MOUNTAIN TOP, Pa. — A piece of the Jersey Shore is coming to Luzerne County.
Frank Malacari and his family have been operating businesses under the family name in Luzerne County for more than 13 years.
Malacari says the expansion of the businesses have always had the community in mind, especially the location in Wright Township along Route 309.
"Tried to do something in Mountain Top, we wanted to do something that was family fun, something that was good for the community, and we just want to keep expanding on it. That's what we like to do with our businesses is expand on things that are great for the community, things that the community doesn't have, and it's family fun," he said.
So, it was a no-brainer on what to do when Malacari was scrolling through social media in January and saw the Boat Tag attraction for sale from the iconic Morey's Pier in Wildwood, New Jersey.
According to the Wildwood Video Archive website, Boat Tag was a much-loved feature at Morey's Pier, which opened in 1986. It gave riders the opportunity to sit inside a boat and aim yellow balls at other guests, who would, in turn, aim the same yellow balls back. If a target was hit, a large fountain of water would burst into the air.
"I said, 'Oh, my God, this is just a great thing for our community to have,' and if they didn't sell it, they were going to scrap it, and I couldn't. I couldn't withstand seeing that, so I'm like, 'We got to somehow make this game work up here.' So it took some engineering and stuff, but we are going to be able to bring it here," said Malacari.
Malacari says the Boat Tag attraction will be going behind the hot dog place in the lot where the picnic tables are to the left of the miniature golf course.
"Yes, we got all our zoning approvals, and everything's ready to go with it. We're ready to get the building permits and start the building process as soon as we get it shipped here," added Frank.
Malacari says he hopes to open the attraction by the end of April.
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