Lake Worth Beach Casino Closes

"They're putting up these 2 x 4's for nothing. It's all show business." --Barry Freedman

Casino Closes in Lake Worth

If the calendar says April 2009, Barry and everyone else who owns a business in the Lake Worth Casino building on Lake Worth Beach will not only be out of business, but have their livlilhood taken from them. Barry, who has owned the Lake Worth Beach T-Shirt Co since I can remember, and used to own Surfside Sundries & Beach Shop, has been like an uncle and second father to me. My brother worked for Barry as a stock boy. I managed both his stores. And my sister ran the register. My mom has even helped out from time to time. Barry is family. Therefore it feels like its my family business, too, that is being chased from the waterfront.

The Lake Worth Beach is about 11 miles from where I grew up. Almost every weekend, if I wasn't playing sports, I was there, working for Barry. It was crappy. Then it got better. Then is seemed to putter out as the kids who grew up stalking it's beaches either grew up and moved away, or just plain moved on to other "hot spots" in Palm Beach County. The original Casino building dates back to the 20's, just after Lake Worth became a city in 1919. And please forgive my historical inaccuracies if I am way off, but this isn't a fact finding piece, its one of passion. By the time I became aware of the building I was 11 and stocking sodas. I didn't even know the upstairs ballroom, which can be rented out for parties, was there until I attended a wedding reception when I was in my teens.

There was even a summer when I didn't work for Barry, instead I was a bus boy and take-out guy at John G's, a Lake Worth must since long before the reporter who told the county about it's destruction was born (see link above). John G's, almost every day of the year for breakfast and lunch, is a place I go every single time I am back in Palm Beach County. I don't even like breakfast but I love John G's. Barry and I would eat there almost every Sunday, and those that come to enjoy the full portions are lined-up around the block between 7 and 10 am. But not after March of '09.

The City says the building is dangerous. They might be right. They say it needs to be torn down. Probably right about that, too. But like Yankee Stadium, which America bid farewell to last night, this building has memories that won't be bulldozed. For me, it's where I met celebrity after celebrity; home-grown favorites like former NBA World Champion Otis Thorpe and the bigger than life, though small in stature, Rice Brothers. It's where I met Serena Williams, Puff Daddy, Lisa Left Eye, Lil Kim, Da Brat, Queen Latifa, and Jimmy Buffett. But it is also where I grew up and learned life lessons from Barry. Maybe not the lessons my parents taught me, but different and no less important ones.

I worked at the beach so much that I hated it for a time, then considered buying a store from Barry. I worked at NYPD Pizza at night, delivering pizzas to earn more money for my studies in London. And I learned how to surf on the south side of the pier before being scared out of the water (for good) by a shark.

For others the Lake Worth Beach, and the crazy inhabitants were a family. There was a guy named Russell, ass-crack and all, who would just hang. There were countless other's, like Terry, who literally found their way way to the beach from some mental hospital, and became the stars of their own loopy shows whenever they made their way to our store. We loved them all. They loved us. And now like the beach I knew they are all gone.

I am not sentimental about this. I just feel bad for Barry and the other store owners, who now have to figure out what to do next. Like the report says, there are no guarantees. No one knows if they'll rebuild something as great as the Casino once was. And I bet Barry doesn't even know if he would lease another store there even if he gets the chance. Face-lifts are nice, but they are always more costly than the original.

So if you read this, and you get the chance to visit the Lake Worth Beach between now and March 31st of next year, swing by the Lake Worth Beach T-Shirt Company, say hi to Barry, and buy a swimsuit or Life's Good shirt (prices are found under the label). Then grab some breakfast at G's (I always get the number 5, two eggs up, but their french toast is their signature dish, but bring cash). And if you are taking in the day, find your way back to the shops and get a slice of pizza from Vito at NYPD. Tell him I said hi. And wish them all good luck down the road.