Hello everyone. My name is Beth Bushell. I am the woman behind the counter who usually cooks your breakfast in the early morning. I decided to introduce myself to you because I have a real relationship with Betty & Nick's. No my name is not Betty, and it is not Nick.
You see, back in 1967, I met the most interesting boy that I had ever met in my life. His name was John Bushell. I immediately fell in love with this guy. He loved Shelby Mustangs and Lionel Trains. We got married soon after and I gave birth to a beautiful little boy, John Jr. John's parents, Betty and Nick bought a little tackle shop down in Seaside Park in 1969. At the time, john, John Jr., and I were living in Perth Amboy. Betty and Nick were trying their best to run the little place by themselves, but with Nick still working in Keansby, and Betty having to run the shop by herself, things were very difficult. In 1972, John's parents asked us to help them out. We didn't have to be asked twice. Within a few months we were packed and moved into an apartment we had built above the shop. I absolutely loved Seaside as a kid growing up. My dad would go fishing in the summer and we would go to Island Beach State Park. On the way, we would stop at the same Bait & Tackle that John's parents bought. It was called Mike's Bait and Tackle back then. John Jr. was now 3 years old and he loved to go to the beach and play in the surf and sand. As we grew as a family, so did Betty & Nick's. John learned how to wrap rods and repair reels and was damn good at it too. He ran fishing tournaments for the kids in the summer. These kids are all adults now with grandkids of their own. They still talk about all the prizes they won. John would make sure that every kid would win a prize. From bicycles to models to crab traps and fishing poles to patches made by Penn Reels, no one was left out. He started and ran the now infamous Barnegat Bay Bluefish tournament, which still exists to this day in a different format run by some of the members of the great Gilford Park Yaght Club. To participate you needed a fast boat and a good knowledge of the bay for bluefish. Cash prizes and fishing gear were given. After the event, John and I would have a big BBQ behind the store. He loved seeing everyone have a good time.
In the summer of 1983, John's father Nick suddenly died. Betty decided to sell us the shop and we quickly expanded our little place into what it is today. John loved buying the newest equipment and expanding his horizons. I on the other hand, had to learn how to become a short order cook and restaurant manager. We expanded the little 12 stool counter to seating for about 50 people now. It has been quite a challenge.

Well, over 22 years have passed now since the addition was built and we keep on trying to get better and better. An "upstairs" addition is in the works. In the middle 90's, John took his son John Jr. under his wing teaching him everything about how to run this particular establishment in just such a way so that it stay as popular as it has ever been. Times have changed a lot since those days. There are many more regulations, the new breed of angler has different needs. John Jr. who is excellent with the computer decided to put Betty & Nicks on the World Wide Web. This served as a vehicle to report to our customers what was happening on the beach. They could also get information about new products and current fishing conditions. The potential was limitless.

My story now ends in present time. On October 10th, 2005, while fishing with John on Island Beach State Park, I was in a tournament run by Down Under Bar which is part of Berkeley Seafood restaurant. John had already caught 2 stripers and I had caught 1. We were having a great day talking to friends and family on the beach and on the cell phones. I lost my fishing partner that day. John died suddenly, the same age his dad died. I was with him. He had just talked to his son and best friend on the cell phone. It was the way any fisherman would want to go. John is missed by me and everyone that he came in contact with. He was a legend in his own time and he will never be forgotten. He lived his life to the fullest and accomplished things a lot of people only dream of. He loved his grandson very much and gave as much as he could to him. Well, that is the end of my story, but not the end of Betty & Nick's. Another generation of Bushell's will be running the "little tackle shop", and maybe if Nick sees fit to have John Jr. take him under his wing, he will meet a girl named Betty and go on for another 36 years.