September 28, 2005
Boardwalk faces an end of an era
By THOMAS S. BROWN
Business Writer
DAYTONA BEACH — While lawyers continue to argue about the future of the Boardwalk, some of its merchants already have shuttered their businesses, leaving the longtime amusement area half deserted.
The survivors, however, insist they'll remain for years to come, no matter how many posh time share towers pop up in their back yards.
The latest to leave is Steve Petras, who tossed his last dough at Pizza King earlier this week.
"I'm voluntarily closing," Petras said. "I've been on the boardwalk 47 years -- I'm the oldest one there. Why shouldn't I retire?"
The building housing his restaurant at 39 Boardwalk already is owned by Boardwalk Convention Hotel Partners Ltd., which public records show paid $525,000 for it.
The Los Angeles partnership wants to fold the land on which the strip's aging game rooms and stores sit into a redevelopment project that would stretch from the ocean to Atlantic Avenue. The heart of the $115 million project, dubbed Boardwalk at Daytona, would be two 25-story towers containing a total of 500 hotel rooms and time share units. They would be built on a lot just west of the Boardwalk and south of the Hilton Oceanfront Resort.
The partnership, headed by William Geary of Carlsberg Management Co. in Los Angeles, wants to replace the middle and northern portions of the Boardwalk with new retail space to complement the proposed towers. However, the project has been stalled more than a year by a court fight over the city's attempt to exercise its power of eminent domain to help the developer.
Last month, Circuit Judge John Watson ruled the city could proceed with a seizure of three holdout property owners on the Boardwalk, but they appealed Watson's order last week.
Scott Chichon, a lawyer representing the city, said the appeal may be just a stratagem to prod the city to raise its compensation offer, but he conceded it may further slow the project.
Geary, reached by telephone at his Los Angeles office, said Monday he had been hoping to start construction in early 2006. "Now it looks like it will be the latter part of '06," he said.
Captain Darrell's Oyster Bar and Restaurant, one of the holdouts, has been closed for some time, nearby arcade operators said. Members of the Darrell Hunter family, which operated the eatery, could not be reached for comment.
Other businesses sitting idle in the middle portion of the strip include the Midway Fun Center and Perky's Pizza, a bungee sling and a go-cart concession.
Geary said he hopes to clear away the ride equipment within a few weeks. "We're gradually closing the businesses one by one," he said.
Last Friday noon, a couple from Great Britain sipped beer with four other visitors at outdoor tables in front of the Mardi Gras arcade. Other portions of the Boardwalk were nearly empty.
"It's very nice here, but it's a bit quiet. When do the tourists come out?" asked Michael Stasiak of Reading, England. "I thought there would be a lot more kids skateboarding about."
His companion reminded him that signs forbid skateboards and bicycles on the walkway.
Some Boardwalk stalwarts insist there's still plenty of action to draw tourists.
"We're not closing and many other businesses will be open throughout the construction," said Lisa Psaros, owner of Lisa's Gifts, 41 Boardwalk.
Psaros said neither her business nor the adjoining Joyland arcade at the north end of the strip have been given eviction notices by the developer. When the wrecking ball does come, she said, Geary's group is supposed to give them other space for their operations.
Others that plan to stay open, Psaros said, are Mardi Gras, Michael's Beachwear and Graziano's Pizza. "We're going to be here for eternity," she said.
Mardi Gras, in fact, recently brightened the south end of the Boardwalk by hanging three giant jester heads above its entrance.
"We had to replace both the front and back walls because of hurricane damage," said John McCullough, day manager at the arcade.
Around the corner on Main Street, Xeno's Candy and Phillip's T-shirts also plan to stick it out, Psaros said.
Geary confirmed his group will leave Main Street businesses intact. However, the Beach Beauty Club, a topless bar that leased a building his partnership owns at 1002 Main St., has closed. "That building undoubtedly will be torn down," he said.
At the Daytona Beach Pier, jutting off the east end of Main Street, an extensive restoration project is due to begin in January, said Bill Chaffin, who manages it for pier operator Gerald Fincke. That project, originally scheduled to start this year, involves widening the ramp leading to the pier, doing restoration work on the pier restaurant, and adding an extension to house a Ferris wheel and other rides.
A STROLL THROUGH TIME
1938: The Daytona Beach Boardwalk, Bandshell and Coquina Tower were completed. All projects were done through the Works Progress Administration, a program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The program helped people get back to work after the Great Depression.
1939: Joyland Amusements built. It was the first of the current buildings housing Boardwalk businesses.
1989: Marriott was completed and welcomed its first customers. In the same year, an amusement park is disassembled after property is leased to developers of Sheraton.
1995: Marriott was bought out by Adam's Mark chain.
2000: City Commissioners asked redevelopers to spruce up eight beach front blocks, including the Boardwalk. They describe area as being "blighted."
Compiled by News Researcher Tom Rabeno. SOURCE: Historic Daytona Beach, History of Volusia County Florida, News-Journal archives
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