The Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal will be getting some upgrades this year.
Exit Zero Hospitality is turning it into Ferry Park, with three new restaurants that are opening this spring.
"We have an outdoor restaurant, which is really a raw bar and salads. It kind of feels a little bit like the islands. [The restaurant is] called Boat Drinks. And then we have a big restaurant here called Exit 0 Ferry Station,” says Exit Zero Hospitality owner Jack Wright. “Then we have a fine dining restaurant on the second floor overlooking the Delaware Bay with amazing sunset views and that's called the Lookout."
The Lookout will open on March 30, while the other two restaurants will open in April and May.
“I think it’s a great idea. It’s a beautiful location, and it already has concerts and they used to have beer tastings here and stuff. So, I think it’s going to take it to another level,” says Cape May resident Marge Krah.
While the restaurants will open in the spring, the second part of the project won’t happen until the fall. That's when crews will begin to transform the outdoor green space near the water into a park with shopping, entertainment and places for families to come and relax.
“You can go and take your kids and you can hang out in the park. You can play games, you can read a book in the hammock grove. You can come in there, and you can eat at one of three restaurants or the café and the retail store,” says Wright. “There’s going to be yoga on the lawn, and there’s going to be Monday night movies, Halloween events.”
Wright says that he hopes that people will see the space as more than just a ferry terminal.
“Come here, enjoy one of the great restaurants. Get on the boat. Have a lovely experience on the boat and suddenly, what was just a means of transportation, is a whole experience in itself,” he says.
Exit Zero Hospitality says that the outdoor part of the upgrade won’t be fully completed until 2023. There will still be some concerts at the terminal this summer.