Rum Distillery Moving From Lacey To Larger Berkeley Location

BERKELEY, NJ — Island Beach Distillery is like a well-kept secret in Lacey. Located in the Forked River Industrial Park, new customers often say they didn't know the rum distillery was even there. But that's a problem for business, according to founder Peter S. Martorelli.

The distillery is moving to Bayville's Baywick Plaza, a better business location, according to Martorelli. The shop will also feature several upgrades, expanding from 1,500 to 3,700 square feet.

Island Beach Distillery, which offers a variety of rum flavors, will also go from being open a few days a week to running every day. They'll also continue hosting musicians that capture the distillery's mellow vibes.

"We have a lot of opportunity to expand, which is great because we’re just starting to expand our distribution," Martorelli told Patch. "So we’ll have more room for manufacturing. We’ll have more room to take customers on tours, and we’ll have room for entertainment as well."

Martorelli hopes to keep the Forked River location open until Thanksgiving Eve. Then he'd like to close the business for a week or two before opening in Bayville during the first or second week of December.

Although he would've liked to wait a little longer to open a new store, Martorelli said the new location was too good to pass up. Its location in Lacey made it difficult to attract new customers, especially since he says he can't advertise on nearby Route 9.

"We can’t put a sandwich sign out there or a realtor sign or anything like that," Martorelli said. "It’s hurting the business. There’s no way around it. People don’t drive into industrial parks for fun. So I said the time has come. We have to make a change."

Island Beach Distillery is currently hiring rumtenders and distiller's assistants for the Bayville location. You can apply in person at the Lacey location (713 Old Shore Rd., Forked River). They're open 5-9 p.m. Friday, 1-9 p.m. Saturday and 1-6 p.m. Sunday. You must be 21 to apply.

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