By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Steve Caggiano recalled with a laugh how he would sneak into the LaCosta Lounge when he was a teenager in the 1970s.
“We have been coming here since I was 16,” he said. “In those days, 18 was the legal drinking age. If you looked anywhere near 18 and you didn’t shave, you could get in.”
Caggiano, now 62, shared some of his early memories of LaCosta while he and his wife, Margaret, 60, sipped on two beers over the weekend. It was expected to be their last visit at the landmark Sea Isle City bar before it closed for good on Sunday after nearly 50 years in business.
The Caggianos, longtime Sea Isle residents, believe the LaCosta had become outdated and want to see a new attraction take its place at the high-profile corner of Landis Avenue and John F. Kennedy Boulevard. They are expected to get their wish.
“We would like a nice place,” Margaret Caggiano said.
The LaCosta site will be redeveloped for an upscale hotel, banquet hall, restaurant and bar complex known as The Ludlam, according to plans by an investment group that bought the property in 2018 for $7.3 million.
Developers Christopher Glancey and Bob Morris, who made their mark in Sea Isle with retail, restaurant and residential projects in the Townsends Inlet section, previously announced plans to demolish the LaCosta to make room for The Ludlam.
Glancey, who could not be reached for comment this weekend, previously said the all-suite hotel represents a new wave of development catering to the beach town’s higher-end tourism market.
The four-story project received approval from Sea Isle’s zoning board in February. When they bought the LaCosta Lounge, Glancey and Morris also acquired the Coast Motel, Casino Pizzeria and parking lot that are part of the entire 1.25-acre site. Those buildings will also be torn down to create space for The Ludlam, according to plans.
The Ludlam would dramatically transform one of the most prominent locations in Sea Isle, creating a new anchor for the gateway to the downtown business district.
The same site is where some of Sea Isle’s most historic and iconic businesses once stood, including the former Bellevue Hotel and Cronecker’s Hotel & Restaurant. Cronecker’s was demolished to build the LaCosta.
A fixture in Sea Isle since 1972, LaCosta Lounge established a reputation as one of the best-known bars at the Jersey Shore. The old-school nightclub hosted multiple generations of party-goers in the past 48 years.
James Bennett, LaCosta’s owner, could not be reached for comment. Bennett’s lease to operate LaCosta was scheduled to expire this month, Glancey said in an earlier interview.
LaCosta posted a farewell message to its customers on its Facebook page, recalling the many parties, reunions, birthdays and engagements that were held at the bar over the years as well as its lineup of live entertainers. One of LaCosta’s headliners was Jerry Blavat, the legendary Philadelphia disc jockey known as the “Geator with the Heater.”
“It’s last call after all,” the Facebook post said. “LaCosta opened its doors in 1972 and we have had so many good times. Thank you to everyone who has walked through our doors over the last 48 years!”
The post concluded with the words, “Now it’s time to say goodbye.”
Handwritten signs that said “Say It Ain’t So” and “That’s All Folks” hung on the walls of LaCosta’s outdoor bar, serving as reminders that this was the last weekend. Another sign said “Thanks for the Memories.”
Two of LaCosta’s loyal customers, sisters Erin Turturicci, 42, and Megan Carlin, 39, both of Springfield, Pa., expressed their sadness that the bar was closing. It was one of their favorite hangouts during their summer vacations in Sea Isle.
“I was just thinking whether it would be my last time walking through here,” Turturicci said in an interview Saturday. “We had so many wonderful times singing and dancing here. We enjoyed the atmosphere.”
Turturicci noted that she held her bachelorette party at the LaCosta 12 years ago. In one final memory, Turturicci and Carlin posed for photos in front of a large LaCosta sign. They both wore commemorative LaCosta T-shirts.
Carlin said her family members from Springfield, Pa., and Florida particularly enjoyed the “Sunday Funday” parties at LaCosta.
“My cousins and I would come here for Sunday Funday. They would come up from Florida for a week in Sea Isle and this was definitely their stop. But that won’t happen anymore,” Carlin said wistfully of LaCosta’s closing.
