The Jersey Shore Girl Team 
We’re savoring all the late-summer vibes we can get. It’s been another busy week DTS and we’ve got all the headlines to get you up to speed. Among the highlights: PETA encourages the use of robotic hermit crabs in Ocean City; an NJ-based brewery is opening its third location in Point Pleasant; and increased shark activity has officials on edge.
You can read more at the links below, and always feel free to submit any news tips to [email protected]. Our twice-weekly newsletter also shares more, and you can sign up for it here (it’s so great, promise)!
– Almost Home has opened a new Long Branch cafe at the Inkwell Lofts (The Jersey Shore Girl).
– Esquina No. 525 opened at 525 Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park on August 6th, bringing Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei cuisine to the city (The Jersey Shore Girl).
– Five Dimes Brewery is targeting a fall opening for its third taproom at 334 Hawthorne Avenue in Point Pleasant (The Jersey Shore Girl).
– Garden state, for real. Eight tomato-themed festivals are taking place across New Jersey in 2026, celebrating the Garden State staple with food, contests, vendors, live entertainment, and other activities (The New Jersey Girl).
– Is this water safe? Six Jersey Shore beaches were placed under swimming advisories after testing found elevated levels of fecal bacteria in the water (NJ.com).
– Is this water safe, part II? A growing wave of shore-based shark fishing has drawn attention from New Jersey wildlife officials after anglers recently caught bull and tiger sharks near Jersey Shore beaches (Asbury Park Press).
-We’re number 1. D’JAIS joins two other NJ bars in a list of the top 20 bars in the US (USAToday).
– We’re number 1, part II. Ocean City was voted the number one beach at the Shore by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium)
– The Seaside Heights Fire Department’s Water Rescue Team trains throughout much of the year in open-water swimming, rescue boats, personal watercraft, and cold-water techniques to prepare for emergencies along the Shore (Jersey Shore Online).
– Wildwood shop SandJamm has been a popular spot this summer for its dupe of the viral Parke sweatshirt (@sandjammwwnj via Instagram).
-No thanks. Video from Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City showed riders stuck upside down for roughly five to seven minutes after an amusement ride malfunctioned (ABC7 New York).
– Service with a smile. Chick-fil-A has proposed demolishing the former Bahama Breeze outside Ocean County Mall in Toms River and replacing it with a new restaurant featuring drive-thru service (Jersey Shore Online).
– Sandy toes not optional. Beach replenishment is underway in Ocean City, while uncertainty over federal funding could delay similar erosion-control projects in other Jersey Shore communities (NBC10 Philadelphia).
– A $193 million Garden State Parkway project is targeting several high-crash exits near the Jersey Shore with roadway and safety improvements (NJ.com).
– Robotic hermit crabs? PETA is urging Ocean City to replace its annual live hermit crab races and Miss Crustacean Beauty Pageant with robot crabs and other animal-free activities (News 12 New Jersey).
– A prime 34-acre waterfront property at the Jersey Shore is being positioned for a major redevelopment that could significantly transform the site (NJ.com).
– Atlantic City approved the relocation of Cocorico Beach Bar to a new site that will feature multiple bars, cabanas, food trucks, and a performance stage (Jersey Digs).
– Asbury Park received $420,427 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding for programs supporting homelessness prevention, home repairs, nonprofit improvements, parks, and community events (City of Asbury Park).
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