OC Jamboree Property Sold At Auction For $950K; Winning Bidder Hoping To Put Brewery On Property But Many Hurdles To Clear First

OC Jamboree Property Sold At Auction For $950K; Winning Bidder Hoping To Put Brewery On Property But Many Hurdles To Clear First
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OCEAN CITY – An Ocean City businessman hopes to turn the former O.C. Jamboree property into a brewery after purchasing it at auction last week.

Avi Sibony, owner of Sunsations and the 45th Street Village, among other resort properties, purchased the property June 24 for $950,000. The auction came after former O.C. Jamboree owner David Weatherholtz was indicted on several felony charges, including sexual solicitation of a minor and possession of child pornography.

Bill Hudson of Atlantic Auctions said the auction attracted more than a dozen registered bidders.

“We had a good turnout and spirited bidding,” he said. “It was a good sale all around.”

Jeff Burton, Sibony’s general manager, says Sibony — who already operates the Assawoman Bay Brewing Co. — hopes to turn the building into a brewery. While there are several regulatory hurdles to clear first, Burton believes it would be “a perfect fit” for the property.

Burton said the building had the high ceilings that could accommodate a brewery’s tanks and was far enough off the road that large trucks making deliveries wouldn’t impede traffic.

“It seems like a good fit for us,” Burton said. “We’re close to outgrowing the space we’re in now.”

Burton said when he and Sibony arrived at last week’s auction they realized they weren’t the only ones interested in the site.

“There were some big hitters there,” Burton said.

He and Sibony knew that the property was just what they were looking for though and stayed committed to purchasing it, putting in the final bid of $950,000.

“We wouldn’t have paid what we paid if we didn’t think it was worth it,” Burton said. “It would’ve been nice to pay less because that would’ve been more money we could put into the property.”

Burton says that if Sibony does receive the approvals needed to turn the property into a brewery, the building’s layout will stay basically as it is now aside from the straightening of the theater-style floor. He expects the property to require several months of work, which he hopes can begin at the end of the summer.

A week before the O.C. Jamboree sale, Atlantic Auctions held a substitute trustee’s sale for the retail and gas station property at the corner of Sunset Avenue and Route 611. Hudson said the property did not sell.

“Now the noteholder will move to take title to the property,” he said.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.