Local officials and officials from Trenton have signed off on a plan to relocate the Cocorico Beach Bar in Atlantic City. After more than 10 years at its current location, between Chelsea and Morris avenues, the bar will relocate to a new plot off Bellevue and Georgia avenues, near the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
Officials from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority voted to approve the relocation from Chelsea Beach Barr LLC on July 21, according to a report in NJ.com. They took the vote after carrying the application in June.
Application materials made public by the state agency state that the new location will include 6,428 square feet of decking. The new bar will include a principal covered bar, one food truck, two standalone bars, a second covered bar, a carousel bar, a stage and 34 cabanas.
A site plan shows the cabanas will be located on the south side of the lot fronting the beach. The plan shows a 40-by-40-foot stage on the western side of the lot next to a covered bar. The eastern side of the lot will include a 40-by-25-foot covered bar, storage containers, and food trucks.
Application materials also show that the mayor signed off on the lease of the lot in March. The applicant will pay the city $20,000 per year.
The applicant also secured parking agreements for 80 spaces at 29 Boston Avenue and 120 spaces at the facility at 2201 Pacific Avenue, documents show.
Cocorico’s relocation comes more than a year after a report in the Daily Voice said the Ocean Club Condominium Association filed a lawsuit in the Atlantic County Superior Court. A report from CBS News Philadelphia said the owners of the bar dropped plans to expand in March 2025 after residents of the Ocean Club Condominium voiced opposition at a CRDA meeting about the proposal.
A report from August 2025 in NJ.com said the bar was likely to relocate after the business reduced its operating hours in the summer to stave off further complaints from the condominium association. A press release from Atlantic City Mayor Marty Smalls’ office issued in September said the city and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs approved the relocation.
A report from Pollstar said the 14,000-seat Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, just north of the new beach bar, would generate approximately $75 million in 2025. The venue first opened in 1929 and reopened in 2001 after a $90 million renovation.
Jersey Digs reported in July that the Claridge Hotel at 120 South Indian Avenue, just a few blocks from the new beach bar, is slated for a $1 billion redevelopment that includes the adjacent Sands Casino site.
