The former Role Play Lounge will go from naughty to Good Dog Bar when the beloved Philadelphia pub makes its Jersey Shore debut. The property at 3426 Atlantic Ave. in Atlantic City was previously a very sexy, very X-rated swingers club. But Good Dog owners Dave Garry and Heather Gleason-Garry didn’t care about the building’s past. They liked the 5,000 sq. ft. bi-level space for what it had to offer on the inside.
“The building is super cool. It’s got great old bones. Solid brick and concrete. I think it will work well as a Good Dog,” Garry told What Now Philadelphia. “Only we could find a building like that. It wouldn’t be us if it wasn’t weird.”
Garry and his wife, who recently moved to Atlantic City and spent time working as service industry staff before opening their own restaurants, plan to open Good Dog’s second location in April 2022.
“There’s a lot of good stuff going on in Atlantic City and at Stockton University. I like the bar scene down here. There’s a lot of things to like about Atlantic City,” Garry said.
Good Dog Atlantic City will share the original Center City location’s thoughtful pub fare menu but will take advantage of its proximity to the ocean with more seafood options.
“We figured if there was access to it, we might as well have a little more seafood. Plus all the staples on the Good Dog menu,” Garry said. “We want to play around with the specials and make them more Jersey-centric.”
After their move, the Garrys became well acquainted with vendors at the local farmer’s markets and hope to collaborate with them to incorporate things like plump Jersey tomatoes and fresh scallops into their menu. The couple says that Good Dog’s future home on the shore can be attributed to one man, Asbury Park developer Pat Fasano.
“He’s invested in the downtown in Orange Loop. He’s responsible for getting Good Dog to AC,” said Garry.
According to Philly Mag, Fasano has purchased more than 20 properties in Atlantic City and has several projects in the works. Most of his projects are located in the “Orange Loop,” which is the area of streets that are orange properties on a Monopoly board, which includes St. James Place, Tennessee Avenue, and New York Avenue (according to the game’s standard edition).
You can follow Good Dog Bar for updates on Instagram at @gooddogbar.
