Ocean City Beach Now Free Of Frenchy's Umbrellas, Chairs

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The public outcry has been heard: You no longer have to get fries with that at Ninth Street beach.

After nearby eatery Frenchy's supersized its beach presence with umbrellas and beach chairs, Mayor Jay Gillian announced Monday they have been removed.

Earlier this summer, boardwalk restaurant Frenchy's took up a good portion of the beach with several chairs and umbrellas in front of their business. The umbrellas were ketchup-red and fry-yellow, like much of the eatery's exterior.

They also featured the Frenchy's Mascot — a thick, smiling French fry with sunglasses, a mustache and a red beret emerging from a bucket of fries.

But unlike the mascot, many Ocean City beachgoers didn't welcome the beach setup with open arms. Gillian announced in June 21 he received many inquiries about the Frenchy's occupation and hoped to reach a compromise.

Adventure Golf South LLP, the vendor operating Frenchy's, agreed to lease the services to another company: Swift Beach Services. Frenchy's announced the transaction Sunday night.

The lease includes terms that prevent the new vendor from setting up chairs and umbrellas on the beach before they're rented.

Frenchy's had expanded into the beach rental business, offering to deliver food to your chair, according to 6 ABC. The business set up the chairs and umbrellas around Memorial Day weekend.

"I want to thank the owners of both companies for agreeing to these terms at the request of the city, and I want everybody to know that the city will do whatever it takes to preserve public access to the beach on behalf of every resident, guest and business in town," Gillian said in a statement Monday.

Adventure Golf LLC previously defended the setup by asserting riparian rights contained in its deed, according to The Inquirer. Those rights were defended Sunday on the Frenchy's Facebook announcement.

"As currently positioned, Adventure Golf continues, at least for the time being, to take minimal advantage of the rights granted to them as a property owner in a deed that was negotiated decades ago," the announcement said.

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