SNOW HILL – An Ocean City restaurant will not be expanding its live entertainment offerings after neighbors voiced their opposition to the proposal.
The Worcester County Board of License Commissioners voted not to approve a request from Buddy’s Crabs & Ribs to increase outdoor entertainment and add a disc jockey. The restaurant’s connections said they were just trying to appeal to more customers.
“We need something so we can be competitive in this Ocean City economy,” said Joe Sinkaus, manager of Buddy’s Crabs & Ribs.
Sinkaus approached the board Wednesday to seek permission to use a disc jockey, add arcade games and increase outdoor entertainment from three pieces to five pieces.
Sinkaus explained he wanted to install a couple arcade games inside the restaurant for children to play while their parents dined. He told the board the restaurant needed the DJ for special events, particularly weddings.
“We’re losing business because we can’t offer a DJ for that event,” he said.
As for increasing entertainment, Sinkaus said being able to host five-piece bands would allow the restaurant to compete with neighboring businesses. He said he’d seen customers walking toward Buddy’s Crabs only to turn to go to M.R. Ducks after hearing the music emanating from that bar.
“We’re losing business because we can’t offer that level of entertainment in the afternoons,” he said.
He added that employees at Buddy’s were respectful of the neighbors. He said if entertainment privileges were increased, the restaurant would still be subject to Ocean City’s laws.
“If it was beyond the Ocean City noise ordinance any resident could call and make a complaint to the police,” he said.
Residents of the neighborhood surrounding the restaurant, however, objected to the concept of more outdoor entertainment. Residents of White Marlin Condominium and Assateague House said they didn’t have a problem with the restaurant’s current three-piece entertainment, which is allowed from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., but that they didn’t want that to increase.
Bryon Davis, who owns two units in Assateague House, pointed out how close the building was to Buddy’s Crabs. He added that the restaurant had the same entertainment privileges its predecessor, Bahama Mama’s, had used with success. He added that Buddy’s Crabs didn’t compare to M.R. Ducks.
“This is a restaurant with entertainment,” he said, “not a bar that serves food like M.R. Ducks. It’s not apples to apples.”
He added that citizens shouldn’t have to police the restaurant’s noise level.
“We look to you — all the board — to not allow it to happen in the first place,” Davis said.
Sinkaus stressed that the restaurant respected its neighbors but needed to compete.
“Times change,” he said. “Demographics change. To survive in any economy you’ve got to be dynamic.”
He added that even if it was granted more entertainment options, the restaurant would not turn into a club.
“We’re not going to change Buddy’s Crabs & Ribs,” he said. “We’re a family restaurant.”
The board voted 3-0, with alternate Reese Cropper III standing in for William Esham, to leave the restaurant’s current entertainment restrictions in place but to allow the additional video games inside.
While the request from Buddy’s Crabs & Ribs was not granted, the board on Wednesday did approve the transfer of a beer and wine license to Big Mama’s OC as well as a request for a new resident agent for Ocean City Brewing Company. The board also granted the Assateague Island Surf Shop a beer and wine license. While there are other businesses that sell beer and wine in the area, Assateague Island Surf Shop proprietor Denny Riordan assured the board his store would be offering a unique inventory. He said the shop would be selling equine-themed wines to tie in with the nearby wild horses at Assateague and craft beer to meet customer requests.
“They want quality,” he said. “Everything we do in there is a little more upscale.”
