Jack Wright

Sitting by the fireplace in Exit Zero Filling Station to talk with Jack Wright was indeed an interview long overdue. I am one of many who have admired the work and contributions he has made to Cape May in the 23 years he has called it his home. 

Born in Paisley, Scotland, Jack Wright would become one of the most recognized and respected members of our community. His work as author, journalist, editor, and entrepreneur would redefine the nation’s oldest seashore resort for the 21st century.

Having resided in Cape May longer than any other place, Jack lives his “happily ever after” with wife, Diane Stopyra and their son, Oban. 

Tell me about the journey from Scotland to Cape May.

It’s really from London to here. I was an editor of a national newspaper in London and worked very closely with Piers Morgan.

Time out! What was he like? 

He was a great editor, he was inspiring, he was also at my wedding. He went on to become something else. He was on The Larry King Show, and I made a joke about how thick his neck was and how he put on so much weight. Let’s just leave it at that. 

Okay, sorry, finish the other story.

I was working in London and was head hunted to launch a magazine in New York in 1998 as an editor. I met this really cool guy named Curtis Bashaw one night in a dive bar. He was trying to reopen some old historic hotel in Cape May. I’d gotten fatigued with New York life by then and kept in touch with Curtis. After I was divorced, he invited me to this place called Atlantic Terrace for a housewarming. It was such a cool little town! Then in 2002, while working as executive editor of Men’s Journal, I was so burnt out in New York that I wrote to Curtis and told him I was going to quit and look for something new. He wrote back and told me he’d just reopened Congress Hall and asked if I’d come down and run the pool bar. So, I quit and took the job!

Wow, that’s a drastic change in career.

It was! In fact, I made the headline in the New York Observer. In their media column they said, “…things are so bad at Men’s Journal that executive editor Jack Wright quit to become a pool boy.” 

Was it a difficult change to make?

I had no savings. I rented a crappy little car and had this romantic idea that I’d be like Hemingway, drinking on the beach and writing. Instead, I ran the pool bar with two servers. I’d never worked in hospitality but there were things I was good at, and I had a good team. At the end of every day, after the pool closed, I’d order everyone a gin and tonic and we’d jump in the pool! (laughing) I ran a very tight ship! 

What did you do when that summer ended? 

I didn’t want to go back to New York. I was kind of depressed there. Curtis offered for me to run the Boiler Room night club, and I agreed. During that winter Curtis wanted me to write a book about Congress Hall. He said he’d put me up in the basement of one of the Seven Sisters, and he did. During that winter I worked like crazy researching and writing. I had absolutely no money. 

How difficult was it that first winter? 

One morning I was about to have my cereal for breakfast. It was Raisin Bran, and I had blueberry yogurt to have with it. I poured out the cereal and all these ants were in the bag. I only had two dollars in my pocket, and I said, “You guys better get out of there because I’m going to eat you.” Some of them scattered, but I just poured the yogurt and milk in and ate it. I could actually taste the ants. That’s how little money I had. 

Did that winter give you any regrets about moving to Cape May?

I was wondering what I would do once I finished the book. I had no job to return to in New York. My visa was also tied to my job in New York, so that was a temporary thing as well. 

But your time researching and writing the book went smoothly? 

Well, I was just about done. I was designing it and editing it on my laptop in the basement. One night I went to the boiler room and met a girl who came back to my apartment. I had to do a little something on my laptop and she said, “Oh, what’s that?” And she spilled a bottle of beer on the laptop and fried it. I had no back-ups or servers. It just died. I didn’t know what to do. So, David Von Savage, a friend of Curtis’, made sure I got a new laptop, and we managed to find a company who could access the chip inside. I thought I had lost the entire book. It was horrifying but after about a week they recovered it, and the book turned out really well! 

And I suppose nothing happened that night with you and the girl.

(laughing) Nope!

Tell me how Exit Zero came to be.

During the research of the book (Tommy’s Folly) I came across an old publication called Pennywise. I told Curtis I thought it was fantastic. I loved the charm of it. I suggested to Curtis that we should bring it back. We tried to get the rights to Pennywise but that didn’t happen. I thought the idea could be my way of staying in Cape May. I had done some t-shirts for Congress Hall that said, “Meet me at Exit Zero.” It wasn’t really a phrase that had been used. Curtis thought that would be the perfect name for the magazine. He loaned me money to buy a house on Stimpson Lane. My pool boy, Maciek, became my first photographer and we operated out of the house. In July 2003 we launched Exit Zero. 

I have heard so many people criticize the use of the phrase Exit Zero for Cape May since Exit 0 on the Garden State Parkway technically leads to North and West Cape May. 

Okay, I want to comment on that. In 2008 I noticed a sign at the end of the Garden State Parkway that wasn’t there before that said, “Exit 0.” Our office at the time was at the aviation museum. I called the Garden State Parkway Authority and asked them about the sign. The person said, “Your magazine has made this phrase so common that we thought it would be a nice gesture to locals and visitors. We thought it would be cool.” Of course, I never asked the follow-up question about why it pointed toward West Cape May, but perhaps they knew something we didn’t, because a year later our office moved to West Cape May, which made the sign correct as it pointed to our office! 

How do you see the role of yourself and Exit Zero in the fabric of Cape May?

I had never heard of Cape May prior to my first time coming here. When I moved here, I thought it was fantastic! Great beaches, beautiful architecture, horses clip-clopping down the streets, a great old lighthouse — the place was gorgeous! But I thought many of the shops had a lot of tchotchkes and the restaurants were just average. I thought those things could be better. After a few years it was no longer a seaside town to me; it was home. This may seem lofty, but the whole point of Exit Zero was to do our part to filter the cool stuff. That was my mission. I wanted my friends from New York to come and appreciate this town and they did! But like the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for,” our town has improved but has become extremely expensive. Average families can’t afford it here and that bothers me. I don’t think Exit Zero changed the face of Cape May but contributed to its popularity by being written about in travel magazines and listing it as one of the best Christmas towns. I think Cape Resorts has also contributed greatly to our town’s increased popularity.

I remember when you and Exit Zero first came onto the scene. You seemed to have instant popularity among the locals and natives. Did you find the people of Cape May warm and welcoming? 

To my face, yes. In the early years when I used to write about the city manager and the mayor who I thought were not administering in the best interest of the public, I knew I made some enemies then, but I didn’t care. I’ve been a journalist all my life. I don’t like it when people in authority overreach and overstep. And it makes me sad when people talk about fake news. It just means they don’t want to believe in something. There are so many good journalists risking their life, health, and reputation to report the news. People don’t trust journalism anymore and it’s not journalism’s fault. I blame it a lot on social media which is a wonderful thing but also one of the worst things that’s happened to mankind.

Have you ever had times when posting someone’s photo in Exit Zero has caused problems? 

During the first summer in 2003, I saw the owner of Magic Brain and he opened an Exit Zero and said, “I had to fire someone yesterday because of you.” He opened the magazine and showed me a photo taken at Cabana’s. He said, “Look, that’s her picture. It says that the photo was taken on Friday night. She called in sick Friday night!” 

What makes you and Diane happy about raising Oban in Cape May?

It’s a great place to grow up! He can play outdoors, and he will be able to learn surfing someday. It’s a lovely, natural environment. 

You’ve also excelled in hospitality since the days when you were managing the pool bar. I think the Exit Zero Filling Station is, hands down, the coolest place around. 

The first Exit Zero restaurant opened across the street in 2015 when the tearoom became vacant. The landlord asked if I knew any restaurant owners who would be interested. I gave it some thought for myself. I went home and told my wife. She said, “Over my dead body will you open a restaurant.” The next day I went back to him and said, “I’ll take it.” I ran it for three seasons and then Curtis and his investors purchased the old gas station. He offered for me to have my restaurant, offices, and gift shop all in the same place. And with the gas station here I loved the idea of the complete customer service thing! 

Was the gas station a good money maker? 

No. You get a bill from the gas trucks that fill you up for $15,000.00. You don’t make a lot of money on gas in New Jersey because you have to pay people to dispense it. 

I’ve never had a gas station story in Islander. Can you give me a good one? 

Well, I had a J-1 employee from Turkey who perhaps didn’t understand properly and put diesel fuel into a family’s truck. The guy’s wife was driving a Subaru behind him and saw it. There were like seven in the family, and they had a dog and ferrets. The guy realized what the kid did. He was a big aggressive guy, and he erupted and was about to kill the kid. He said, “We have a seven-hour trip to upstate New York, and you’ve just destroyed our entire vacation!” I was mortified. I asked if they could come upstairs to the office and bring the kids and the dog and the ferrets. I made some phone calls and there was a guy, God bless him, who came on a Saturday, took out his gas tank, drained it, and put it back. It cost $1200.00 but we paid for it. I was taking care of the dog and the ferrets upstairs while I worked. We gave the family their meals and by the end of all of it all, the guy said, “Thank you. For something that started off horribly, we have a story we can tell our friends for the rest of our lives.” They left here that night honking their horns! 

And to think you claimed to know nothing about hospitality! Will you continue with the restaurant?

It’s been 10 years now and we are selling the restaurant. The publishing business will remain. I’m taking a break from the restaurant business but remaining in Cape May. 

Everything you do has a very specific visual vibe to it. It’s even a vibe that might be trending, but you do it in its highest and most polished form. 

I would love to do that more! I would love to help other businesses design their vibe or their brand. I’d love to do some branding work. 

Could the overall aesthetic in Cape May be improved? 

Cape May is known as the nation’s oldest seaside resort. I think I was the first to use the term, “the original seaside resort.” Original suggests something of quality. I’d like to see a wooden sign at the bridge that says, “Welcome to America’s Original Seaside Resort.” I’d love to see more of that rustic vibe. I’m glad to see the Historic Preservation Commission continue to do the work they do. And Mayor Zack Mullock is doing a wonderful job. I wasn’t thrilled with the other administration when Convention Hall was built and used the neon lights which are not allowed. I remember when Peter Shields Inn was being dragged over the coals because their logo didn’t have an HPC-approved typeface. It was a very elegant font but not one that was approved. And yet, walk around town, 90% of the typefaces you see on signs are not approved. If you’re going to have that policy, either enforce it or don’t have it. The city does have a duty to preserve the look of the town. I’m not saying it should all look the same but there should be consistency. [The old administration] was punishing some people and turning a blind eye to what others were doing. Right now, Mayor Mullock is doing a terrific job. He’s working very hard. 

Well, I wish you good luck on the sale of the restaurant and I hope you find some time to relax in the years to come.

I’d like to spend the rest of my life here and I hope that’s a long time. I would love to learn to surf but that will absolutely never happen.