Sapore Wood Fired Pizza and Restaurant.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – The Board of Commissioners Thursday, May 13 accepted a $161,000 bid for the city’s third and final retail consumption license. The winning bid was $46,000 higher than the minimum bid amount.
Ocean Draft LLC submitted the higher of two bids received at the City Clerk’s Office on May 6. The second bidder, Ralph Pappas of RDP LLC submitted a bid of $131,069. The minimum bid amount was $115,000.
Ocean Draft principal Tony Hoda of Sapore Wood Fired Pizza and Restaurant at 6501 Ventnor Ave. said he and his partner Alban Mertkola purchased a 10,000-square-foot lot next door to Sapore in January and plan to turn it into an outdoor eating and drinking establishment. Hoda and Mertkola are also partners in two other restaurants – LaPadella Ristorante on Ventnor Avenue and Aroma on Atlantic Avenue in the North Beach area.
Hoda said the project team is working with an architect to create a new outdoor dining concept.
“It’s a huge project with a totally different look,” Hoda said. “It’s going to have fire pits, a glass-covered bar and a buffet area,” he said.
According to the bidding requirements, the licensee is required to show that they are an established business or have plans to open an establishment within two years.
The team at Sapore as they stand in front of the lot next to the restaurant that owner Tony Hoda and his partner Alban Mertkola recently purchased.
Hoda said the company will have to go before the Planning Board, but he hopes to have the approvals to build Ocean Draft by the end of the summer.
“We will open it next summer,” he said. “This summer is already here, and we want to do it right.”
Hoda was reluctant to show the architect’s rendering of the outdoor venue, stating that he wants people to use their imagination on what it will look like.
“It’s going to be one of the best places around. Those who have seen the project were left speechless,” he said.
The next step to obtain the license is to undergo a police background check. Once that is done, the board will be required to approve another resolution to issue the license.
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