A Toast to the Gleesons' 50th Anniversary
…and to Their Liquor Store’s 15th Summer
Mary Jane and Tom Gleeson’s wedding day in April 1975 at St. Joseph Church, and their 50th wedding anniversary at Anthony’s in Townsends Inlet.
From an Italian restaurant at 50th and Landis, to a construction business down the island, and now a liquor store on the mainland, the Gleeson family has played an integral role in the Sea Isle City community for decades. 2025 marks a historic year for Ocean View’s Mary Jane and Tom Gleeson, whose Gleeson’s Liquors is not only gearing up for its 15th summer in business, but the couple also celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in April.
“We laugh a lot, we love a lot, and we just try to be happy,” Mary Jane describes the couple’s longevity. “We’ve gotten over obstacles and everything, but we work together to get to this point.”
“Never go to bed angry,” Tom advises. “I know it’s very cliche, but it's the truth. Because if you go to bed angry, you’ll probably wake up angry, and it’s worked. Through thick and thin, happiness, sorrow, births, and deaths. I don’t think it’s a big secret, but you don’t see a lot last this long, so we’re blessed.”
Tom had spent many of his summer vacations in Sea Isle City before moving there at age 19. Years earlier, Tom had worked for Mary Jane’s father, Silverio Mazzella, at Mazzella’s Bakery and Deli before getting into the construction business.
“I was a long-haired surfer in the Sixties,” Tom notes. “I had sand in my shoes from Day One … I quit college, came down, slicing lunch meats in the market, and never left.”
Though Tom never had the pleasure of meeting the owner’s daughter at the time, years later the two would find each other in the right place at the right time.
Their love story began where many often do: at a bar. Both in their early 20s, Mary Jane, a lifelong resident of Cape May County, and Tom, formerly of Philadelphia, had met previously and shared mutual friends, but didn’t know each other well at the time. That was until Tom decided to make his move.
“We were at the Ocean Drive,” Mary Jane reminisces. “He came over to me, bold and brazen, and he said, ‘We're going to Margate. Why don’t you come?’ And I thought, ‘I don’t know. It’s kind of far, it’s kind of late.’ But we ended up going, and we had the best time together. From that night on, we were inseparable.”
After two years of dating, Tom asked his former boss Mr. Mazzella for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Tom popped the question to his beloved “Mare” on Christmas Eve 1974. The following April, Tom and Mary Jane tied the knot at St. Joseph Church in Sea Isle City and held their reception at Linwood Country Club. Thanks to Mary Jane’s parents, their wedding was one for the ages.
The Gleeson family celebrating Tom and Mary Jane’s 50th anniversary.
“God bless my mother and father,” Mary Jane says. “After having three kids get married. I can’t believe my parents pulled off the wedding that they did in three months. It was phenomenal, people still talk about it.”
“People still use our wedding as a gauge,” Tom adds. “People say, ‘That was a nice wedding the other night, but it wasn’t as nice as yours.’”
Though the wedding went perfectly according to plan, the honeymoon was another story. Tom and Mary Jane had originally packed their bags to visit New England, but warmer weather was beckoning the beach-loving newlyweds elsewhere.
Says Mary Jane: “We got up the morning after our wedding, and Tommy said, ‘Why don't we go to Florida?’ So we just picked up our suitcases and went. When we got there, we cut our clothes. We cut our jeans and made them into shorts.”
After their impromptu honeymoon to Disney World, it was time to make new memories and grow the Gleeson family. Over the next four years, Tom and Mary Jane would welcome three children. Though parenting can be a full-time job of its own, the Gleesons’ work schedule would soon become much busier. While Tom was already well underway with running his construction business, Gleeson Contractors, Mary Jane pivoted from her career as an X-ray technician when her father asked for her help to run the Mazzella’s Bakery.
“Oh my God, I can't believe this,” Mary Jane recalls. “I have three little babies, and [my father] wants me to run the business. I was a nervous wreck starting out … but we did so well.”
Throughout years of successful operation, the family business evolved from a bakery to a pizzeria, and finally a full-fledged Italian restaurant. Though the restaurant and construction businesses flourished, it was by no means easy for the couple.
“We were like two ships passing in the night,” Mary Jane explains. “We really didn’t see each other a whole lot.”
After 18 years of making pizzas and cheesesteaks, the Gleesons decided it was time for a change. It was when their youngest daughter, JoJo, left for college that Mary Jane had a realization: “I never had days at the beach with my kids … this is not the life I want anymore.”
While Tom continued hammering away as a contractor, Mary Jane moved into real estate, and shortly after, the next family business came into focus. An old funeral parlor at the corner of Route 9 and Sea Isle Boulevard hit the market, so Tom once again made his move.
Tom celebrating Gleeson’s Liquors’ 10th anniversary.
“I had no intention to open a liquor store,” Tom admits. “Except it was the prime corner, so we bought it.”
From 1998 to 2008, the Gleesons ran the corner as a building supplies duplex, until the housing-market crash forced them to pivot once more. Even though Dennis Township had always been a dry town, the Gleesons were able to acquire a liquor license. With the help of his handy Gleeson Contractors crew, Tom was able to tear down the old building and start anew for the liquor store.
“We were scared to death,” Tom recalls. “I could swing a hammer, but I knew nothing about booze … We paid a fortune for the license and had no idea what we were doing.”
Due to building complications, the liquor store missed its planned opening of Memorial Day weekend, but the family’s investment of time, money, and effort would soon pay off, when on June 10, 2010, Gleeson’s Liquors sold its first bottle.
“It was almost like [if you] build it, they will come from ‘Field of Dreams,’” Tom says. “We opened the door, and it was like a line of people. From that day on, it was unbelievable.”
From the start, Tom and Mary Jane entrusted Gleeson’s Liquors to their eldest daughter Megan (Gleeson) Peifer, who says that working with her family has been second nature for her and her siblings.
“We all worked at the restaurant,” she says. “We all worked in the contracting office. We’ve all been in the family business for most of our lives.”
Though it’s their name above the door, the Gleesons believe that they owe their liquor store’s success to their amazing staff.
“We've been so fortunate,” Peifer says. “It took years to establish the staff that we have now. But, my gosh, they are what keep it running the way it does.”
“We feel like they're all named Gleeson,” Tom says. “That’s how much they care about the business.”
Over 15 years in business, Gleeson’s Liquors has had to adapt time and time again, from an ever-changing craft-beer selection to the rise of non-alcoholic mocktail options. In the spirit of change, Gleeson’s Liquors recently underwent a full renovation. The family decided to spruce up the store ahead of the 2025 season. Gleeson’s Liquors now features a more streamlined store layout, as well as brand-new flooring, cabinetry, countertops, shelves, and refrigerators.
“Every customer comes in and just goes wild over it,” Tom shares.
Along with repainting the interior, the family also plans to unveil a mural on the exterior painted by local artist Tim Smith. As for other future plans, Gleeson’s Liquors intends to continue giving back to the Sea Isle community. Whether it’s a food drive for needy families or a coin drop for local schools, the Gleesons are always saying, “Yes, yes, yes.”
“We’re so grateful to the community,” Peifer says. “We feel that every day, with every endeavor. We would not be where we are without our community … Sea Isle’s a beautiful place. It’s where I was raised, it’s where my mom was raised. It’s such a beautiful place to call home, and that will never change.”
Gleeson’s Liquors before renovations …
… and Gleeson’s Liquors after renovations.
Adds Mary Jane: “It’s our foundation.”
While Mary Jane isn’t officially retired yet, and Tom can’t help but contribute to a building project here and there, the Gleesons have certainly wound down their professional lives, and are focused on spending quality time with their three children and seven grandchildren, all of whom live only minutes away.
“Megan's five minutes away, my other daughter [JoJo] is a block from her, my son [Tom Jr.] is 200 feet the other way from here,” Tom explains. “We’re tight, we travel when we can, but mostly just hang out together. It sounds kind of boring, but we love it.”
“This is our home,” Mary Jane says. “This is where we belong. We have no regrets about it.”
Looking back on their years in the Sea Isle area, Mary Jane feels downright blessed for her long-lasting marriage with Tom, and for the beautiful life they’ve built for the Gleeson family: “What more could we ask for in life?”