The coronavirus pandemic put the final nails in the coffins of two of Atlantic City’s finest restaurants. Philadelphia restaurateur Stephen Starr told The Associated Press on October 6 that Buddakan and The Continental, which both closed in mid-March, won’t reopen.
But the decision did not rest just on the pandemic impact. Both were part of the unsuccessful former Playground Pier, which Caesars Entertainment repurchased from developer Bart Blatstein. When Starr opened the restaurants, the venue bore the name the Pier Shops at Caesars, which featured a restaurant row and a collection of high end retail shops. As Playground Pier, foot traffic was sparse and most of the retail stores abandoned ship during the past year.
Blame for the failure of the pier through various manifestations was placed on its location over the Boardwalk across from Caesars. Guests either had to find a parking space in a parking garage the casino also shares with a hospital, or find a space in a lot blocks away and walk to the pier. But the almost simultaneous opening of the more reasonably-priced and more convenient outlet stores known as The Walk in downtown Atlantic City certainly took business away from the Pier Shops and Playground Pier.
The two Starr restaurants employed more than 100 people in total.
“It was a nice run, but we had to say goodbye,” said Starr, who operates high-profile restaurants in Philadelphia, New York, Washington and Paris that remain in business. “We couldn’t continue in this environment with the coronavirus and the current state of the pier.”
The lack of conferences and concerts during the pandemic also cut down occupancy, said Kris Neff, executive chef at The Continental. “As far as destination restaurants in Atlantic City go, this is definitely a big loss.”
Starr made his decision in September when New Jersey allowed indoor dining to resume, but only at 25 percent of capacity. “We would have lost tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars,” he said.
