Nut Hut Gone?

[MrBoardwalk]

[glow=red,2,300]Good News - The Vegas Diner is open
Bad News - The Nut Hut was gutted and the façade is gone and is being replaced with what looks like a T-shirt shop. Since I ride buy the place at least three times a day, I’ll keep everyone posted.[/glow]

[glow=purple,2,300]AC[/glow]

[crazyaboutwildwood]

That pisses me off!!! That is like a landmark in wildwood!!!! Thats all we need is another stinkin t shirt shop!!!! What are these people thinking? Can you post a picture- before and now?

[FlyinGN]

crap!! That was a classic boardwalk shop too!

At least the Vegas is alive and well. Great diner..

Frank

[crazyaboutwildwood]

Just found a picture of it in the wildwood by the sea book page 195, and page 78 says that the nut hut was established in 1970.

[DEVIL]

That is crap. The Nut Hut ruled. Great signage. What a loss.

[crazyaboutwildwood]

YOu got that right. What the hell are these people thinking? Im so sick of all those retarded t shirt shops!!!! Not to mention they are a stinkin rip off!!!!

[Al Alven]

This is a brutal loss.

The Nut Hut was a terrific landmark... I loved walking by there at night, during mid-summer when the Boardwalk is really hummin'.

The lights, the zany design, it all just fed into the crazy atmosphere of the whole scene.

I'll miss it.

[MrBoardwalk]

[glow=purple,2,300]I had my suspicions confirmed today about the Nut Hut. It is gone and being replaced buy a T-shirt shop.[/glow]

[Al Alven]

T-shirt shops and condominiums.

Probably not two of the more popular institutions on this particular message board, no?

[crazyaboutwildwood]

I cant wait to see the t shirt sign! It will be black spray paint and white painted plywood!! Im so pissed off! It will be painted across 50% off all t shirts! Somebody better do somthing about the boardwalk! I dont want too see it get any worse!!

[FlyinGN]

how many tee shirts can they sell? I never see but a few people in any of em and now they are building more??! Talk about a saturated market..

[Robert]

Nothing is sacred anymore, it matters not to developers or indifferent owners that something is unique. The Nut Hut, the Hunt's Pier Whacky Shack, etc. all had that "zany, wacky" look to them. I can't say the same for Escape from Dinosaur Beach, that looked like a big warehouse and whatever replaces Nut Hut will probably look plain and stupid.

[Al Alven]

Honestly, how many of us patronized the Nut Hut regularly?

I used to stop in 2-3 times per year, but I have to admit, I don't remember setting foot in the place last season.

The t-shirt market appears to be ultra-saturated, as Frank pointed out, but, then again, these stores just keep on popping up... so, they must do a great business.

Perhaps, as much as we all would hate to admit it, the Nut Hut's time simply came and went. It's a grim reality, but if the current owners were ready to sell and no one wanted to step up to the plate and pick up the pieces, I can't blame a guy looking to kickstart his business for revamping the place, really.

Again, though, who's to say that this new store is going to be a "generic" t-shirt shop, necessarily. New, funky
clothing stores like The Rock and Oxygen have popped up recently, and are anything but run-of-the-mill. They are geared toward the younger crowd, yes, but that's what Wildwood has always been about anyway.

So, perhaps the Nut Hut's demise will make way for a new establishment that we will all grow to enjoy. We have to wait and see on this one. It stinks that another old classic has gone away, but I think the writing was on the wall for a while in this regard (the store's facade was steadily deteriorating over the past few years, and the place just wasn't what it used to be inside).

[Al Alven]

Robert said:

Nothing is sacred anymore, it matters not to developers or indifferent owners that something is unique. The Nut Hut, the Hunt's Pier Whacky Shack, etc. all had that "zany, wacky" look to them. I can't say the same for Escape from Dinosaur Beach, that looked like a big warehouse and whatever replaces Nut Hut will probably look plain and stupid.

Robert, nothing is sacred in the Wildwoods today, and nothing has ever been sacred in the past.

That's why all the great, stately old hotels were demolished in the 40s, 50s and 60s to make way for our beloved Doo Wop motels.

That's why old favorites like the Jack Rabbit Roller Coaster and the Jumbo Jet were ulimately discarded.

That's why, sadly, so much of the Wildwoods' glorious past has been ripped away this offseason.

It is, unfortunately, the nature of a resort community such as the Wildwoods to consistently re-invent itself. It is, as you pointed out earlier, the rapid and massive occurence of these events this offseason, that has left us all in a state of shock.

It's a great point. The Wildwoods have to be concerned that this is too much, too soon. We have all become accustomed to great institutions coming and going on the island. But, usually, it's a thing here, a place there. There has never been this much alterning performed to the very landscape of the island over such a short period of time.

The problem is, we can't adjust. It's hard to "honor" the Satellite Motel when 20 other Doo Wop structures within blocks of it are torn down just weeks later. There needs to be a moratorium placed on demolition/new construction soon. Or, in the very least, some kind of noteworthy limitations.

Give us a chance to catch our breathes, at least.

The gutting of the Nut Hut would be easier to take if not for all of the other great institutions we have lost this winter. A little at a time is OK; it is simply a fact of life that businesses come and go.

But, too much, too soon, and that's when a resort can really start to lose its identity, and its connection with its faithful visitors.

[FlyinGN]

good points Al. I honestly only remember once buying anything at the nut hut. Im not really into nuts that much:)

Frank