Popular Year-Round Margate Restaurant Abruptly Closes

Gilchrist Restaurant abruptly closed its Margate location, one day after Labor Day weekend.

As a Margate local, I can tell you that this is sad and surprising news about a year-round business that many counted on for friendly service and a good meal.

Gilchrist Downbeach Restaurant Closes

Workers at Gilchrist Downbeach Restaurant were surprised on Tuesday when their shift ended, and they were told that it would be their last day working at the restaurant.

The Margate location of Gilchrist, on the first floor of the Margate Towers condos on Atlantic Avenue, has been a popular breakfast and lunch spot since opening in 2014.

It was one of four family-owned restaurants, owned and run by the fourth generation of the Gilchrist family, which began as a bait and tackle shop on Maryland Avenue in Atlantic City in 1946 and morphed into the first Gilchrist Restaurant before moving to the current location at Gardner’s Basin.

The other Gilchrist locations are on the White Horse Pike in Galloway Township and in the Tropicana in Atlantic City.

Apparently, the Margate location will be the only restaurant that is closing.

Kitchen Staff Receive Photo-Copied Word of Closing Notice

The kitchen staff at Gilchrist Downbeach Restaurant were handed photocopied notices telling them they were out of a job and giving instructions on how to get their last paycheck.

Today is the last day of service at this location.

We are closing this restaurant. The lease on this space is ending. We are choosing not to renew it. The numbers on this location, the building, and the lease are not sustainable.

This is about the space and the cost of operating here. It is not about anyone's work.

The photocopied announcement made no mention of positions being made available for the Margate workers at the other Gilchrist locations.

Eddie Davis