Wildwood, NJ businesses see summer momentum after busy Fourth of July week

WILDWOOD, N.J. (WPVI) -- Businesses in New Jersey's Wildwoods say activity picked up during the Fourth of July holiday week and are optimistic the momentum will continue through the rest of the summer season.

Nancy Saleeb, owner of St. George's Beach Outlet on the Wildwood Boardwalk, said the holiday provided a significant boost to business after a slow start to the season.

"They were just swamping the store," Saleeb said.

Saleeb said early-season concerns about consumer spending had left her uncertain about how summer business would unfold.

"It started very slow at the beginning, to be honest, and then we were worried with everything going on in the country, gas prices, we were thinking it was going to affect the business," she said.

Now, she said, sales are increasing as visitors arrive in larger numbers during the peak summer months. She also hopes favorable weather conditions continue.

"A little bit less selling ponchos, more umbrellas and beach chairs than ponchos," Saleeb said.

Other local businesses also reported strong results around the holiday period.

Joseph Montello of Joey M's La Piazza said the timing of the Fourth of July helped drive traffic.

"It was the perfect storm because it was the weekend, so when it's on a weekend, people know exactly what they're going to do," Montello said.

He said the week leading up to the holiday was his strongest of the season so far.

"We were up 55%, which was mind-boggling," Montello said.

According to data, visitor spending in 2025 increased across several Jersey Shore counties. Spending was up 2.6% in Ocean County, 2.5% in Atlantic County and 4.2% in Cape May County from the year before

At Madison Resort in Wildwood Crest, Vice President of Marketing Donna Allen said business remains strong beyond the holiday week.

"We're up year over year. Bookings are still flowing in for August," Allen said.

The resort was fully booked for the weekend, with guests taking advantage of beachfront views, cabanas and a heated pool.

"We just came off the July 4th holiday, which was just so much excitement for everybody around," Allen said.

Allen said July has already been especially successful for the property.

"This absolutely has been our best July already," she said.

Wildwood businesses are also looking to upcoming events, including the New Jersey State BBQ Championship in Wildwood this weekend, to help attract additional visitors to the shore.