Historic Deauville Inn transformed into a bayfront hotspot
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
STRATHMERE — The Deauville Inn has been serving food and drink to seafarers and landlubbers alike since the 1900s.
Located on the bay side of Ludlam Island — overlooking Strathmere Bay and just around the bend from Corson’s Inlet and the open Atlantic Ocean — the site of the future inn would have provided a safe anchorage for early explorers of the region, be they pirates or patriots.
The inn’s story began in 1881, when Irish immigrant James P. Carothers built what was originally known as the Whelen Hotel, back when Strathmere was still known as Corson’s Inlet. It was less than half the size of the current building and could cater to just 100 guests. The Pennsylvania Railroad made six stops there daily.
Now, 140 years later, Innkeeper Tim Fox and Robyn Kjar, the Lady of the Inn, are about to write their own chapter in the history book of what is now known as Strathmere by the Sea in Upper Township.
The couple purchased the property for $3.5 million in fall 2019 and have invested countless hours, dollars and a commitment to returning the inn to its glory days while “radically updating and modernizing” the amenities.
The property extends from Bay Avenue/Commonwealth Avenue to the water’s edge, ending at Willard Avenue, making the restaurant one of the first things seen when entering the island from the north. It offers a long bayfront beach popular with boaters and sunbathers from around the region.
That same location made it perfect for catering to whalers and traders in the 1890s, when the local fishing industry was flourishing. James Carothers’ son William G. Carothers eventually took over for his father and his daughter, Mary Carothers Jones (1902-70), would follow.
According to a brief history on the eatery’s menu, the inn was both famous and infamous. The Deauville was a popular place during the 1920 and ’30s. Many famous entertainers appeared at the inn, including Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker and Jimmie Durante. Guests could dine overlooking the bay and dance in the ballroom, then stay in one of the 22 rooms.
At the same time, the sheltered bay likely provided more than adequate cover for rum runners in the region and, during Prohibition, the Deauville was rumored to have a casino operating in one of its upper rooms. A newspaper reported in 1933 that two slot machines had been seized from the inn, the history states.
After a devastating fire in 1962, the building was neglected for about 18 years. In 1980, Walter Carpenter, who was a bartender at the inn in the 1950s, and his wife, Gloria, took on the task of resurrecting the building after buying the property. Their children Lynda and John Carpenter then became stewards of the inn for more than 40 years.
In late 2019, Dr. Tim Fox, a longtime resident of Strathmere and founder of Fox Rehabilitation, accepted an opportunity to buy the inn.
Updating and modernizing
Fox’s first year certainly was a monumental one — he assembled a team and quickly went to work renovating and rehabilitating all aspects of the property with an eye toward taking full advantage of its beachfront location and historic reputation and qualities.
The restaurant now has a fresh look inside and outside, offering five different distinct areas from which patrons can enjoy its new menu, enhanced service and fantastic sunsets daily.
During a recent interview, Michael Sullivan, vice president of marketing and events, detailed the changes that have taken place.
Sullivan, 45, said they quickly began renovating each different section of the facility — the Pub, Dining Room, Patio, Sand Bar and The Lawn.
“We started with the dining room as the primary project in sync with some changes that we made in the kitchen — some new equipment and so forth,” he said, adding that they moved onto the Pub in February 2020.
At the same time, they began renovating and rebuilding the patio, adding a 50-foot bar.
One of the more involved projects was the Sand Bar, which was upgraded from “a very small bar built into a house” to one of the property’s most popular features.
“It’s a five-station bar: four front-facing and one side-facing service bar,” Sullivan said, adding that changes in the kitchen were geared toward serving people on the upper deck looking at the sunset or on the beach.
Now customers — whether they walked, drove or floated there — can enjoy lunch, dinner or a few refreshing beverages with their toes in the sand. There now are 40 picnic tables with umbrellas (expected to expand to 65 or so at full capacity), Adirondack chairs and other seating spread across the strand.
“There’s lots of different types of seating all over the outside,” Sullivan said.
Other upgrades include the addition of landscaping, beautification of the exterior façade and a new entrance to the packaged goods store, which was extended and “made into really something upscale.”
Inside, the restaurant got new flooring, furnishings, fixtures and equipment — “there was blue carpet on the walls, some old, dated wood with mirrors, popcorn ceilings. It was very, very, very dated.”
But while everything has been upgraded and modernized, it is not modern in style. Sullivan said Fox wanted to retain the essence of the vintage component of the property through the use of subway tile in the bathrooms, old-style faucets and fixtures, dark woods, wainscoting and the like.
“There are these different design elements that we tried to maintain because you don’t want to take away from the property, you want to enhance it,” he said. “We really worked hard to stay on-brand, stay on point with historical elements of the property.”
Sullivan said an old Sinclair gas sign was left on the property from when fuel service was offered to boaters. The sign has been spruced up and now is part of the décor.
“We have all of these historical pieces that we have obtained as part of the property,” he said, noting one of the buildings is packed with historical documents, photos and other ephemera.
The restaurant also maintains its nautical décor through the use of fishing nets, harpoons and other gear mounted to the walls.
Along comes COVID
Getting off to a good start after investing multiple millions of dollars in a venture is important, especially in the risky business of food and beverage service.
“I made a really thoughtful investment in the Deauville and knew very well what I was getting into,” Fox said.
But Fox didn’t know at the time he bought the property that a deadly pandemic would begin sweeping the globe as he began preparations for his first summer season at the helm.
“It was disappointing but nonetheless I am grateful. I worked really hard in health care for 20 years and saved my pennies. Maybe I had to dig a little bit deeper into the reserves to keep it going but the Deauvville Inn is an icon, a super-special place, and it’s not going anywhere,” Fox said. “Being a resident of Strathmere for 25 years, I couldn’t let it go anywhere.”
With statewide restrictions on gatherings, stay-at-home orders and no indoor dining allowed, the situation appeared grim as spring sprung and then summer swung around.
So Fox and friends turned their attention to the outside. The Deauville was ideally situated to not only survive but to thrive during the new owners’ first pandemic-plagued summer. Sullivan said 60 percent of the property is outside.
“It was awesome for us June 15 to be able to really fully allow people on property,” he said, referring to the day when restaurants in the state were allowed to open with limited indoor capacity.
“As long as the day was overcast or sunny, it was busy. Rain’s always that deterrent factor when you don’t have the inside but now that we had the inside really opening up, we were running on all cylinders now,” executive chef TJ Ricciardi said.
Sullivan said they really ramped up offerings on the beach, explaining that the new kitchen design and expansion at the Sand Bar allowed for higher production.
“Having the exterior really helped. We’ve been fortunate where other people haven’t so we say ‘thanks’ very, very often,” Fox said, adding that they were able to maintain the staff and leadership team, even offering employees health benefits.
“I believe in people,” Fox said. “Do right, fear no man.”
Sullivan said the leadership team has taken the coronavirus threat seriously and turned safe dining into “kind of a branded element of the business that we have really pushed forward.”
In the dining room, plexiglass partitions in wood frames tastefully separate tables and can be moved to accommodate different-sized groups. They also create a sense of privacy without blocking the view or restricting movement, and possibly may stay even after the pandemic is a bad memory.
In addition, Sullivan said, “the staff has been trained and are aware of the different health department requirements and CDC standard through pre-shift meetings.”
Future plans for ‘resort’
Sullivan called the new Deauville Inn a hotel without the rooms, “really like a beach resort.”
He said the facility offers a little something for everyone in its multiple different sections.
“If somebody wants to watch a little sports, grab a sandwich, they can go to the Pub. The Dining Room offers a more elevated experience, with prime rib, a nice wine,” he said, noting it’s temperature-controlled for those sultry summer days.
“If you’re here with a large group, outside on the deck, you just brought up the boat, you can enjoy the Patio and look out over the water. Or the kids will be on the beach, people will drive up on their jet skis — the Sand Bar is an awesome opportunity for that.”
Sullivan said there is an elevated section between the main building and the Sand Bar called The Lawn — a grassy area that’s “an awesome place for a group of eight people to sit around as the sun sets and look out over the water, maybe grab a snack. It’s really like a resort.”
“Every inch of the property has a very specific intended use and you can come here six days in a row and experience a different element, seven if you have a wedding,” Sullivan continued.
He said the restaurant is now hosting special events such as weddings and other parties, with more than 65 events already planned for 2021.
Fox also bought the restaurant that used to be Uncle Bill’s Pancake House with plans to turn it into a breakfast house.
“We will be serving breakfast out of there starting this summer,” Ricciardi said, noting that it will offer a “very traditional family-forward setting.”
The chef said the breakfast house will be “that last element that we need here.”
“That would complete the resort,” Sullivan said. “Breakfast, lunch and dinner — it’s a multifaceted facility that really covers everything.”
Using setting to advantage
While the restaurant has been a beachfront favorite for more than a century, no previous owner really took advantage of its natural setting like Fox has done.
Not only has he expanded seating and food and beverage offerings outside, but he also is currently having part of the bay dredged to allow for larger boats. Afterward, all of the docks will be destroyed and replaced with a state-of-the-art system.
“It’s going to be really nice because literally that is our front door,” Sullivan said, noting a lot of people in the area like to travel to the restaurant by boat or personal watercraft.
The Deauville now offers food and beverage service to boats.
“Rather than going to the grocery store and filling up the cooler, pull up your boat, tie off and enjoy lunch out there,” Sullivan said.
All of these changes have given the property new life and turned it into a year-round destination.
“In my experience, someone experiences the Deauville and tells someone about it. That individual who comes next is expecting us to hit on that level and we will deliver based on our process and how we are in front, back and around. Then that next person that communicates that to another friend, they are looking for the experience that those two people had and the next ‘wow,’” Sullivan said. “We are always increasing and elevating the property to always exceed expectations. We have the team and the fire power to execute on such a higher level.”
To learn more, go to deauvilleinn.com.