Snooki may have made her mark--again--on the Jersey Shore, but with a summer of mostly sunshine and warm weather, merchants all up and down the shore were breathing a sigh of relief.
Labor Day, of course, marks the unofficial end of summer for the shore, as families head home to put their kids back in school.
But in Point Pleasant Beach, Jenkinson's Boardwalk was enjoying one of its best Labor Days ever, thanks in part to efforts to schedule new, and free events to keep tourists down the shore through the evening hours.
"I've really been trying to do some new events, changing some of our events, offering people something extra," said Marilou Halvorsen, Director of Marketing for Jenkinson's.
A few miles south, in Seaside Heights, the crew for MTV's hit reality show "Jersey Shore" booked thousands of hotel rooms.
Just as importantly for boardwalk merchants there, fans of the show who came hoping for a glimpse of their favorite characters spent spent of money.
A Johnny G's, owner John Gugliotta offered a Snooki Sandwich(recipe below) that he said was quite popular.
Local
"Snooki was good for us this summer, it brought a lot of people by," said Gugliotta.
Anthony Ceglie, 11, of Forked River couldn't wait to bite into a Snooki sandwich, and he declared it 'awesome."
MTV has yet to say if it will return to Seaside Heights next summer to shoot a third episode.
But that hasn't stopped some people from booking homes for next year.
"It was always January, February, March," said Realtor Mike Loundy of Seaside Realty in describing when people would commit to booking a home.
Now? "I've gotten a lot of calls (from) people who want to book things now," said Loundy.
One person who doesn't sound like he's ready to book anywhere though is John Desousa, 48.
He said he was laid off from his job with a decorating company at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City just this past Friday.
Unless he gets a job, Desousa--walking the boardwalk at Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach--said "I won't be coming back here. For sure."
Recipe for a Snooki Sandwich:
2 slices white bread
Fill it with peanut butter, Nutella and marshmallow fluff
Dip in batter, then deep fry
Top with powdered sugar
Follow Brian Thompson on Twitter @brian4NY
