The weather fell short this Memorial Day weekend, making things slow at the Jersey Shore, including Belmar.

 

Saturday began with a noisy thunderstorm. Sunday saw temperatures fall to top 60, and Monday, many basked in the sunshine inland, but it stayed cold and cloudy at the shore.

There were a few hearty folks out on the beaches Monday in Belmar, but crowds were down drastically from what was seen a week ago.

Some business owners who have been able to remain open say the numbers were way off on what they saw.  Jeanna Petersen owns Coffee Surf across the street from the Belmar Boardwalk -- she's an essential business. Despite the slow start, she remains optimistic enough people want to get out and once the weather finally breaks, the slacking sales numbers will rebound.

“I think there is a lot of hope,” says Petersen. “I think that people are going to hopefully be reasonable and keep it so that we can continue to get everybody out and you know if people are safe and we just keep people safe I think everybody's going to be just fine and we can get back to those numbers. We can get back to that business that we had going last year.”

In Point Pleasant Beach, around 400 people gathered at a rally to reopen New Jersey. Many in attendance seemed surprised at the lower turnout than what was hyped on social media, but the weather and pandemic continue to play havoc with the small business owners trying to salvage the season. 

 

Lawmakers and leaders joined in the calls to reopen, including from Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone. 

"It's not just a bad season, it's now come to the point where businesses don't know if they can survive,” says Arnone. “The state needs to present a plan now to reopen businesses in a way that is not only safe, but financially feasible for business owners."

Gov. Phil Murphy went on national television Monday, saying he's not swayed by the protesters. He says he is strictly influenced by data and science.