Dock Mike's Pancake House is one of Sea Isle City's favorite restaurants.
The transformation of Sea Isle City’s downtown business district will continue with the development of two proposed mixed-use projects along the Landis Avenue retail and restaurant corridor.
Dock Mike’s Pancake House at 4615 Landis Ave. and Atilis Gym two blocks away at 4411 Landis Ave. are both planning to demolish the existing buildings to make room for projects that will combine commercial space and condominiums.
In recent years, there has been a trend in Sea Isle for mixed-use developments that include commercial space such as retail shops or restaurants on the first floor with condos or apartments on the top two floors. Landis Avenue has been the hotspot for new development.
In 2008, Sea Isle approved a zoning change that allows developers to build commercial properties that also include residential space. The idea behind the zoning change was to encourage businesses to stay put in town, rather than seeing them disappear to make room for even more housing.
Atilis Gym and Dock Mike’s Pancake House will be the latest projects to feature the mixed-use model.
Atilis Gym, which is owned by the Lambert family, won approval from the Sea Isle Planning Board on Tuesday night for its project.
Dock Mike’s Pancake House was originally listed on Tuesday’s agenda, but asked that its project be carried over to the December meeting following the death of its architect.
According to Planning Board documents, Atilis will replace the existing building with a three-story project that will include a new gym on the ground level and four, three-bedroom residential units on the top floors.
A new gym and four residential units will replace the existing Atilis Gym building.Meanwhile, Dock Mike’s Pancake House, owned by husband and wife Michael and Maria Tramutolo will be redeveloped into a three-story project including a new Dock Mike’s on the ground floor and four luxury condos on top featuring ocean views.
Michael Tramutolo said he must hire a new architect now to represent him at the Planning Board following the death of his architect, David Zacker, in September.
Assuming the project is granted planning approval in December, he hopes to begin construction after the summer of 2025 and finish it in time for the summer of 2026, Tramutolo said.
Tramutolo and his wife have owned Dock Mike’s in Sea Isle since 1992. They have also owned the Dock Mike’s Pancake House in West Cape May since 1988.
In an interview Wednesday, Michael Tramutolo described the existing Dock Mike’s Pancake House building in Sea Isle as looking “a little tired.”
“It needs a little freshening up,” he said.
Instead of spending money to renovate the building, Tramutolo said it makes much better sense from a financial standpoint to develop an entirely new building that is compatible with the zoning regulations for that area and will be a new attraction for the downtown business district.
“It’s going to be a beautiful project in a great location with ocean views,” he said. “I think it’s going to brighten up the corner.”
Dock Mike's Pancake House is owned by the Tramutolo family.The existing building housed two other restaurants when Tramutolo bought the place in 1992 and turned it into Dock Mike’s. The pancake house remains one of Sea Isle’s favorite restaurants all these years later.
“It’s darn good food,” Tramutolo said.
He added that Dock Mike’s pays special attention to the quality of its food, the cleanliness of the restaurant and making it a fun experience for both the customers and employees.
The family-owned restaurant also includes Michael and Maria Tramutolo’s two children, Matthew and Paula. Michael credits his wife for being a key part of the restaurant’s success.
“My wife is excellent in what she does in helping to grow Dock Mike’s,” he said.
The name “Dock Mike’s” is an amalgamation of a number of things. It represents Tramutolo’s first name and the combination of the words “doc” and “dock.”
Tramutolo explained that he originally planned to become a doctor, like his late father, who was also named Michael. But the day he was accepted into medical school, he saw a newspaper ad for a dockside restaurant up for sale in Cape May.
He bought the restaurant to take his career in a new direction. In a nod to what he originally had planned to be, he took the word “doc” and added a “k” to denote the restaurant’s dockside location to create the first Dock Mike’s Pancake House.
