Hundreds of maskless patrons ignore social distancing rules to drink and dance in huge crowds at popular Jersey Shore bar - as Gov. Phil Murphy announces Atlantic City casinos and NJ restaurants can reopen at 25% capacity ahead of July 4th
A popular Jersey Shore bar was packed with over a hundred patrons ignoring social distancing guidelines over the weekend.
The alarming scenes preceded an announcement made by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Monday that casinos and restaurants will be able to reopen at 25 percent capacity for the July 4th weekend.
The D’Jais Bar and Grill in Belmar was descended upon by swarms of maskless people seeking a sense of normalcy on Saturday, dancing and drinking under a packed outdoor tent as summer temperatures neared 90 degrees.
Alarmed social media users tweeted photos of the packed bar, showing hordes of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder near a station serving drinks in the D’Jais parking lot as music blared out across Ocean Avenue.
Other photos and videos showed crowds congregated out front of the bar and grill, with some social media users calling for the dwellers to be arrested for their ‘blatant disregard’ for social distancing measures.
The D’Jais Bar and Grill in Belmar was descended upon by swarms of maskless people seeking a sense of normalcy on Saturday, dancing and drinking under a packed outdoor tent as summer temperatures neared 90 degrees
Alarmed social media users tweeted photos of the packed bar, showing hordes of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder near a station serving drinks in the D’Jais parking lot as music blared out across Ocean Avenue (pictured: one patrons wears a Covid #19 basketball jersey)
Currently, restaurants and bars in the state are permitted to open for outdoor dining and cocktails if tables are spaced at least six-feet apart, as New Jersey - much like the rest of the US - seeks to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Following the fallout, management at D’Jais say they did observe outside dining rules outlined by local government last week, however they vowed to implement additional changes to improve social distancing.
D’Jais, which currently has its porch, patio and parking lot open, will now limit the size of parties permitted entry and will be implementing line queues to ensure patrons are safely spaced out when waiting to order drinks.
The restaurants pledge came shortly after New Jersey Mayor Mark Walsifer reprimanded the eatery, telling NJ Live how he read the riot act to the bar’s owners on Sunday morning for breaching state guidelines.
‘Saturday night they got overwhelmed. We’re working with them this coming week and if they don’t comply — guess what — they’re going to get shut down and they know it,’ Walsifer said.
The mayor added that this coming weekend, customers at D’Jais will be required to stay at their tables with only waiters and waitresses permitted to retrieve drinks.
The bar will also be forced to turn customers away when the limited number of outdoor seats are filled, Walsifer clarified.
Other photos and videos showed crowds congregated out front of the bar and grill, with others dancing in large groups under the tent late into the evening
The packed scenes inside the bar were shared widely on social media, both in video and photos
John Bonevich, the marketing manager for D’Jais, told NJ Live that packed scenes were the result of large groups of people who were renting houses in the area for the weekend coming to the bar and requesting to be sat together.
Though Bonevich concedes the bar was indeed ‘overwhelmed’, he said there was never more than approximately 120 to 150 people in the parking lot – the main seating and bar area - at any given time.
‘They’d say "we live together",’ Bonevich told the outlet of Saturday’s customers. ‘It’s a hard thing — young people think about the world differently. A lot came down Saturday and we had to chase a lot of people away. I’d say from 4pm to 11pm we had to tell people to go other…Everybody is excited to go places and be outdoors.’
Bonevich also said D’Jais has private security that checks identifications and also reimburses Belmar for the cost of two uniformed police officers who walk the sidewalk in front to keep people spaced apart and try to limit loitering.
He also said that customers were only permitted entry if they were wearing a face covering, but most removed the masks once they were admitted to the outdoor seating area.
‘Yesterday was much better,’ Bonevich said of Sunday. ‘It’s a work in progress. People are pretty civil, it’s more laid back now.’
The controversial on goings at D’Jais came just 48 hours before state Governor Phil Murphy announced plans that indoor dining could resume on July 2 at 25 percent. Casinos are also permitted to reopen at the same capacity cap.
The controversial on goings at D’Jais came just 48 hours before state Governor Phil Murphy announced plans that indoor dining could resume on July 2 at 25 percent. Casinos are also permitted to reopen at the same capacity cap
Murphy himself has been known to frequent D’Jais, even uploading a photo with his wife last Memorial Day insisting there’s ‘no better place to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend than the legendary D’Jais in Belmar’.
The governor’s announcement was made in a Monday afternoon tweet, which read: ‘Casinos will be permitted to open on July 2nd at 25% capacity.
‘If any visitor refuses to comply with our simple safeguards, they'll be escorted out. We’re not going to tolerate any knuckleheads trying to ruin it for those who wish to enjoy themselves responsibly.’
Murphy also added that outdoor gatherings will now be permitted to increase from 100 to 250 people, with still no limit placed on religious or political events.
Indoor gatherings, meanwhile, are now limited to a 25 percent capacity that must not exceed 100 people.
Murphy said he expects to release further guidelines in the next several days. Unlike Governor Cuomo of New York’s plan, Governor Murphy’s phased reopening is not tied to specific benchmarks but rather general downward trends.
Murphy himself has been known to frequent D’Jais, even uploading a photo with his wife last Memorial Day insisting there’s ‘no better place to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend than the legendary D’Jais in Belmar’
The state previously gave the greenlight for restaurants to conduct outdoor dining and for some retail stores to resume operations on June 15. New Jersey restaurants closed for in-person dining in mid-March but were still able to offer takeout and delivery.
Many restaurants shut down completely, unable to make enough money to stay open on takeout revenue alone.
The city's nine casinos have been waiting for a reopening date for weeks, even as casinos in other states reopened.
'We're delighted to get the reopening date,' said Joe Lupo, president of the Hard Rock casino to NBC 4. 'We thank the governor that we'll be able to be open for the July 4th weekend to meet the demand on the world-famous Atlantic City Boardwalk.'
In New York City, outdoor dining is now permitted under the state’s second phase of reopening. Indoor dining at a 50-percent capacity will begin in the third phase – likely to commence early July.
Gov. Murphy also celebrated on Twitter that his state was one of five to be on track to contain COVID-19.
Among New Jersey's contemporaries is New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Michigan.
Hundreds of maskless patrons ignore social distancing rules to drink and dance in huge crowds at popular Jersey Shore bar - as Gov. Phil Murphy announces Atlantic City casinos and NJ restaurants can reopen at 25% capacity ahead of July 4th
![Hundreds of maskless patrons ignore social distancing rules to drink and dance in huge crowds at popular Jersey Shore bar - as Gov. Phil Murphy announces Atlantic City casinos and NJ restaurants can reopen at 25% capacity ahead of July 4th]()
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