There were lots of construction sounds around Cape May again this week: road work, building maintenance, and this project at 401 Lafayette Street.

All Irish Imports, the Cape May gift shop that opened in 1982, closed its doors back in 2019. At that time, we told you it had been purchased by Micky Chew of Big Wave Burrito, with plans to turn it into an ice cream shop. Although we haven’t heard any more about those plans, we do have this before and after comparing the site in 2019 to the way it looks this week.

The formerly white building is currently hard to miss. The two-story design-in-progress is wrapped in cobalt Blueskin, which is pretty striking against our winter landscape. The first floor has what appears to be a main entrance on the same side where All Irish Import’s used to be (facing Rotary Park), and two additional doors facing Jackson Street. From the double doors above them, we suspect a balcony is going in on the second floor.

We’ll keep an eye on this and update you when we know more about this new business!