By Carol Vaughn —
The owner of a well-known Ocean City, Md., restaurant and bar plans to open a business on Chincoteague.
Seacrets Restaurant and Bar owner Leighton Moore announced land where the business will be located, on the southwest end of Chincoteague, was acquired in late July.
The plan is to open Seacrets on Chincoteague in Spring 2024, according to a press release.
“Rebecca and I along with the Seacrets family look forward to being a part of and serving the Chincoteague community,” Moore said. Rebecca Moore is his wife.
Seacrets Chincoteague “will be restaurant-focused and a low-key, simple and fun place for visitors to enjoy seasonally,” according to the release.
The Chincoteague establishment will include the “palm tree jungle” for which the Ocean City Seacrets is known. It will be modeled on the original Seacrets opened in Ocean City in the late 1980s, including a small tiki bar, a rock bar, a raw bar, a restaurant, and a boutique.
Moore, who grew up in the hospitality industry in Ocean City, was inspired by his many trips to Jamaica to open Seacrets, “Jamaica USA,” in 1988 on 49th Street in Ocean City.
The company since then has expanded to include a radio station, Atlantic Beverage Center, and Seacrets Distillery.
The Chincoteague property is near two other properties purchased recently by Maryland developers.
Blue Water, the Ocean City development company co-founded by Jack and Todd Burbage, purchased the former Capt. Bob’s Marina earlier this year.
The company also owns Sun Outdoors Chincoteague Bay, scheduled to open in 2023. The property formerly was Inlet View Campground.
The town has not yet received any permit applications for the Seacrets property, Chincoteague Town Manager Mike Tolbert said this week.
