Endangered Coney Island boardwalk shops may get a big break

Much of old Coney Island has been bulldozed away, but several endangered attractions on the fabled boardwalk may have yet again won a reprieve.

Zamperla, which has a long-term lease on the boardwalk, initially served nine of twelve boardwalk businesses eviction papers last year, hoping to replace most with fancy sit-down eateries run by a Miami Beach enterprise.

The old shops eked out another summer this year while the Miami group opened up a Coney’s Cones shop on the boardwalk in July. The developer, however, backed out of the deal because business was so bad this summer, leaving Zamperla to sit down again with the original shops as it faced the prospect of an empty boardwalk next summer, according to The New York Post.

While it was not clear which or how many businesses would be allowed to remain, Ruby’s Bar & Grill and Paul’s Daughter were likely candidates for new, long-term leases, if the owners would agree to capital improvements, staying open year round, and hiring locally, a source told the paper.

Ruby’s had been planning to close Oct. 31 after 77 years.