F TAY-SACHS
R F R E E E E
H eadlines
Shore Continued from Page 1
part, things are back to normal
— or at least, a new normal.

“Here at the shore, it’s
full steam ahead,” said Jacki
Menaker, cantor and Reform
spiritual leader at Shirat Hayam
Synagogue in Ventnor.

She said the synagogue has
received calls recently from
those visiting for a few weeks or
for the summer, asking if they
are able to attend services.

“The door’s wide open,”
Menaker said.

The Milton & Betty Katz
Jewish Community Center in
Margate began its Camp By the
Sea program near full capacity
on June 21, its fitness center is
open at 100% capacity and they
are partnering with Star Fitclub
to rebuild programming oppor-
tunities, according to Genia
Bittner, Katz JCC director of
marketing and special events.

For restaurants at the shore,
dining is beginning to look
similar to how it has in summers
before 2020.

“Older women who are in
card groups get together, and
they can finally sit down and
eat a sandwich with each other
without worrying about getting
sick,” said Buddy Della Fave,
owner of Margate hangout spot
Downbeach Deli.

At Jewish-owned Water
Dog Smokehouse in Ventnor,
General Manager John Connor
explained that customers can
finally step into the restaurant
and, due to its open-kitchen
concept, see how their food is
being prepared.

The optimism and feeling
of possibility this summer
brings are in stark contrast to
last summer, which Connor
described as, at times,
“apocalyptic.” “I didn’t see that joyfulness
in people’s eyes when they were
coming in,” Della Fave said. “A
lot of people were scared. And
they were just coming in, getting
their food and then running
out.” But COVID-related fears
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Buddy Della Fave (left) and Jessie Della Fave, prepare to make a delivery
from Downbeach Deli in Margate to a local hospital
To make due, Water Dog
hired less qualified workers,
hoping to train them on the job.

They offered $500 incentives to
new employees after 90 days of
employment, and $250 to staffers
who successfully recruited a
new employee.

Though restrictions have
loosened, some vestiges of
pandemic-safety measures
remain: Hand sanitizer stations
still stand at Downbeach Deli,
along with a plethora of outside
seating options. Campers
at Camp By The Sea were
instructed to stay within their
own group this year, and there
are fewer activities with other
groups of campers.

They are reminders that
things are better than they
were a year ago, but not quite
the same.

While difficulties and
reminders from a year-and-a-
half of a pandemic linger, so, too,
do lessons learned.

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“We’ll never, ever forget the
importance of the interpersonal
connection, and the presence
that we feel when we are physi-
cally together,” Menaker said.

“And that is a very deep learning,
I believe.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com |
215-832-0741 Courtesy of Jessie Della Fave
weren’t just felt by visitors.

Those working at the shore had
concerns about what COVID
would mean for their businesses.

“Our staff was certainly
nervous about how long things
would remain closed,” Bittner
said. “We rely heavily on our
membership and our programs
and services that we provide to be
able to service the community.”
When vaccines became
widely available, people were
receptive. According to Connor,
people saw the vaccine as “a
badge of honor that they’re
doing their part in helping
reopen society.”
With many people vacci-
nated, Della Fave said he could
sense the return of normalcy.

But that doesn’t mean businesses
are now without challenges, and
labor shortages are common in
the food service industry.

“It has been very hard right
now, down the shore, to find
help,” Della Fave said.

Many restaurants, including
Water Dog, were used to accom-
modating high volumes of
takeout orders and were able
to quickly adapt to becoming
takeout-only. However, exclusively offering
takeout requires a lot from staff:
many more orders, and less time
to fulfill those orders, compared
to the more reasonable pace of
dining in.

Della Fave relied on the help
of family members and students
at Atlantic City High School
when he was in a pinch last year,
and some of the same students
are returning this summer —
students, he said, weren’t as
afraid to work as older employees
were during the pandemic.

For Connor, finding staff for
Water Dog is still an issue. Some
workers needed to stay home
to accommodate children being
homeschooled, while others
didn’t want to return to work at
all. And because of the booming
real estate market, construction
jobs were in abundance, and
some cooks left the restaurant
industry for construction jobs.

Some stayed home and found
that unemployment checks were
a steadier source of income than
a job outside the home.

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JUNE 24, 2021
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