A So-So Summer For Business at the Jersey Shore

Labor Day signals the end of the summer—and while the Jersey Shore can expect to see a few more tourists and Philadelphia-area refugees over the next few weekends, the busiest part of the busy season is now over for boardwalk merchants. Their verdict on Summer 2012? Meh. “There just were not a lot of people down here this year,” said Brent Hanley, an Ocean City T-shirt merchant. “We should have crushed last year; the weather was great.” True, there was no Hurricane Irene this year, but forecasts of rain kept beach-goers away from the holiday weekend. Also: Snooki had her baby and Jersey Shore got canceled, so maybe the buzz is gone.  [Wall Street Journal]