Wildwood, NJ, theme park raising wages to avoid worker shortage

With war in Ukraine placing student work visa's on hold, shore businesses are bracing for another summer of labor woes.

One Wildwood theme park operator is taking pre-emptive steps to hopefully avoid a worker shortage by raising its pay scale.

Morey's Piers is offering a "performance payment" of $1.50 an hour for workers who will commit to a minimum of 200 hours through the summer season.

The extra pay is in addition to hourly wages that top out at $15 per hour.

In addition to hourly rates up to $16.50 per hour, seasonal employees will also get free park admission and discounts for friends and family.

A Morey's spokeswoman said in a statement that summer employment down the shore can teach valuable lessons.

"Teens and young adults will have the opportunity to learn many valuable lessons like time management skills, communication and customer service skills," the statement reads.

The announcement of a wage increase comes a day after New Jersey 101.5 reported many student work visas were on hold due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"It seems that a lot of J-1 visa students were coming from that Eastern Bloc," Diane Wieland, director of tourism for Cape May County, told New Jersey 101.5. "It's from one end of the tourism industry to the other that will be impacted."

Foreign college students from the area who had plans to come to the Garden State through a federal Summer Work Travel Program are now in a holding pattern. As of now, businesses and industry observers aren't counting on these students to make it here on time or at all for summer 2022.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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Best coffee shops & cafes near NJ beaches

When it comes to food, New Jersey is known for many things such as pizza and pork roll. Don't count us out when it comes to coffee.

With all the hustle and bustle involved in the average New Jersey resident's day, coffee is essential. It doesn't matter whether you're living in the cities of North Jersey or the vacation spots at the shore.

In fact, as the former owner of two Jersey shore coffee houses, Coffee Dot Comedy in Sea Isle City and the Daily Grind in Ocean Grove, I know firsthand how much people at the Jersey shore love their coffee.

With respect to that, I asked my social media following where the best coffee houses at the Jersey Shore were, especially since my two places no longer exist.

Below is what they came up with. (And see this other article for their coffee shop and cafe recommendations for Central Jersey.)

The Ultimate Guide to New Jersey Brewpubs

From the website that gave you the "Friendliest bars" and places to watch the game, comes the ultimate guide to New Jersey brewpubs.

So what's a "brew pub"?

According to Thompson Island's Article on the differences between a craft brewery, microbrewery, brewpub & gastropub, it says:

"A brewpub is a hybrid between a restaurant and a brewery. It sells at least 25% of its beer on-site in combination with significant food services. At a brewpub, the beer is primarily brewed for sale inside the restaurant or bar. Where it's legally allowed, brewpubs may sell beer to go or distribute it to some offsite destinations."

New Jersey has tons of Brewpubs, some of which have been around for years and some that have just opened in the past year.

Here is a full list of the 21 brewpubs in New Jersey according to New Jersey Craft Beer: