MARGATE – Residents who live near the Sunrise Tequila bar at 9700 Ventnor Ave., which received approval to operate a second-story open-air lounge above two ground-floor businesses, say their quality of life is being severely impacted by the noise coming from the overcrowded second floor bar area.
Numerous residents spoke up at Thursday’s Board of Commissioners meeting complaining that promises made by the property owners during the Planning Board approval process are not being upheld.
Greg Lorenz who moved to Margate four years ago because it was a “nice quiet town,” said the property’s transition from a liquor store with a small bar and a convenient pizza parlor to a two-story trendy night spot, is attracting hundreds of “exuberant” young adults looking to have a good time at the shore.
“The noise never ceases at night,” he said. “If I was 25 or 26, I’d be upstairs too.”
He called it a “fire trap” that should be sound-proofed, so the neighborhood does not have to suffer through noisy days and sleepless nights.
“Our government has let us down,” the U.S. veteran told commissioners. “If I can defend our nation, you can defend your citizens.”
Property owner Elizabeth O’Brien played a short video demonstrating the noise emanating from the second-floor bar area. Live music is supposed to end by 10 p.m. but the loud voices of revelry continue throughout the night.
“This goes on for hours and hours on end,” she said.
She also shared photos she took of bags of trash that could attract rodents, and six young men urinating on a neighboring lawn over an hour-long period on Saturday night.
Ken Dash, who along with other residents raised concerns during the owner’s Planning Board hearing in January 2024, said he is worried about the noise emanating from the establishment, traffic safety issues with people gathering in the street, and local property values being negatively affected by the business. He said the owners, their engineer and planner, and attorney promised that the upstairs venue would contain movable sound-proofing slats that would muffle the noise, but he has never seen them operational.
“I live 500 feet or a block away, and the noise from the band last Saturday night was so loud that I could not only hear it clearly my house with all the windows closed, but when sitting on my deck it sounded like it was coming from my own speakers,” he said.
He recommended the city purchase a decibel meter to measure the soundwaves so the city can enforce its noise ordinance.
“Until there is compliance, please stop the bar from having live bands and loud music, which is truly disturbing the peace,” he said.
Len Nisenzon said he lives across the street from the bar with his small child and cannot open his windows to get fresh air.
“Living across the street from this is unacceptable, there is no crowd control outside…its loud and people are drunk all over the place,” he said. “I would be satisfied with windows being put up and enjoy a couple of tequilas myself.”
Scott Paymer also said the noise coming from the bar is “outrageous, unreasonable and unlawful.”
His special needs child is finding it impossible to sleep, he said.
“I hear the noise from the Tequila Bar as if I’m in the bar when I’m in my house. I’m here for quiet and rest and it’s disturbing the entire neighborhood,” he said. “It’s unmitigated. I don’t want to call the police all night, and I don’t want to live like this.”
He said windows would resolve the issue and that the city needs to produce a solution that takes care of the neighborhood.
He said people are urinating, blocking driveways, its dark, young people are in the street, driving while inebriated and the sound is untenable. When the police show up, the music is turned down for a few minutes but after police leave the scene, the music’s back as loud as ever.
“This is not going to work,” Paymer said.
Mayor Michael Collins said the governing body is not responsible for granting zoning approvals.
“We are aware of many of these issues between zoning, our police department and the commission, we are actively engaging for solutions for all of the problems we get,” he said. “We are actively engaged and trying to find solutions.”
Commissioner Cathy Horn said the city has had a meeting with the owners and will meet with them again this week. Also, Police Chief Matthew Hankinson has gone to the place in uniform several times on weekends, and to other establishments in town as well.
“We are working on it,” she said.
Another resident said bar patrons are using his property as a hang out. Two individuals climbed his steps to “moon” friends who were in the bar. Others were smoking marijuana in his driveway. Over the Memorial Day weekend, he noticed bartenders pouring drinks into plastic cups to leave with, and patrons are littering the area with plastic cups and beer bottles.
Although there was some confusion about the number of people allowed to be in the building and the number of access areas, Lorenz said he believes the fire official set capacity at 89 for the upstairs bar.
“There had to be 300-400 people there,” he said.
The property received Planning Board approval in January 2024, but when the building was being repaired, the owners’ engineer determined the foundation walls were insufficient and the entire building was rebuilt in the same footprint. Owners were anxious to get opened last summer and said the problems with the building caused financial hardship.
The owners of the property, longtime Margate residents Brian and Dana Hiltner, through their attorney Eric Goldstein, sent Downbeach.com a statement about the issue. We are posting it here in its entirety:
“We understand the unofficial start of summer led to a busy couple of weeks in Margate and at Sunrise Tequila Bar. We were excited to see tremendous success for our local business community and hope that we can help contribute to the economic success of our entire area, especially considering that we employ over 80 people at Sunrise. As new business owners, and lifelong residents of Margate, we have tried to accommodate our guests as best as possible and to manage the crowds and the noise. We are fully committed to being great neighbors for not only our immediate neighborhood, but for the Margate and Atlantic and Cape May counties community as a whole. We love our town and want nothing more than to see everyone, and every business, have a great summer season together. We look forward to welcoming you all at Sunrise!”
Goldstein said his clients are seeking information about different systems that can reduce the noise level, "but it will never be zero," he said.
Copyright Access Network 2025
