Scoundrels Restaurant

[skuakid]

Does anyone remember Scoundrel's? It was on Pacific Ave across from the Crest Tavern in the old Enrico's restaurant.

I worked there the summer it opened. I think it was only around for 2 or 3 summers.

It was really ahead of it's time and would probably thrive if it was still around today. It really would have fit in with the Rebirth of the Wildwoods.

The interior was real nice. They had a big bar with a marble top and wood and brass trim. They had Happy Hours with free food everyday.

There was even a small dance floor, and they had a DJ on the weekends after dinner. Most the time it was the DJ playing to an empty place. He would play stuff for us as we cleaned up after dinner.

At the time, their menu was very unique to the Wildwoods. Today, there are different restaurants like Beach Creek, The Blue Olive and Juan Pablos, but in 1992, you were either Italian or Steak & Seafood. All the different restaurants were in Cape May.

They had entrees Blueberry Duck and Jack Daniels Steak. They also made personal pizzas but they were also nouveau. They had one with apples and blue cheese that was great, but they didn't offer plain pizzas. The closest thing they had was a tomato pie.

It was not originally geared to families. There wasn't a children's menu. In fact, I don't think we had boosters or a high chair when we opened. We did eventually get a few and threw together a child's menu like sides of pasta or plain pizza's

Today, this place would have rocked. There are all those new places in the Diamond Beach area and this place would have had a captive audience. It was the right idea, but about 8 years too soon.

The old Enrico's had that nightclub on the side (I think it was called "The Flamingo Room"). They had plans to turn that into club and a catering hall for weddings, but that never happened.

[Al Alven]

I had never heard of this place, so thanks for the info, skua.

Sounds like it truly was just a bit ahead of its time. Right idea, right place, unfortunate timing, maybe.

I'll have to ask about Scoundrel's on my next visit to the Boyer Museum, and see if they can dig up a photo or two.

[MMM]

I remember the name, but I can't say I remember it being in Enrico's...

Do you remember Monzo's, across the street from Enrico's, skua? It's Marie Nicole's now...

[FlyinGN]

I remember scroundrels.. Never ate there but remember it being in Enricos

[skuakid]

mmm said:

I remember the name, but I can't say I remember it being in Enrico's...

Do you remember Monzo's, across the street from Enrico's, skua? It's Marie Nicole's now...

Yep! It was right across the street from us. We used to watch the people waiting outside to get in and hoped they would walk across the street. That worked on rainy nights, so we did alot of rain dances.

I knew a few people that worked their, and they made some nice money.

[MMM]

I wonderhow many people knew that something other than Enrico's was there, and open for business, when Scoundrels existed?

[skuakid]

Those were lean years at the shore. Things were not as hopping as they were in the mid-80's. Motels that never had a vacancy seemed to always have at least one room to rent.

It was hard to miss. Anyone that travelled to or from Cape May via Pacific Ave would have passed it. There was a huge sign that hung in the front that said Scoundrels. The logo was the face of a fox with a big smile on his face.

One of the internal problems were the owners had never owned a restaurant before and hired a bunch of "consultants" to help get things running. There was a lot of expensive, bad advice given to those two guys.

This was the Summer of 1989, and the start of a slow down in the Wildwoods. Not having a established customer base certainly hurt them and any other restaurant that opened during this time.

[Robert]

Yep, the Summer of 89 was a bad one for WW with Hunt's Pier being torn apart and the recession coming on and more. And what are you describing about with the restaurants, "At the time, their menu was very unique to the Wildwoods. Today, there are different restaurants like Beach Creek, The Blue Olive and Juan Pablos, but in 1992, you were either Italian or Steak & Seafood. All the different restaurants were in Cape May." "Today, this place would have rocked. There are all those new places in the Diamond Beach area and this place would have had a captive audience. It was the right idea, but about 8 years too soon." And what do you mean by "It was not originally geared to families. There wasn't a children's menu. In fact, I don't think we had boosters or a high chair when we opened. We did eventually get a few and threw together a child's menu like sides of pasta or plain pizza's" If it wasn't geared to families, what was it? And by different restaurants do you mean now there's more gourmet, fine dining, upscale, french style, whatever you want to call it type places? You know, where all the entrees have some weird sauce or wine on them with parsley or weird mushrooms? Back in the old days (80's) it was all Italian, pizza, seafood or steak places but it changed because the clientele and the world changed?

[skuakid]

robert said:

Yep, the Summer of 89 was a bad one for WW with Hunt's Pier being torn apart and the recession coming on and more. And what are you describing about with the restaurants, "At the time, their menu was very unique to the Wildwoods. Today, there are different restaurants like Beach Creek, The Blue Olive and Juan Pablos, but in 1992, you were either Italian or Steak & Seafood. All the different restaurants were in Cape May." "Today, this place would have rocked. There are all those new places in the Diamond Beach area and this place would have had a captive audience. It was the right idea, but about 8 years too soon." And what do you mean by "It was not originally geared to families. There wasn't a children's menu. In fact, I don't think we had boosters or a high chair when we opened. We did eventually get a few and threw together a child's menu like sides of pasta or plain pizza's" If it wasn't geared to families, what was it? And by different restaurants do you mean now there's more gourmet, fine dining, upscale, french style, whatever you want to call it type places? You know, where all the entrees have some weird sauce or wine on them with parsley or weird mushrooms? Back in the old days (80's) it was all Italian, pizza, seafood or steak places but it changed because the clientele and the world changed?

I'm not sure what you are asking, but I'll try to answer as best I can.

RE the restaurants:
This was a unique restaurant in WW in 1989. Every other place was either Italian or Steak\Seafood. No one in WW was serving Blueberry Duck or Jack Daniels Steak, but you could find dishes like this outside of WW.

RE families:
They did not market this restaurant to families. They didn't have a children's menu or booster seats\high chairs. They were trying to attract an adult audience to dine there and then stay for drinks and dancing. When that didn't work and families were walking out after learning there was nothing for kids, they bought some booster and high chairs and modified their menu to add kid-friendly foods.

RE rest. styles:
There are more types of restaurants to choose in the WW. In the last few years, you have seen people who had upscale places in Stone Harbor and Cape May open restaurants in the WW.

My point was this place would have made a killing if it opened today.

[skuakid]

darkrideguy said:

I ate at Scoundrels restaurant once with my parents and I had the Lobster stuffed black ravioli dyed black from sqiud ink. It was a nice place. Robert this is a message from the collective board. Take a bus down with your brother and see Wildwood this summer. Who knows it my break off from the rest of New Jersey and float away.

or is Robert stuck in the past. It's as if he hasn't been outside in 8-10 years.

[Robert]

Are the new restaurants "pricey, frenchy, upscale, wine, tablecloths, exotic foods and ingredients, gourmet chefs" the result of the changing climate in the WW's versus the 80's? Back then it was all Italian/Steak/Seafood. Now, it's Roast Duck with some sauce, or some dish with wine sauce. Is it because people in the WWs are willing to try new things? And the clientele is more "uppity"? (Except for the party animals that throw beer bottles)

[Crippled_Visions]

robert said:

Are the new restaurants "pricey, frenchy, upscale, wine, tablecloths, exotic foods and ingredients, gourmet chefs" the result of the changing climate in the WW's versus the 80's? Back then it was all Italian/Steak/Seafood. Now, it's Roast Duck with some sauce, or some dish with wine sauce. Is it because people in the WWs are willing to try new things? And the clientele is more "uppity"? (Except for the party animals that throw beer bottles)

Robert, you forgot to ask, "What's better, Pirates of Wildwood or Jersey Junkyard?"

[crazyaboutwildwood]

robert said:

Are the new restaurants "pricey, frenchy, upscale, wine, tablecloths, exotic foods and ingredients, gourmet chefs" the result of the changing climate in the WW's versus the 80's? Back then it was all Italian/Steak/Seafood. Now, it's Roast Duck with some sauce, or some dish with wine sauce. Is it because people in the WWs are willing to try new things? And the clientele is more "uppity"? (Except for the party animals that throw beer bottles)

There are a few places trying the upscale thing but other then that nothing has changed with the food. Most places are very good and average priced. Come down for a week robert you will have a great time1 I got to try out den of the lost thieves this time around robert. It was a fun darkride and you got to shoot at the targets and win prizes just like playing a game on the boards!

[Robert]

I was on Den of Lost Thieves. I was on all the dark rides that were open at the time except Dr. Blood's. It seemed some of the restaurants that were average priced, family-oriented lost to the condo boom, Captain's Table, the one by the Satellite, Surfside, Duff's. but the newer higher-priced gourmet ones are moving in. In my area there were a lot of new restaurants that opened within the last 12 years, most of them high-priced chains (TGI Friday's, Bennigan's, more Applebee's) and some went upscale such as an old bar called Trinkles behind Dorney Park in Cetronia turned into the Grille a few years ago we went in it once with my deceased grandmother and the prices were rediculous. These places are charging $25.00 dinners. I think the Lehigh Valley is changing, too, there's lots of new construction everywhere, the roads are all changing around where I live, right now there's lots of road closed and detours. The home prices in my area have risen since 9-11, all of a sudden my area is a "hot" place to live. It's not just WW, they're building everywhere from PA to NY to the ends of the earth.

[wildre]

Since when are TGI Friday's, Bennigan's + Applebee's high priced?