Mihm Family: River Rulers

by Greg Kelly · Published October 5, 2024 · Updated December 10, 2024

The Shrewsbury River has played an important role in the social and commercial development of Monmouth Beach. In the early years, it was a spot for commercial fishing and boating. Today, the boating and fishing continue, but mostly for pleasure.

G. Henry Mihm

The northern section of the river, for years a wetland wilderness, began major business development over 75 years ago. Today, the impressive Channel Club Marina waterfront boasts two premium restaurants, busy marinas, boat and fishing businesses, and a banquet facility. In October 2022, Suntex Marinas, a Dallas-based owner/operator of high-end marinas, acquired the enterprise. The Chrysanthopoulos brothers had been owners since 2001.

Maritime commerce in the area started in August 1946 when G. Henry Mihm (then borough mayor) received zoning board approval to develop a boat basin on property at the foot of West Street. He quickly built a bulkhead, dock and boat-shack — while pledging to provide the “recreational center long needed in Monmouth Beach.” The guy had vision.

In November 1986, his son Walter sold off the last of the business for $8 million (to Frank DiMisa, Joan Finaldi and Ron Cambria), according to an Asbury Park Press account. Still a busy water recreation area and popular dining spot, the section also once included a bakery and a private yacht-dinner club.

The Launch
Mihm enterprises started as a spot to rent rowboats, get boat repairs and for fishing and crabbing. Henry Mihm, an able mechanic, kept a boat-repair shop on nearby Borden Street, where he serviced the many pound and lobster boats in the area. A man admired for his determination and principles, Henry served for 12 years on the board of commissioners (including as mayor from 1945 to 1949 and lost a 1941 race by 2 votes) and for 20 years on the borough’s school board (19 years as its District Clerk).

Born in 1899 the Dutch descendant of a New Bedford, Mass. whaler, Henry and his wife Bertha had three sons (Walter, Henry, Jr., and George). Henry played a key role in bringing a state-financed $90,000 channel dredging project to completion in the Monmouth Beach river cove. He also served as a US Army corporal during World War I.

His son, Walter W. Mihm, took over the family business when his father died in November 1979. An admittedly driven man, determined to prove things to others, Walter made the spot into a headquarters for the top marine-oriented business in New Jersey. Many people still remember the vast Mihm Boat Works that he built. Among the profitable maritime businesses he would go on to assemble included yacht sales, docking, boat repair and storage, construction, dredging, propellers, and restaurants. In 1986 he got into the ferry service business starting with the “Little M” vessel and grew it to 16 boats.

Mihm’s Boat Works beginnings on West Street, late 1940s. William Buff owned the land until 1946.

Walter’s grandfather, Garrett White (also a town mayor from 1909-10), was an amazing fellow. A former New England whaler, White was a decorated hero of the US Life-Saving Service, a founding MB School board member and a member of the first MB borough council.

A Newark native and 1939 borough school graduate, Walter was the product of a working class family. “There wasn’t a lot of money back then, and everyone worked — but we still had fun,” he said. “To make a buck, I would dig for clams and crabs and then go out and sell them. I also delivered Western Union telegrams from the Monmouth Beach train station.”

The Ground Floor
In 1966, with a dream of building a “first class” marina, yacht club, and restaurant, Walter approached the First National Bank in Long Branch for a $25,000 construction loan. Initially told the idea “wouldn’t work,” the bankers, knowing Walter’s determination, quickly warmed to the plan. The project end up costing $1.5 million. The fancy Channel Club opened in May 1967 and a club liquor license was granted the next month.

“It was a success right from the beginning,” explained Walter, who was also a self-taught chef. “We were in the right place at the right time.” The Channel Club opened with a $25 membership fee and at its height did nearly $6 million in annual revenues and reached a peak of 8,800+ members in the mid-1980s.

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
—Jacques Cousteau

Realizing that the marine construction business was on the assent in the 1960s, Walter purchased a tug boat company in decline. Starting with three tugs he grew the business to 30 boats along with 150 barges. Walter’s company worked on large-scale bridge, tunnel, and beach replenishment projects all along the East Coast. He sold that business in 984.

In 1972, together with partner American Standard, Walter purchased a 17-acre parcel of land off West Street and built the Channel Club Tower. Total construction cost reached $14 million. Prior to being the town’s first high-rise condominium (at 17 stories high with 222 units and apartments starting at $41,400), the land once held a massive 25-room summer home owned by officers of the Salvation Army. Walter also built the adjoining private street, Channel Drive.

In a September 1973 profile for the Asbury Park Press, Walter estimated the value of the family marine empire at $20 million with 175 to 200 employees. “I had a great crew working for me,” Walter said.

Walter Mihm

In 1977, using the liquor license from the defunct Monmouth Beach Inn for which he paid $50,000, Mihm opened the Haul Out Restaurant (the original building was the one-time wash room for the Salvation Army home bought for $50). In 1986, he restarted the NYC-Bayshore ferry service in the area. The Direct Line service began with one boat (the Little M) and grew to 16 ships.

He proved to have a real entrepreneurial touch in the food business, running several other popular area restaurants: Wally’s (Eatontown), Old Orchard Inn (Eatontown), Waterfront Café (Sea Bright), Pirate’s Cove (Belford) and Walter Mihm’s Steakhouse (Atlantic Highlands).

“I ran a straight business and always kept my word,” said Walter about his success. “I didn’t play politics — I had to get things done. My goal always was to be able to say we ran the best marine business going, and I think we did.”

On the civic side, Walter was a particularly strong borough advocate and a friend and mentor to many town youths. A longtime member and chief of the fire company in 1961, Walter was very generous in both his financial and personal contributions to borough firefighters. For over 25 years he also cooked, served and paid for the fire company’s annual dinner in December. Walter died in March 2013.

Mihm Built — Channel Club marina, 2022. Suntex Marina Investors, a Dallas TX-based owner/operator of high-end marinas in 14 states, purchased the businesses set on 4 acres along the Shrewsbury River in October 2022. Estimated price tag: about $25 million. MORE INFO. Marine activity in the area dates to the mid-1940s when started by the Mihm family. The Chrysanthopoulos brothers had owned the marina since 2001.

Blank Slate — A 1920 aerial image of the borough’s marina area indicates sparse development. It appears the Shorelands dock was in first.

Dock It — Boats in Monmouth Beach marina at dusk, Fall 2024.

Pre-Mihm — This map shows that the Salvation Army owned much of land along the borough’s north river shore. Land off West Street encompassing the Channel Club Tower, several marinas, and private homes — all the way to the river, Plat Book of Monmouth County, 1941. The property was sold in 1951.

Our Harbor — Started by the Mihm family over 75 years ago, May 2023.

Boat Basin Boss — Henry Mihm’s expanding boatyard, early 1950s.

Borough marina area aerial image, 2005.

Mihm’s boatyard at the foot of West Street, 1950s.

Monmouth Beach marina area, 2017.

The Channel Club on Opening Day, Spring 1967.

The Channel Club, 2019. It’s now a public restaurant called Abbiocco at Channel Club Marina. MORE INFO.

Channel Club logo, 1967.

Haul Out Restaurant, 1980s. Walter Mihm opened the riverfront eatery in early 1978. Originally a wash-house for the old Salvation Army rest home up the road on Borden Street. Henry Mihm acquired the structure (for $50) and Duffy Fisher moved it (for $25) near by Mihm’s river railway — used to “haul out” larger boats.