Ní bhíonn in aon rud ach seal

Ní bhíonn in aon rud ach seal  Gaelic for Nothing is Permanent.

Kathleen Strebb Sweeney walked out of the Shore Casino at the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Harbor for the last time Saturday, exhibiting the same grace, generosity and thoughtfulness for others which has been her trademark for more than half a century.

Although pained, grieving yet another major loss in five years, she was not thinking of losing the business she and her husband built together. Instead, she was calling in church representatives, firemen, police and food pantries to give them whatever they could use from the restaurant that has been a tradition and a part of so many family’s celebrations and funeral repasts, as well as proms, meetings, PBA balls and fund-raising events for numerous causes.

But for Kathleen, the ever-smiling Irish octogenarian with her fashionable dress and perfectly coifed hair with a smile and kind word for all, this year has just been too much. And when she failed to meet her rental obligations with the Yacht Harbor this year, they, too, had no choice.

So the Shore Casino lease has been terminated, Kathleen has handed over the keys, and the Shore Casino is a large chapter in the memory book of tens of thousands of people far and wide.

Harbormaster Lou Fligor, whose duty it was to approach Kathleen as she said her final farewells to everything from the shell covered lights over the Galleon Room Bar to the Shore Casino sign on the front of the podium, was kind and gentle as he put his arm around her shoulder and said, “It’s time, Kathleen.” She handed over the keys and the rest is history.

It’s been a difficult five years for the feisty Irishwoman. When Covid hit, and the state ordered restaurants to close, masks be worn and distances be kept, the Sweeney’s had to shut the doors and turn down numerous wedding reception requests and anniversary celebrations among other events.

Still they paid their multi-thousand dollar rent to the Harbor Commission every month, dipping into the corporation’s reserves, as well as personal savings to meet the amount that did not get reduced, even though they could not open for large parties.

The following year, Kathleen’s husband, Bernie, who had been the primary business manager of the couple’s business ,grew ill, his situation got worse, and he died. That was three years ago. Then Kathleen’s son, Jay, who had worked so long with Bernie, took over and managed the business, struggling to bring it back to the crowds lost through Covid regulations. But he had heart problems and died. That was two years ago.

Loving her work, loving meeting the people, loving sitting at the bar at big events just watching the happy crowd, Kathleen began running the business on her own. But times had changed as well.

The Harbor Commission had taken some parking places away for winter storage of boats in the harbor; other businesses in the harbor were growing or thriving and parking was getting more difficult to find for some events at the Casino; after all, a catering facility that can accommodate some 800 people does need to provide parking for them. Tastes were changing and there were those who did not favor the glitter, the gold, the elegance that were Shore Casino trademarks.

So, as much as she loved the business, Kathleen, celebrating another birthday in her 80s, decided it was time to retire and plan a trip back to Ireland to visit family. and friends. So she put the Casino on the market.

Ah, there were prospective buyers. Lots of them. They came from all over, some highly experienced, some new at ownership but renowned at serving as chefs for others.

But in the end, that didn’t work either …There were different reasons, most of them asking where could all these people park if they had an event for 500 people? Winters there were boats in the parking lot, right next to cars. Fortunate for the borough, but not so much for Kathleen. 

Some prospective purchasers didn’t like the idea of paying six or seven figures for the lease of a building that the Harbor Commission, not the lessee, owned. Kathleen did not want to come down too low in price for a building they had built more than 50 years ago when the Sweeney’s first came to look at the hotdog stand that was there. They saw the site as a possible restaurant to complement their Casino in the Park in Jersey City. Some restaurateurs said they definitely wanted to purchase the lease; but somehow, the deposits never came through with the offer.

The list goes on, time went on, and after five months of fewer events, increasing costs, mistakes she herself made because of her generosity to struggling young cooks, the Harbor Commission advised their customer she must pay the five months rent or they would discontinue the lease.

The Commission did not take this step without a lot of consideration.

There were executive sessions of the harbor that contained lease discussions. But how they went or what was discussed unknown since executive sessions are not open to the public. There were discussions between Kathleen and Fligor, also conversations between her and one or two commissioners, all wanting to come to an agreement that the Shore Casino all loved, and have person memories of as well, could survive.

But that was not to be. After other discussions, more legal tactics, and an appearance in  Superior Court in Freehold last week, Superior Court Judge David Nitti in Landlord Tenant Court told Kathleen’s attorney, John Marinan, she had to be out by midnight Friday, August 8 if the full amount owed was not paid by then.

When that did not happen, the Harbor Commission, when requested by friends, agreed to a Saturday closing, first at 4 p.m., but then modified to noon, then upped to 1 p.m.

Recognizing this was indeed the demise of the Shore Casino, Katheen’s first thoughts were not about herself or what she was losing. They were about the poor, the church, food pantries, firemen, police, anyone who was in need.

So friends gathered, the Knights of Columbus of Our Lady of Perpetual Help St Agnes parish came, armed with muscle, energy and a truck. Trish and Dan Curtin who run the Food Pantry at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church a couple of days a week and provide food at Ptak Towers in Highlands refused to take anything without payment for it, even though Kathleen insisted. They finally convinced her it would help the pantry if they could have some things and they really wanted to give her something for it. She agreed, and Curtin plunked down a four-figure check and insisted she take it.

John Flynn, an energetic and hardworking volunteer for so many causes, not only gathered Knights who could meet the last-minute call but also stayed long hours and also helped with the firm another friend had managed to contact to purchase some things.

In the end, when Fligor came to announce the Casino had to be closed, Kathleen shed a few tears over lost of a legacy but could smile and hold her head high as she walked out the door, amid the cheers of so many she had helped.

People who saw her on Saturday, people who benefited for all the food, materials, furnishings silver and crockery and those who simply passed taking pictures of the furnishings out on the side of the Shore Casino all got a lesson in generosity and kindness to others,

Kathleen Strebb Sweeny may have lost a restaurant, but she can hold her head up high knowing that even in her most difficult time, she’s still that feisty Irish lady who thinks of every one else more than herself.

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