Salt was to have operated for three seasons, until 2016, but did not get a liquor license
The owner of the property where the tiki bar Salt hasn't opened is suing Belmar BELMAR -- The owner of riverfront property where a tiki bar was built but never opened in Belmar is suing, saying officials in the Shore town purposely blocked the business, according to a report.
Under a redevelopment agreement with Belmar, Salt was going to be allowed to operate as an outdoor tiki bar along the Shark River until 2016, but landowner Gregory Kapalko contends in the lawsuit that Mayor Matthew Doherty and the borough council deliberately prevented it from opening, according to APP.com.
The report said Kapalko had plans with brothers Matt and Tim Harmon to run the open-air bar for three years until condominiums and an indoor bar would be built on that spot.
The council approved the redevelopment agreement in 2014 but then voted against transferring a liquor license to the bar in June, effective rendering the operation useless, the report said.
Doherty has denied the allegations and said Kapalko has violated the redevelopment agreement.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.