Visitors to the Ocean City boardwalk will soon have to bid farewell to a business that’s been a mainstay for nearly a century. Gillian’s Wonderland Pier is closing in two months.

“Passed down from generation to generation from when I was a little girl to my children to their children,” said Sheri Calabrese, of Bridgeton.

Wonderland’s owner Jay Gillian posted the message online, taking many people by surprise. He said that he will retire after 47 years, writing in part, "It's no longer a viable business...we will terminate our multiyear lease in a couple months...thank you to all the amazing years and for being such an important part of our journey.”

Efforts to reach Gillian - who also serves as the mayor of Ocean City - for further comment were unsuccessful, but lots of folks wanted to share their memories of the iconic pier.

“Every good memory growing up here was this boardwalk,” said Nancy Waters, of Abington, Pennsylvania.

“I don’t know what it’s going to look like when it’s not here. It’s just going to be odd not having the Ferris wheel up and the flag,” added Stephanie Kranefeld, visiting from Pennsauken.

Visitors still have time to take one final spin on the big wheel. Gillian’s Wonderland Pier will be open daily through mid-September and then on weekends until the final date of Oct. 13.

Developer Eustace Mita owns the property and in a statement to News 12 says, “The closing of Wonderland was a surprise to us like everyone else. It’s sad to see the end of an era. Gillians has a great place in Ocean City history after 94 years in operation.

The Mita family too has been in Ocean City for over 80 years. My grandparents took us to Wonderland. We in turn took our children to Wonderland and now we take our grandchildren to Wonderland. Those memories will linger on forever.

Our hope was that Wonderland would be able to continue but it was not viable any longer, as was explained to us by the Gillian family.

As far as the future goes, Wonderland is a landmark site in Ocean City and Cape May County. We will take till the end of the year to evaluate what’s best for the city and what’s best for this landmark site. It deserves first-class treatment from us and that’s how we intend to approach it.”