Old Groff’s Building Could Become Condos
While many of us hoped that Groff’s could magically reappear at their old location, it seems that there may never be a restaurant in its place again.
Located just steps off the boardwalk at 423 E Magnolia in Wildwood, the old Groff’s building has been sitting empty for several years now.
Originally opening in 1925 as Groff’s Sandwich Shop on the boardwalk, the business eventually outgrew its space and constructed a new building behind the boardwalk location.
Old Groff’s Building Could Become Condos
Over time, the hotdog shop transformed into a popular dining destination in the Wildwoods, renowned for their generous meal portions and delectable pies. Despite their success, the restaurant was forced to close its doors permanently in 2014.
In the following year, Nino’s Family Restaurant acquired the property, having already established a restaurant at the Triangle in North Wildwood. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, Nino’s was unable to open at the Groff’s location, as the regulations made it challenging for restaurants without parking lots or outdoor decks to operate.
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Despite speculation that Nino’s would reopen at the Groff’s location, the property was eventually listed for sale in November 2021 for $629,900.
The listing described the property as a restaurant situated next to the boardwalk and beach, previously occupied by Nino’s, featuring around 2,300 square feet of dining space and accommodating up to 160 patrons.
The property remained vacant throughout the summer, with no activity occurring inside. However, it was announced in October that the property had been sold to 423 E Magnolia LLC for $500,000, representing a price reduction of $129,900 from the initial listing in 2021.
The LLC who purchased it, was linked back to the owners of Santorini located at 517 West Rio Grande Ave. This had people believe that this location would open back up under a different restaurant but it looks like this may be further than the truth.
According to a public notice, a ‘Concept Review’ for 423 E Magnolia, LLC 06-23 was presented at Wildwood’s Planning and Zoning meeting on February 6th.
A concept review isn’t a new application but rather a presentation to showcase a new concept that would be presented down the line. For this presentation, no voting is taking place.
Our friends at Wildwoods Preservationists grabbed a copy of the mockups to share online.
In them, we find that the applicant is looking to create year-round rentals. Two floors would be added to the existing structure, with each floor having six one-bedroom units, for a total of 18 units.
The designs, drawn up by Architetra, showcase the building’s entrance now located at the base of the ramp and the floor where Groff’s once stood to become another floor of apartments.
Since this was not formally presented there isn’t much information out there just yet. According to the public notices, this application is not scheduled to be talked about on the March 6th meeting.
What do you think of this concept for the old Groff’s location?
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