Mug Save $10 on lunch, dinner — minimum spend $50. washington inn Save $10 on dinner — minimum spend $30. Zoe’s Save $5 on B/L/D — minimum spend $25.
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Cre ati n g y o u r ow n b a c k ya rd h e a ve n? We c a n h e l p.
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2 0 3 S U N S E T B LV D., W E S T C A P E M A Y (6 0 9) 8 8 4 -18 49 exit zero
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the 2014 EXIT ZERO Discount Deck } participating stores
Savings that will inspire you
T
HE best thing about The Exit Zero Discount Deck? It’s packed with the kind of establishments you already frequent, like Good Scents, a Cape May landmark that’s the home of quirky accessories, jewelry, books and generally life-enriching goodies,
where you will save $10 off a minimum spend of $50! It’s always a pleasure to visit. Wherever you choose to go, it won’t take long to get a return on your $20 investment. Right next to Good Scents is the Washington Street Mall, where you can use your Discount Deck to score deals at Bath Time, A Place on Earth, and then get some tasty treats at Cape May Olive Oil Company and Peanut Butter Company. Or you could spoil yourself with a signature treatment at Sea Spa at Congress Hall. For some quality theater, both Cape May Stage and East Lynne are offering $10 off their regular ticket prices. That’s a savings of around a third! Let the fun, and the savings, begin.
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A Place on Earth Save $5 on a minimum spend of $30. Bath Time Save $5 on a minimum spend of $30. Bird House of cape may Save $10 on a minimum spend of $35. Cape may Olive Oil CoMPANY Save $10 on a minimum spend of $35. Cape may peANUT BUTTER CoMPANY Save $5 on a minimum spend of $25. Exit Zero magazine Save $10 on a $25 color issues subscription. Exit Zero store & gallery Save $10 on a $40 minimum purchase. Exit Zero beachfront store Save $10 on a $40 minimum purchase. Flying Fish studio Save $10 on a minimum spend of $40. Good Scents Save $10 on a minimum spend of $50. the Red Store Save $5 on a minimum spend of $25. seaside Cheese Save $5 on a minimum spend of $25. tommy’s Folly Save $10 on a minimum spend of $40. Wanderlust Save $10 on a minimum spend of $40. } participating salons & spas
accent on Beauty Save $5 on a minimum spend of $25. Artizan Salon & SPA Save $5 on a minimum spend of $25. Sea Spa at congress hall Save $15 on a minimum spend of $75. } participating activities
Cape May Stage Save $10 on a regular show ticket. Cape may Whale Watch & research Save $10 on a minimum spend of $30. East Coast Jet Boat, jet Ski & Parasail Save $10 on a minimum spend of $40. East Lynne Theater company Save $10 on a regular show ticket. ecoventures Save $20 on a minimum spend of $70. historic cold spring village Save $5 on a minimum spend of $10 Miss Chris Kayak rentals Save $5 on a kayak rental nasw aviation museum Save $5 on a kayak rental Osprey Cruise Save $5 on a minimum spend of $28.
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If you love Italy... If you love Italian products... If you love unique fragrances and luxurious skin care If you want to look beautiful And if you would like to spend 20% less on moisturizing body creams You MUST visit Italian Garden.
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of Cape May
Fun for the Kids ... and grownups too! 510 Washington Street Mall, Cape May • (609) 884-0442
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Visit our beautifully designed store... 2,500 square feet and two floors of ridiculously cool Cape May souvenirs!
Exit Zero Store & Gallery
And don’t miss our new store on BEACH AVENUE, near the corner of Jackson. Open Fri-Sun 9am-5pm. A stunning range of gifts and goodies for the home, from sugar bowls to candle sticks, coffee mugs to pillows... and a nautical line of jewelry! exit zero
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109 Sunset Boulevard, Cape May ÂŤ 609-770-8479 Open daily 9am-5pm ÂŤ Online 24/7 at ezstore.us
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the actress who fell in love with our porches When Broadway star Laura Woyasz made her first trip to America’s
Original Seaside Resort this summer, to appear in Cape May Stage’s
production of Boeing Boeing, she couldn’t believe what she saw. A beautiful beach town with the charm of a New England getaway. And then there were the porches! As she walked around town, she couldn’t help noticing, and photographing, Cape May’s quirky collection of porches. Here, we talk about her new obsession, and feature some of her favorite shots. Laura, meanwhile, is back home in Manhattan, where she will be appearing in the Broadway smash Wicked through December 15. Interview by JACK WRIGHT exit zero
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Laura Woyasz photographed by Aleksey Moryakov at the Chalfonte Hotel, home of her favorite porch. exit zero
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Laura, first of all tell us how you came to be appearing in a Cape May Stage show? I first came to work at Cape May to perform in the show Boeing Boeing. I had never seen the show in NYC, or anywhere else for that matter, but I read it, and was looking to do something different, as I usually do musicals. Give us some career highlights so far. You’ve done some pretty cool stuff. My Broadway debut in Wicked. Most people don’t get to come on stage floating in a BUBBLE, with a crown and a princess dress for their first time ever on a Broadway stage. Incredible! One of my other favorites was James Joyce’s The Dead. I got my Equity card in that show. It doesn’t have a big spectacle, there are no projections. It is simply a night in the life of these people who are having their Christmas party, and all struggling in one way or another with something. Who can’t relate to that? I’ve done everything from being a backup singer for Kenny Rogers to performing the role of Erma in Anything Goes in Taiwan in front of 10,000 people where my face was on a Jumbotron. The shows that I most often look back on and love are the ones where I make one or two really amazing
friends. The gals in Boeing Boeing and I got very close, so it will also be a favorite of mine as well. This was your first trip to Cape May — what were your first impressions? Sheer delight. I kept thinking, “What IS this magical place?” It is so lovely, charming, and in my opinion has the best combination of a beach town and a New England getaway that I have come across. It has neighborhoods, trees, backyards, porches, seasons, AND the beach! You usually don’t see all these in one town. Tell us about the rhythm of your life for the time you were here. How much free time did you actually have and how did you spend it? I was in Cape May for nine weeks total. The first three were dedicated to rehearsal, tech, preview and opening the show. Once the show opened I had the days free and spent my days being as productive as possible. I also write, and spent a lot of time at the library studying and reading about children’s books. I ended up writing and completing three children’s books. I also walked a lot, and went to the beach, of course. Did you find yourself getting into rituals — the same place for coffee/breakfast,
lunch, dinner, or did you try and see as much as possible? I found myself in the habit of waking up early here. It was nice to wake early, do some meditation to focus my day and then be off! I also got into the ritual of cooking more often than I do in NYC. Did you do much walking or biking? I did a ton of walking and biking. I would walk in a different direction every day to see the different neighborhoods and different ends of the beach. That is also how I spotted so many great porches, just walking around. Near the end of the run of the show, I would bike to the Cove, and then walk or run to the lighthouse and bike back. Also, once the show opened, I liked walking at night. It was so peaceful to take a midnight stroll by the beach or through the Historic District. Did you get to climb the lighthouse? Of course! I rode my bike there, and climbed it. Got some great pictures too! Is there anything you didn’t do in Cape May that you’d like to come back and do? There were a few things I wanted to do but didn’t get to. One was to go to the alpaca farm. I also didn’t get to the wineries or go into the Southern Mansion.
There’s a little bit of heart and soul in everything we make. Beautiful, original tees, clothing and accessories, designed and made here on the island.
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What started the idea with the porches? I was staying right next to the Chalfonte Hotel and I found it incredible that they allowed you to sit on the porch even if you weren’t staying there as a guest. I did the same thing at Congress Hall. Pretty soon on my walks throughout town, I began to notice how each home, and each bed and breakfast had these fabulous porches that were all decorated extremely differently. I began to wonder who lived in the homes, and WHY, for example was one porch pastel, and another home would have a porch full of swings and hammocks. Why is one rustic, and another contemporary? Why is this porch bird themed, and that porch jungle themed? I realized that each porch is actually an extension of the people who live there. It’s like getting to see their outdoor living room. I found it fascinating. Each porch is representing something special about the people who live there, or work there. I may not think polka dots are relaxing (I actually do) but whoever lives there does! It was such a reminder that we are all so different, and yet, we all seek similar things. Maybe I liked it so much because New York is full of transients. The idea that these porches
represented “home” was special to me. It was comforting. How many do you think you shot? About 40 or 50 over a few weeks. Have you ever had a home with a porch? My grandmother’s house has a porch. She and my great uncle used to sit out there and watch the cars go by. My sister lives there now. I had never thought about having a home with a porch. But now it is something I hope I can have one day. How would you decorate your own porch? I have no idea... YET. I know that I love antique and distressed things. I’d like a hammock for sure, and I’d probably have candles, and would be more farmhouse style as opposed to beach or contemporary. It would have a lot of places to sit, because I would like to have it full of special people at all times! What were your top three favorite porches? My top three hotel porches were The Chalfonte, The Virginia and The Mainstay. I think I will keep my favorite porches that were attached to a private home a secret. Did anyone ever come out of a house or hotel and ask what you were doing? YES! One particular B&B did not want me
taking a picture of the porch one morning. I also had one person who was trimming the hedges in their yard. I didn’t see him there, and got caught trying to take a picture of the porch. Also, there was one porch I kept trying to get, but the people were always sitting on it. Where do you live in New York City? In midtown — all people, no porches. As you sit at home now, what is your favorite memory of Cape May? That’s a hard one. I would have to say it is a tie between the amazing fun I had onstage and backstage laughing with my cast, being goofy — or the night walks I took by the beach. Calming and beautiful. And what’s coming up for you in your stage life? I will be returning to Broadway again, in Wicked for five weeks through the holidays. I am so excited to be back. After that, I’m not sure. I am looking to do some more edgy roles, plays, or musicals. Stuff with a lot of depth. Also, hopefully I will be writing and publishing more books. I think a coffee table book of the porches during the changes of the seasons would be terrific — don’t you?! For more information on Laura Woyasz, visit her website, www.laurawoyasz.com
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The chefs of COOL Cape May Seven of them dish on their favorite holiday meals, their dream jobs, and where they want to be this winter
Interviews by MARK CHAMBERLAIN Photography by ALEKSEY MORYAKOV
Tai Menz of Aleathea’s with wife Julie and daughter Piper. exit zero
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TAI MENZ Aleathea’s Thanksgiving dinner is traditionally American, but Christmas dinner can be duck, goose, venison or prime rib. My dad [Duck Menz] provides veggies from his garden like potatoes and carrots. Sometimes we might have striper. I started working in my grandfather’s food distribution center and at the Top of the Marq at age nine. I’ve been around the food business all of my life. I went to the culinary arts program at ACCC for two years but I learned on the job as well. My wife Julie and I opened the Cape May Market and I get to cook up natural and organic dishes and sell locally grown produce, which is exactly what I love to do. My dream business is a small, hands-on, real foods restaurant — so I guess I have my dream job! It would be cool to do the same thing in northern California, where I could live in the woods near the ocean so we could surf too. My favorite local restaurant is The Red Store, in Cape May Point. Favorite drink? Woodchuck Hard Cider.
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CARL MESSICK Peter Shields Inn I love the traditional Thanksgiving meal. When I was growing up, in North Wildwood, it was either my mom cooking or my grandfather. We would eat turkey, of course, but I remember the green bean casserole and I still make that. Christmas dinner is pretty much the same as Thanksgiving. I started cooking in restaurants when I was 18 in Cape May Court House. My brother Glenn is a chef in Stone Harbor so you could definitely say that cooking runs in the family. I went to New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. Besides my brother my influences are Charlie Palmer and Terrance Brennan and I watch the Great Chefs on the Discovery Channel for fun and ideas. My ideal vacation is going with my girlfriend to either Italy or the Caribbean. My dream is to have my own restaurant that seats about 30-40 people, very highend service and food, strictly reservation only and with a killer wine list. I’ll make specials each night and vary the menu so I
can experiment. My favorite Cape May restaurant is The Ebbitt Room. Restaurants I really want to try? French Laundry in the San Francisco area and Tru
Bayshore Shopping Plaza 3845 Bayshore Road, North Cape May (near the Acme Market) 609.846.7643
Open Monday thru Saturday 9am-4pm • Sunday 11am-3pm
302 N Route 9, CMCH, Hospital Campus 609.465.5553 Open Monday thru Saturday 10am to 4pm
A ll
proceeds benefit
C ape R egional M edical C enter .
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in Chicago. My go-to holiday drinks are Dogfish Head seasonal brews or my homemade eggnog, which is basically a light custard with Captain Morgan Spiced Rum.
CHRIS HUBERT The Black Duck and Godmothers I grew up in Wallingford, PA with three brothers and a sister, and a rite of passage in our family was cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Our dad was a great cook and he taught us. I did my first Thanksgiving dinner at age 13. Every one of us were able to make dinner or lunch and since we took our lunches to school we took turns making them for each other. Our Thanksgiving dinner is a seafood pot: Lobster, clams, mussles and potatoes steamed in beer or wine. Christmas dinner is duck or venison. I started out in business school but hated it and since I was already making money working in restaurants I switched to the Culinary Institute of America in New York. I worked in restaurants in Philadelphia before moving to Cape May. I worked at The Ebbitt Room then my wife Pam and I owned and operated Union Park before moving on to open The Black Duck and then Godmothers. My real growth and inspiration has come from my family and all of the people I worked for, with and alongside for over thirty years. My dream restaurant is a small, true, farm-to-table where I could choose based solely on availability. Our winter getaway is Hawaii. exit zero
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CUSTOM BLENDING FRAGRANCE • LOTIONS ROBES • SOAPS
OPEN ALL YEAR 318 WASHINGTON ST. MALL CAPE MAY • 609.884.9234 BATHTIMECAPEMAY.COM exit zero
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Check out all of Patricia Rainey’s Cape May-inspired paintings & many new gift items!
609-886-4863 • patriciaraineystudios.com
Contemporary & Estate Jewelry We Buy Diamonds, Gold and Silver!
511 WASHINGTON STREET MALL, CAPE MAY (next to Fudge K itchen) • (609) 898-8786 Other Location: 15 N. Black Horse Pike, Runnemede • (856) 939-0230
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PAUL NEGRO Tisha’s and 5 West Our Thanksgiving meals and our Christmas Eve meals have always been a combination of the traditional turkey and stuffing but with an Italian component of lasagna and meatballs. My mom Tisha first opened the restaurant in Wildwood. She was trained at the Restaurant School in Philadelphia and had small businesses there before moving to the shore. I learned everything from her. After she retired, my wife Jen and I decided to move the restaurant to Cape May on the promenade and after 14 years we opened the current location on the Washington Street Mall. Our newest restaurant is 5 West, in North Cape May. My influences are my mom and Mario Batali for his authentic Italian cuisine. My dream business would be to have a seasonal restaurant in Telluride, Colorado so we could live there part of the year. Our favorite local restaurant is the Washington Inn. Outside of that, we love Amada in Atlantic City and Stanton Social in New York. This winter we are going on vacation to a warm climate like the Caribbean and doing a skiing vacation somewhere out west. Favorite winter drink is a nice cabernet by Jordan.
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Put a little light in your life. Stunning Turkish lamps from $75. ACCESSORIES • MUSIC BOOKS • INCENSE JEWELRY SKIN CARE & OTHER UNUSUAL GOODIES.
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I love a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with roast turkey, homemade stuffing, sweet potatoes, beans, pecan and pumpkin pies. At Christmas we always have Chinese food and see a movie. I grew up in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York and went to college at the University of Delaware for interpersonal communications and public relations. Then I attended the Culinary Institute of America to learn cooking. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a chef until I read The Making of a Chef by Michael Rhulman. He was my real inspiration. I had many teachers who inspired me through out my time at the Culinary Institude — I found the whole institution to be inspiring. There were so many resources and knowledge sources to take advantage of. My dream job is to open a 30 to 40-seat farm-to-table restaurant, possibly in the Hudson Valley, where everything is grown and raised right on the land next to the restaurant. My favorite Cape May restaurant is The Ebbit Room. Favorite drink this time of year is hot buttered rum, using Gosling’s rum. I’m getting away this winter to Costa Rica’s Pacific coast in a resort setting. exit zero
CAROLINE BOUTIQUE CAROLINE
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BOUTIQUE
• Johnny Was • Chan Luu • Susana Monaco • Rachel Pally • Splendid • Michael Stars
JEREMY EINHORN The Blue Pig Tavern
Michael Stars • James Perse • Ella Moss • Eileen Fisher • Sanctuary • Johnny Was •
Michael Stars • James Perse • Ella Moss • Eileen Fisher • Sanctuary
JOHN SIUTA Martini Beach At Thanksgiving my wife cooks and it’s very traditional, with corn bread, chestnut sausage stuffing, creamed onions and turkey. Growing up, my Polish mom made the best perogies but destroyed turkey dinners and actually could turn broccoli grey. She overcooked the whole meal. For me now the day is all about family and friends and being home eating homemade food. It’s my favorite holiday. Christmas dinners at my Polish aunt’s house were a disaster of the traditional seven fishes. She substituted boxed, frozen fish for fresh fish and it was positively inedible! So we keep it simple now: lamb or pork, roast beef and vegetables. I went to the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and studied under Jacques Pepin. But I started out in my basement as a young kid growing mushrooms and making my own cheese. I grew up in Elizabeth, NJ. My biggest influences are Julia Childs, the British chef Keith Floyd (I worked in London) and Pepin, of course, who I
worked with for a while in Manhattan . My favorite place to visit is India. I went a couple of years ago and fell in love with the food. I was going to go back but I’m going to be getting a hip replacement in December so I am going to try to do a short trip to Turkey instead. My favorite local restaurant is Gecko’s
and our favorite cocktail bar is the Merion Inn. Dream job? I did some work at the Food Network years ago and the thought of cooking for some celebrities seems fun. I cooked once for Mick Jagger but never got to meet him. I really want to cook for Elton John and be able to hang out.
for souvenirs as unique as the memories you created
authentic Cape May elements crafted into one of a kind jewelry custom work available MariaLouiseHigh.com on FaceBook as littlebluestudio exit zero
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CITY LIKE CAPE MAY should NOT be without a book store. Thanks to these guys, it isn’t...
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I grew up on a farm in in Lewisburg, PA where my dad grew soy, corn, had dairy cows and sold farm equipment. My mom was a great cook! I watched her make enormous meals every day that fed me and my siblings and the farm workers. I’m amazed how she was able to pull this off each and every day. Her peach pie was the best I have ever had to this day. Our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners include the traditional things like turkey along with my mom’s tomato stew stuffing. I started working at the Mad Batter 30 years ago and have been there for a total of 17 years. I have no formal training and had to learn on the job. My influences were the women that came before me in my job as head chef here. I started with Mindy Silver and years later Lisa Shriver, who’s now at the Depot Market Café. My favorite local restaurant is Cucina Rosa. My drink of choice is Modelo Speziale Cervesa. Dream job? To work with animals. My favorite winter getaway is Costa Rica and we are going to an outdoor adventure vacation called Jungle Adventures which was started by a someone who used to live in Cape May, Mark Goldstein, and whose mom owned the Mad Batter along with Harry Kulkowitz. Lisa is pictured with sous chef Brucie Barto
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Inspired by the sea, crafted on the premises
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Patricia Jackson Jewelers OPEN THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, MONDAY 11-6 & SUNDAY 12-5 414 BANK STREET, CAPE MAY (609) 884-0323 • PATJACKSONJEWELERS.COM EST 1980 • FRIEND US ON FACEBOOK!
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a special year on the stage
Double holiday show is perfect end to an unforgettable 2013 for Cape May Stage By Catherine Dugan
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This remarkable photograph by Frank Weiss spotlights the many people, from cast to crew to full-time staff, required to make a Cape May Stage show come to life.
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J Candlelight 40th annual Cape May
Christmas House Tours Dec. 7, 14 & 28 • 5:30 - 8:30pm
These self-guided tours through a selection of Cape May’s charming B&B inns, guesthouses, hotels and churches are the jewel in the crown of the holiday season! 25 adults; $20 children (ages 3-12)
$
Limited tour; advance reservations strongly recommended
Don’t miss...
PHYSICK FAMILY CHRISTMAS HOUSE TOURS EVENING YULETIDE TOURS HOLIDAY LIGHTS TROLLEY TOURS HOLIDAY INNS TOURS GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST TROLLEY RIDES SANTA’S TROLLEY RIDES Plus Food & Wine events Visit our website or call for details!
Tours & events sponsored by the
Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC)
609-884-5404 • capemaymac.org • 800-275-4278 exit zero
ON Wojciechowski hadn’t been in Cape May long when he discovered there was something special here. One winter day, when he half expected to see tumbleweeds rolling past the person offering fudge samples on the empty mall, the new managing director of Cape May Stage encountered a random act of kindness. He had been working hard and needed a coffee break. MagicBrain Café was closed, as was Tommy’s Folly in Congress Hall, so he turned to the Washington Street Mall. The doors of Cape May Fish Market were open, so he went in and asked the people working inside for a coffee, to go. The woman looked at the bottom of the pot and said, “Let me brew some fresh.” Then she went to find the coffee fixings, brought him a to-go cup, and poured him a steaming cup. When Wojciechowski tried to pay, the woman said, “You don’t owe me anything — we’re closed. We’re just in for the day, cleaning up. Come back and have a meal some time.” It’s that kind of community generosity that Wojciechowski believes is tied to the success of Cape May Stage. As CMS celebrates its its 25th season, it’s clear that community support is part of the reason for the theater’s success. Nationally, the years since 1988 have not been kind to professional theaters, and many have closed their doors. By contrast, Cape May Stage is not only surviving, but thriving — ticket sales are up 14% this year. Community support, including a lease agreement with the City of Cape May, has provided CMS with a beautiful home in the Robert Shackleton Playhouse, built as a Presbyterian church in 1853. An active board spurred CMS supporters to fund the building’s restoration in 2007, giving the theater freedom from worrying about things like a new roof. That gives CMS the opportunity to experiment and make the customer experience the best that it can be. And because its team is committed to being just as creative offstage as the actors are onstage, the future looks bright for CMS. The story at Cape May Stage is its professionalism. The yearround staff of four — bookkeeper Nakeya Barreto, marketing director Alicia Grasso and producing artistic director Roy Steinberg in addition to Wojciechowski — make a good team, and the family grows in the summer. According to Grasso, “Everything is done in house. We build our sets in Wildwood. We design the costumes, hang the lights, and everything we do is excellent.” This year, a resident intern program brought in eight interns, and CMS welcomed them in to the fold, determined to treat them like emerging artists instead of cheap labor. The interns worked hard and kept to a regular schedule, but they also had a strong educational program, complete with weekly sessions with theater professionals — and an informal contest to see who could appear in Exit Zero weekly magazine most often. The interns were encouraged to share their ideas, and CMS welcomed their energy and fresh perspective. As Grasso notes, “These eight young minds came from eight different colleges and it would be shortsighted to shut ourselves off from these new ideas. We learned from them as much as they learned from us.” And though each member of the CMS family has a special skill set, everyone who loves the theater has to be willing to pitch in. For example, Wojciechowski is a nationally recognized theater admin-
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istrator and marketing professional, with more than 50 awards and a couple of decades of experience under his belt, but he’s not above getting his hands dirty. Sometimes you’ll see the managing director channeling his inner handyman to remove gum from a prop carpet, or hang windows in the gazebo in preparation for winter, and most people take a turn emptying the garbage. Sometimes things just have to get done. It’s that kind of hands-on attitude that makes CMS such a great fit with the people of Cape May. Once, when an intoxicated man overcome by the drama in his own life entered the theater after a show and refused to leave, the community, in the form of the Cape May Police Department, handled the situation with professionalism and kindness. Thanks to a generous recent donor, there’s a new sound system to allow professional sound design. The designer can mix the sound on an iPad and have full control from anywhere in the theater. During a recent power outage, the show went on with flashlights, and the audience refused to leave. There were the inevitable jokes about paying the electric bill, but the show went on, and the audience stayed with it. CMS returns that appreciation with half-price preview nights, senior and student discounts, and pay-what-you-can events. Plus, the theater has been marking its anniversary with 25 Free Things for the community, from staged readings to an old-fashioned ice cream social. There is a sense that the theater and the community are interwo-
“Everything is done in house. We build our sets in Wildwood. We design the costumes, hang the lights...” ven, and maybe that’s one of the reasons so many performers are eager to return to Cape May. Atlantic City Electric does have to be paid, of course, and to make sure the money is there, CMS gets creative about reaching out to donors. Tickets sales only make up 50% of income, and the days of traditional fundraising appeals are waning. The next generation of theater supporters, people who grew up in the digital age, are more likely to respond to a text than a postcard. Today, CMS reaches out through Facebook and Twitter as well as through traditional media, and its innovative productions, theater camp, and education programs help to build a new wave of theater lovers. The goal is to build a firewall between the business and creative aspects of the theater business, so that creative forces are not stymied by cost issues. Those, like Wojciechowski, on the business end, welcome the challenges presented by an ambitious project. “We owe it to ourselves to approach theater from a business perspective,” says Grasso. To that end, CMS will present two shows simultaneously this holiday season. Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol will play in the Robert Shackleton Playhouse, and The Santaland Diaries will play at Congress Hall. According to Grasso, “The decision to do The Santaland Diaries was a business decision, an attempt to reach out to a new audience.” The show will reach out to younger people who want an offbeat approach to theater — the kind of people who may already be fans
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of author David Sedaris and his essays on NPR. Sedaris has won the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and his latest book, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, made the New York Times Best Seller list this summer. This decidedly adult show uses humor to get to the heart of a hyper-commercialized view of Christmas. Plus, everything is funnier when it is said by a grown man in an elf suit. For six years The Santaland Diaries has been so popular at Wojciechowski’s former home, Portland Stage Company, in Maine, that there was a market on Craigslist for sold-out tickets. By staging the show at Congress Hall, CMS will draw patrons who want to have a good laugh and relax during the holidays. They can finish their shopping in the hotel’s Winter Wonderland, grab a beer and watch the show, and then go downstairs to the Boiler Room for dancing, or take advantage of Dinner and a Show packages at the Blue Pig Tavern. “This is how we can build bridges for the main stage,” says Grasso. For those who already count a CMS production as a holiday tradition, Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol is a more familiar staging at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse. This one-man show was created by Tom Mula, an award-winning playwright, actor and director, from his novel of the same name. The story is a behind-thescenes look at Dickens’ A Christmas Carol from the point of view of Jacob Marley, the ghost tasked with saving Scrooge’s soul. All of the characters in the original make an appearance, joined by the malicious sprite who offers Marley a chance at his own redemp-
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With these holiday offerings, Cape May Stage hopes to reach out to new audiences, while still serving its base. tion. From the start, Marley knows his chances are slim, saying, “Scrooge? I have to redeem old Scrooge? The one man I knew who was worse than I was? Impossible!” But as the journey begins, there is hope. It’s immediately as if a favorite uncle were telling you a story, complete with humor, terror, duty and redemption. This piece, another NPR holiday favorite, has been called an “anthem to human nature” and “delectably zany” by critics. With these holiday offerings, CMS hopes to reach out to new audiences, while still serving its base. Economists say that a healthy arts scene reflects a healthy community, and it’s only fitting that a place where a stranger can get a lift from a free cup of coffee on a cold winter’s day be treated to the kind of intellectual pick-me-up presented by Cape May Stage.
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Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, by Tom Mula, directed by Ben Ferber, runs from November 29 through December 29,Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 and Saturdays and Sundays at 3. The running time is 2 hours, with intermission, and it is suitable for ages five and up. Tickets are $15 to $50. The Santaland Diaries, by David Sedaris runs November 30 through December 29, at Congress Hall, 200 Congress Place, Cape May, Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30, and Sunday at 3. Running time is 90 minutes, and the show is for “mature elves only.” Bar service will be available before and after the show. General admission tickets are $25, Dinner and a Show package is $59; Lunch and a Show is $39, plus tax, beverage and gratuity.
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SOMA NewArt GALLERY presents
MARIE NATALE Original Exit Zero Cover Paintings and Other New Works and Giclee Prints
Available for purchase at SOMA NewArt Gallery. OPEN THU-MON 10-6 TO DEC 22 - CLOSED TUE & WED SOMA NewArt GALLERY 31 Perry Street, Cape May | 609.898.7488 | www.somagallery.net
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Cape May Sports Memorabilia
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Large selection of high quality vintage sports cards & memorabilia at reasonable prices.
Walk right in or make an appointment.
Current Stars, Hall of Famers and Rookies Certified Autographed Items Vintage Yearbooks, Programs & Publications
Located in Cape May at Antiques Emporia 405 W. Perry Street Phone: 609-898-3332 email: SprtsCardsRus@aol.com www.capemaysportsmemorabilia.com
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Holiday treat from East Lynne Theater
C
HEROKEE’S got the room full of drums, dolls, skates, toy lambs, and such infantile truck. He’s goin’ to pack ’em up in his red sleigh and drive here to Yellowhammer and give the kids of this town the biggest Christmas blowout that was ever seen west of Cape Hatteras,” announced Baldy, the mail driver, to the residents in the local bar. After two minutes of absolute silence, Trinidad asked, “Didn’t you tell him we don’t have any kids?” All Cherokee wants to do is share his newfound fortune with his old friends in a town that had never heard the patter of little feet. How the good citizens of this small mining community try to create Cherokee’s Christmas with children, is at the core of O. Henry’s humorous and insightful story, Christmas by Injunction. Meanwhile, in the town of Rough and Ready, another miner is planning a Christ-
Gayle Stahlhuth, storyteller, in East Lynne’s Christmas with Harte and O. Henry; and, right, Frank Smith, storyteller for the Ghosts of Christmas Past trolley rides.
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Could one conversation change your life? Why not schedule a consultation with me today?
Mary Lou Gartland, R.N., Certified Holistic Health Coach • 609-820-0002 www.holisticapple.com • marylou@holisticapple.com exit zero
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mas party for relatives he’s never met, with the guidance of a resourceful widow, in Dick Spindler’s Family Christmas by Bret Harte. For eight performances only, both of these touching and funny Western Christmas tales will come to life when the awardwinning Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company presents Christmas with Harte and O. Henry. Best known for his Christmas story, The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry wrote more than 600 stories during his short life of 47 years. He only had 23 cents in his pocket when he died in Manhattan in 1910, but to this day, he is honored by having the most renowned annual collection of American short stories named after him. Francis Bret Harte, on the other hand, signed a contract in 1871 with The Atlantic Monthly to write 12 stories in one year for $10,000. This contract was based on the popularity of two stories, The Luck of Roaring Camp and The Outcasts of Poker Flat. Harte was 63 when he died in 1902 in England, where he’d been living since 1885.
In each show, Gayle Stahlhuth interprets more than 30 characters in which the shrug of a shoulder, the flick of a wrist, and a change in her voice, brings a character to life in a heartbeat. Christmas by Injunction and Dick Spindler’s Family Christmas were adapted by ELTC’s artistic director Gayle Stahlhuth who began performing her own one-person plays in 1981 at venues including The Smithsonian, with Lou: The Remarkable Miss Alcott. Not all of her solo shows revolve around famous non-fictional personalities. For the last six years, she has been performing Christmas stories during the holiday season in Cape May based on works by L. Frank Baum, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Mark Twain, Edward Everett Hale, Louisa May Alcott, Bret Harte and O. Henry, much to the delight of local
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residents and visitors. In each show, Stahlhuth interprets more than 30 characters in which the shrug of a shoulder, the flick of a wrist, and a change in her voice, brings a character to life in a heartbeat. For many patrons, these original performances have become part of their seasonal tradition. The dates for Christmas with Harte and O. Henry are Friday and Saturday, November 29 and 30; Sunday, December 8; Thursday through Saturday, December 12, 13 and 14 at 8:00pm, with special Saturday at 2:00pm matinees on November 30 and December 14. The location is The First Presbyterian Church of Cape May, 500 Hughes Street, where the company is in residence. As usual with ELTC’s Christmas shows, the company reduces its regular ticket price as an early holiday gift to its audience. Tickets are $25 for general admission; $15 for full-time students, and those ages twelve and under are free. For information and reservations, call 609884-5898 or go online to www.eastlynnetheater.org. F
ully Jack, tries to ers, can
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published by the famed Philadelphia company J. B. Lippincott in the late 1940s, but after a dispute with the author, it lay in a closet
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Charles Whitecar
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These beautiful hardcover, illustrated books are bound to be collectors’ items! Copies are available at the Exit Zero stores at 109 Sunset and 316 Beach. Or at our online store: ezstore.us. And at selected local stores. exit zero
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Ghosts of Christmas Past Listen to spooky holiday ghost tales, told in a dark trolley, while the twinkling lights of the beautifully decorated homes and streets are seen through the windows of the heated vehicle. From November 22 to December 26, ELTC, co-sponsored with Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities (MAC) is pleased to present the eighth year of The Ghosts of Christmas Past trolley rides. This year, the tales are based on the writings of Frank R. Stockton and Mary Wilkins Freeman. Once again, the main costumed storyteller is Frank Smith, who was the first person to portray Dr. Physick for MAC’s tour of the Physick Estate, and has performed for ELTC in William Gillette’s Sherlock Holmes and for Tales of the Victorians, ELTC’s popular storytelling event held at various Cape May venues during the summer and fall. Contact MAC for times and details at 609-884-5404 or visit www.capemanymac.org. See also page 97 of this issue. ELTC is entering its third year of offering get-away winter weekends in
partnership with local B&Bs. On February 21-22, March 7-8, and March 21-22, participants can portray the ‘innocent bystander,’ the ‘victim’ or even the ‘killer’ in Murder Mystery Weekends at The Henry Sawyer Inn. For information, contact the inn at 609-884-5667 or henrysawyerinn@verizon.net, or ELTC. Reservations/payments are made through the inns. On February 28 to March 1, Gayle Stahlhuth is once more teaching a Playwriting Getaway for beginners and experienced writers, visitors to Cape May as well as residents, at The Henry Sawyer Inn. For more information, contact the inn or ELTC. Here is just one example of the reviews: “It had been a while since I’d tried my hand at playwriting, but the nurturing atmosphere and Gayle’s genuine delight in exploring language and ideas gave me courage and confidence… Highly recommended!” — Linda Stankard, Suffern, NY. ELTC will be back on the mainstage with Holmes and Carter Mysteries, the tenth
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anniversary of its vintage radio-style productions, with live sound effects and commercials, just in time for another Sherlock Holmes Weekend, on March 14 and 15. Back-to-back in the same evening, Sherlock Holmes Adventure of the Copper Beeches and Nick Carter and the Strange Dr. Devolo are performed by the same six actors portraying a variety of roles in these two clever detective stories. Don’t know what to give someone for the holidays? ELTC’s 2014 season tickets are available. See four shows for only $80. Season tickets may be purchased at the box office, through ELTC’s website, by phone, or by sending a check to the office: 121 Fourth Avenue, West Cape May, NJ 08204. Season tickets are flexible, even allowing patrons to use all four for one performance if they wish. Ticket prices next year are $30 for general admission and $25 for seniors. East Lynne’s exciting five-show 2014 Mainstage Season runs from June through December, opening with “The First Fifty Years,” by Henry Myer. Originally
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produced on Broadway in 1922, it’s a dramatic comedy that charts the ups and downs of a married couple from 1872, when they move into their new home after their honeymoon, all the way to their golden anniversary, in 1922. ELTC’s artistic director tracked down the only known script of this forgotten gem, at The Billy Rose Collection at The Library of Performing Arts in NYC. The only way to copy this script is by sitting in the library and typing it out on the computer or by taking digital photographs of the pages. Many may know the 1952 Tony Awardwinning The Fourposter, written by Jan de Hartog that covers 35 years of a marriage from 1890-1925. With the success of ELTC’s productions of The Poe Mysteries and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the company is producing another world premiere written by playwright/adaptor, James Rana — Zorro is based on The Curse of Capistrano. Written by Johnston McCulley in 1919, it marked the appearance, for the first time, of the masked avenger in Old California.
“Within the Law”, the 1916 Broadway sensation written by Bayard Vellier, features a young women accused of shoplifting. It’s a comedy thriller that will keep the audience guessing until the end.
Here is how this caption would look in all bold. does it look strange?
Next up for ELTC is Within the Law, the 1916 Broadway sensation written by Bayard Vellier. A young woman, who is falsely accused of shoplifting by her employer, gets her revenge in a most surprising manner. It’s a comedy thriller that will keep the audience guessing until the end. Holmes and Carter Mysteries returns, followed by Christmas in Wisconsin: Tales by Zona Gale. This Pulitzer Prize-winning author centered many of her stories in the imaginary town of Friendship Village, filled with all sorts of interesting people, not unlike those in Lake Wobegon in Gar-
rison Kiellor’s A Prairie Home Companion. All year long, ELTC is busy with touring shows and educational outreach. Shows, including the Sherlock Holmes radio series, Paul Robeson Through His Words and Music, and the anti-suffrage satire Someone Must Wash the Dishes, are traveling between Massachusetts and Texas. ELTC also conducts theater workshops in schools in Cape May County, including the nine-month long afterschool programs for the Wildwood School District due to the district receiving the federally funded 21st Century Grant. East Lynne’s production season would not be possible without season sponsors Curran Investment Management, Aleathea’s Restaurant, and The Henry Sawyer Inn, and Show Sponsors The Washington Inn and Exit Zero; The NJ Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism; NJ State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; and the generosity of many patrons.
The BEST way to spoil yourself.
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a cape may moment
Enjoying the annual Candlelight Walk at Historic Cold Spring Village on November 2: Harry, Millie, Bill and Chris. Aleksey Moryakov
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FREE Call Terri for appointment 609 457 6311 98 Holidays 2013
DECEMBER 2, 2013 THRU JANUARY 3, 2014
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a cape may moment
Kristina Egler and Chris Hines were married at the Inn of Cape May on October 12. Aleksey Moryakov
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Megan McKenney and Cory Krieg were married at Congress Hall on October 5 and then posed for shots at the harbor. Aleksey Moryakov
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BLOW DRY • CUTS SETS • UPDOS COLOR FOILS • LOW LITES PERMS • MANICURES PEDICURES
The holidays trolley guide For even MORE information, get in touch with the MidAtlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities, the local cultural behemoth which runs these tours, along with many, many other fun activities. Visit them online at capemaymac.org. GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST Where It Goes: Through the streets of Cape May, starting on Ocean Street at the Washington Street Mall. How Long It Lasts: 30 minutes. When It Runs: Fridays, November 29-December 27; Saturdays, November 23-30, December 21; Sundays, December 1-29; Thursday, December 26, Monday, December 30, Tuesday, December 31. Tour times vary. What It Is: Listen to dramatic tales of Christmas woe featuring Victorian ghosts, told by a member of the East Lynne Theater Company, on this ride along the historic streets of Cape May. You’ll be happy you live now, not then. Who It’s For: If you look for Jacob Marley’s ghost in every door knocker, you’ll appreciate this tour. Strongly Suggested: Advance reservations
1400 TEXAS AVENUE CAPE MAY (609) 884-3011
Evening Yuletide Tour Where It Goes: Through the streets of Cape May, from Ocean Street at the Washington Street Mall to the Emlen Physick Estate and Carriage House and back to Washington Street Mall. How Long It Lasts: 1.5 hours. When It Runs: Every evening, November 29 through December 30, except December 5, 7, 14, 24, 25 and 28. Hours vary. What It Is: Revel in the sparkle of Cape May’s beautiful Victorian homes decorated for Christmas and listen to festive music and sing carols on a trolley ride through town. Then take a guided tour of the first floor of the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate, authentically decorated for a Victorian Christmas. Top it off with holiday refreshments and a visit to “An Old-Fashioned Christmas” exhibit at the Carriage House. Who It’s For: If you need a dose of Christmas spirit and love Victorian Christmas traditions. HOLIDAY LIGHTS TROLLEY RIDE Where It Goes: Throughout historic Cape May, starting at Ocean Street at the Washington Street Mall.
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} the definitive HOLIDAYS trolley guide
Enjoy architectural gems such as the Stockton Row houses on Gurney Street as part of the co o Historic l c a p eDistrict m a y Trolley Tour.
How Long It Lasts: 30 minutes. When It Runs: Saturday, November 23 and nightly from November 29-December 31 Hours vary. No tours December 5, 7, 14, 24, 25, 28, January 1. What It Is: Who can resist the sparkle of Cape May’s beautiful Victorian homes decorated for Christmas? This trolley ride through town is designed to show them off. Listen to Christmas music and sing carols along the way and have a jolly time with friends and family. Who It’s For: If Christmas makes you want to hold hands around a Christmas tree and sing “Fah who foraze, Dah who doraze, Welcome Christmas, come this way!” Accessible with advance notice. Santa’s Trolley Rides Where It Goes: Leaves from Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington Street (with free parking available) and rides through town. How Long It Lasts: 30 minutes. When It Runs: Saturday, November 23, Saturdays and Sundays, November 30-December 21. Hours vary. Advance reservation strongly recommended. What It Is: Mrs Claus comes direct from the North Pole to lead this tour, telling stories and leading holiday songs on this jolly trolley ride through town. Oh — and she brought her hubby with her. Santa Claus will be at the Carriage House organizing lists with his iPad and eating a few cookies to carb-load before Christmas. Children will visit with Santa and get a sweet treat. Who It’s For: You must — simply must — believe in Santa Claus. If you don’t, after this ride, you just might. Strongly Suggested: Advance reservations. Historic District Where It Goes: Through Cape May’s historic district, starting on Ocean Street at the Washington Street Mall. How Long It Lasts: About 45 minutes. When It Runs: Daily, except for November 28 and December 25; hours vary. What It Is: It’s beautiful. It’s charming. Cape May — one of the few places you can wander through and feel that it’s more than 100 years ago. Tour guides will explain how and why it survived. Who It’s For: Anyone who finds Cape May charming. A Little Extra: Combine this tour with a history presentation of Christmas at the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate and save $2.
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V Dr. Arlene Hughes Gorny OPTOMETRIC PHYSICIAN
We provide old-fashioned, professional, personal service in a quaint setting
NJ#5336
937 Columbia Avenue 898-0800
TO#663
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a cape may moment
The cast of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Animus Orbis, who performed at Aleathea’s, in the Inn of Cape May. Aleksey Moryakov
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TICKETS 609
770-8311
Robert Shackleton Playhouse 405 Lafayette Street Cape May, New Jersey CapeMay Stage.org Tickets also available at
“The Santaland Diaries” PERFORMED AT: Congress Hall 200 Congress Place Cape May, NJ
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Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol by Tom Mula
directed by Ben Ferber
Nov 29– Dec 29, 2013
The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris
directed by Roy Steinberg
Nov 30 – Dec 29, 2013
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Contact Us For All of Your Sale and Rental Real Estate Needs!
ISA-Certified Arborist Matthew Notch Fully Licensed & Insured Free Estimates | Reasonable Rates
CONSULTING • PRUNING & PLANTING CABLING & BRACING • REMOVALS
West Cape May
481-7420
Sol Needles Real Estate 512 Washington Street Mall, Cape May, NJ 08204 609-884-8428 1-800-441-8428 www.cbcapemay.com Lynn Gleeson / William Bezaire, owners
The perfect company for ALL your vacation needs!
A healthy pet has lots to smile about.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Cleaning, landscaping, property inspections, emergency services CONCIERGE SERVICES child care, pet services, dinner reservations, spa and salon appointments, personal errands, photography
One call does it all!
Robert Panaccio, VMD Robert Moffatt, VMD Nancy Reilly, VMD
Property Management & Concierge Services
1400 Texas Avenue, Unit 2, Cape May (609) 884-8444• www.wkrservices.com
694 Petticoat Creek Lane, Cape May • 884-1729 • www.capemayvet.com
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The Real Estate Market is Alive and Well! Thinking of Signing, Just Call Ryan!
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D L O
RYAN GRIFFIN, SALESPERSON | CELL: 609.602.5578 EMAIL:rgriffin@desatnickrealestate.com DESATNICK REAL ESTATE, LLC 1001 Lafayette Street, Cape May OFFICE: 609.884.1300 | FAX: 609.884.1304 | desatnickrealestate.com
C astline Realty Search Sale & Rental properties online at www.CoastlineRealty.com
1320 C. Virginia Avenue Cape May. Well maintained 2 bedroom, 1 bath Village Green quad facing south with recent upgrades. Never been rented but could bring in great rental income. $294,900
16 Delair Road, Townbank Remodeled 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with open living space, family room, attached garage, large basement with workshop and two extra rooms. Just a short half block to the beach. $359,000
2 Delaware Avenue. Del Haven. PANORAMIC VIEWS, beach access right across the street and next to acres of preserved land. Elevator 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and decks galore. Perfect primary residence. $550,000
621 Lighthouse Avenue. Cape May Point. 3 Bedroom, 1 Bath home located across from Lake Lily! Watch the birds go by on the upstairs deck. Open living space. Screened in porch. $575,000
Call us at 609.884.5005 1400 Texas Avenue, Cape May N.J. 08204
Carol A. Menz, Broker/Owner
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a cape may moment
The staff of Accent on Beauty, on Sunset Boulevard. Aleksey Moryakov
add some
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, NJ
(609) 465-6670
COLOR to your life.
Serving all of South Jersey
Save energy AND money. It’s a win-win. $25 is a tiny price to pay for a full year (8 issues) of our lovely, lively, gorgeous color magazine. Please call (609) 770-8479 or visit www.ezstore.us to order your subscription
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Dedication... Excellence... Professionalism
THE BLAKE HOUSE built circa 1865 640 Hughes Street, Cape May Total of 10 BR, 6 BA, 2 half baths, cac, furnished. $1,390,000
SEABOARD WALK - UNIT 5 201 Beach Avenue, Cape May Beachfront townhouse. 4 BR, 4.5 BA, pool and fitness center on-site. Excellent rental. $1,149,999
Theresa Senico
ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES
Quality service... with that personal touch
Apex
Realty, Inc.
COLONIAL REVIVAL BED & BREAKFAST INN 800 Columbia Ave., Cape May “The Dormer House”, 13 guest rooms and bathrooms, powder room, glass enclosed sun porch, ample parking. $2,299,000
“THE MEADOWS AT CAPE ISLAND” 1103 St. James Pl., Cape May 2 BR, 2.5 BA, unique “open floor” plan, gas fireplace. $539,000
2505 Bayshore, Villas (609) 408-4655 800-894-2739 ext. 103 www.jerseyshorehomesbytheresasenico.com
JOE B. SANTANIELLO PRESSURE CLEANING “Joe B. By The Sea”
TOTALLY RENOVATED COTTAGE 202 E. Louisville Avenue, Wildwood Crest 4 BR, 3 BA, custom stoned gas f/p, screened porch, outside shower $629,000
MAJESTIC VICTORIAN 261 Grant Street, Cape May 6 BR, 3.5 BA, multi-zone heat/ air, in-ground heated pool, close to beach & town. $1,299,000
All Exterior Pressure Cleaning Dryer Vent Cleaning Window Cleaning Gutter Cleaning Chimney Cleaning Fall & Winter Yard Cleanup Insulation... Attic, Roof & Crawl space
TOTALLY RENOVATED TWIN 1352 Illinois Avenue, Cape May 2 BR, 1 BA, Florida room, rear patio, outside shower. $369,900
BEACH FRONT “BARONET CONDO” 819 Beach Avenue, Unit 2F, Cape May 1 BR, 1 BA units in this building have excellent rental history. $299,000
JERSEY CAPE REALTY 739 Washington Street, Cape May (609) 884-5800 www.jerseycaperealty.com exit zero
Fully Bonded & Insured Free Estimates
609-827-WASH Breakwater Plaza, NCM
111 Holidays 2013
Here to Keep New Jersey Clean!
LIC. # 13VH06841800 25 YEARS RETIRED PHILADELPHIA FIREMAN
Cape May FIRE DEPARTMENT 712 Franklin Street, Cape May New Jersey
Buy a Brick Program Makes a Great Holiday Gift!
Help The Cape May Fire Department raise money AND own a piece of Cape May history! Personalize your own paver! These pavers are available in 9x9 and 8x4 inches and will make up a new walkway and flagpole courtyard. Memorial bricks.... • Honor a loved one • Support an honorable cause • Keep a memory alive • Serve as great gifts • Commemorate significant dates • Preserve our history Consider a memorial brick today! Purchases are tax deductible. To learn more or get an order form for your bricks, please call the Cape May Fire Department at (609) 884-9512.
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Plans for independent contractors, families, individuals and groups at competitive rates.
610-222-9400 www.millennium-tpa.com