Asbury Park's Wonder Bar

The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park is rockin' once again.

With the revival of Asbury Park looking like it's entering full-swing, one beloved local music venue and watering hole, thought to have been lost in the flood of redevelopment, has opened its doors once again.

That’s right: The Wonder Bar, which held its closing night farewell bash last September, is back.

"It feels really great, it’s exciting,” said manager Debbie DeLisa of Deal. "There’s a lot going on down here right now, with (concert promoter) Live Nation coming in to do the shows at Convention Hall. They're going to do some shows here also."

DeLisa's upbeat, optimistic tone is a far cry from last year, when the Ocean Avenue club was set to close to make way for a redevelopment project by developers Asbury Partners, which had purchased the property.

"Asbury Partners were going to tear it down, and I'm not sure what they were going to do, build condos," DeLisa said.

The venue was spared when developers Madison Marquette came into town and took over some of Asbury Partners' holdings, including the Wonder Bar.

DeLisa said the club is now waiting for approval from the city to construct a large outdoor deck facing the nearby Stone Pony; other plans include building  a Tiki bar and adding a volleyball court to the facilities.

Among the items on the Wonder Bar's calendar for this summer is a July 30 signing with Anders Martensson and Jorgen Johansson, the folks behind the new book "Local Heroes: The Asbury Park Music Scene," and live performances by local musicians including Lance Larson and Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez.

The club joins an increasing number of businesses that are greeting visitors who seem to be rediscovering the city's beachfront this summer, including Tim McLoone's Supper Club across the street and O’Toole's Irish Pub inside the boardwalk arcade between Convention Hall and the Paramount Theater.

"It’s actually going to be more like a New Orleans theme, where you have different types of bars all over, where people can just go from one to the other," DeLisa said.