PHOTOS COURTESY DENISE SAWYER, OCEAN PINES ASSOCIATION
Ralph DeAngelus of the Matt Ortt Companies said attendance at the Ocean Pines Beach Club was outstanding throughout the weekend, with perhaps as many as 2,000 people at one time including inside the facility, at the pool and on the beach.

PHOTOS COURTESY DENISE SAWYER, OCEAN PINES ASSOCIATION
Swimmers enjoy the reopening of the Ocean Pines Beach Club in Ocean City last weekend. The facility, under new management by the Matt Ortt Companies, reportedly enjoyed a record sales day on Saturday.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(May 31, 2018) After the well-received reopening of the Ocean Pines Yacht Club two weeks ago, it was Beach Club’s turn last weekend to take the spotlight with a record-setting reopening.

“It’s no secret that the Beach Club is a crowd-favorite, attracting waves of permanent and seasonal residents each year,” Ocean Pines Marketing and Public Relations Director Denise Sawyer said. “The record-setting reopening of the Ocean Pines Beach Club illustrates the excitement that surrounds one of our most prized amenities.

“The association is thrilled to have Matt Ortt Companies heading up day-to-day operations, offering top-quality food and beverage services. And I love to call the Beach Club my second office!” Sawyer said.

Ralph DeAngelus, cofounder of Matt Ortt Companies, said the beach club reopening “went spectacular.”

“We broke the all-time single-day sales record for the beach club on Saturday – on our second day! How funny is that?” he said.

Based on Coastal Highway in Ocean City opposite Seacrets, the Ocean Pines Beach Club officially opened on Friday.

Along with record sales, DeAngelus said attendance figures at the beach club were similarly staggering.

“At one point in time, I think I saw, between the pool and the beach and inside, maybe upwards 2,000 people,” he said.

The warm weather and mostly clear skies on Saturday certainly didn’t hurt, DeAngelus said, but credit also goes to the new staff.

“Businesswise, we were just prepared. We were staffed for the weather and the impending onslaught of people,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong – we had our fair share of hiccups. You can’t be open just two days and set a sales record and not have hiccups, but for the most part I was very happy with the way things went.”

DeAngelus said numbers were not available for the yacht club but guessed sales there were similarly near record numbers.

“Although Saturday at the yacht club did not go as smoothly as we had hoped,” he said. “It was twice as busy as we had expected, so we were doing a lot of scrambling. But we salvaged it as best we could, and the most important thing is that we learned from it.”

The yacht club was briefly closed for repairs on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

According to a post on the Ocean Pines Yacht Club Facebook page, “After a successful and busy week at the Yacht Club, Matt Ortt Companies has to deal with necessary kitchen repairs on May 29 and 30. We are working to maintain quality food and beverage services by having a well-working kitchen. Thank you for your patience!”