How Danny Merk Really Feels About the ‘Jersey Shore’ Cast
MTV’s Jersey Shore put eight strangers up in a beach house for the summer under the pretense that they had to work at the Shore Store. Luckily for them, owner Danny Merk is the most laid back boss ever. After countless hours of hungover shifts at the Shore Store, Jersey Shore fans want to know — does Danny like his former employees?
Wait — what is Danny Merk doing now?
Merk still owns the Seaside Heights shore house and the infamous Shore Store. During the offseason, the married father of two helps his family with their 17 Halloween stores scattered throughout Florida. “I literally live in the [Shore Store] from April 15 to Labor Day,” he told Huffington Post. “After that, I’m not there as much. My family is in Florida, and they have 17 Halloween MegaStore locations, two of them permanent. One’s in Fort Myers, so I help them out.”
Danny Merk knows the cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ fairly well
When the Jersey Shore cast first arrived in Seaside Heights, they met the owner of the house they were staying in — Merk. He quickly revealed that the roommates would be working for him that summer in a t-shirt shop that he also owned. “In comes Danny slash our landlord slash our new boss,” Vinny Guadagnino says to cameras. “He’s in control of me pretty much this summer.”
Merk would be in control of the Jersey Shore roommates for the next few summers. After spending so much time with the now-famous cast, Merk has gotten to know each of them reasonably well.
Danny Merk appreciates everything ‘Jersey Shore’ has done for his business
Since his initial encounter with producer SallyAnn Salsano, Merk’s life has forever changed. The day after the show aired, Merk told Vulture he had “people knocking on [his] front door and walking on [the] back deck.” The house, which Merk now refers to as a museum, isn’t the only attraction people want to see. The Shore Store has become something of a Jersey Shore monument on the Seaside Heights boardwalk.
According to Merk, his t-shirt shop continues to do well thanks to Jersey Shore. “People will ask me how much I hate the cast members, and I don’t hate them,” Merk told Huffington Post. “How can I hate anyone who has helped my business so much?” In addition to an increase in foot traffic, Merk says his website sales have also increased. “We get people around the world coming to the site,” he added. “I’ve been very lucky.”
Danny Merk remains friends with the cast and crew of ‘Jersey Shore’
Contrary to what Jersey Shore fans might think, Merk is a big fan of the cast. “We all are still very tight,” he told the Sun-Sentinel. Merk’s bond with the cast of Jersey Shore is evident, as he was in attendance at Angelina Pivarnick’s November 2019 wedding. “We always see each other,” Merk added. “Like I said, we’re all good friends still.” As the unofficial cast member on the MTV series, Merk seems to be pleased with both his experience on the series and the friendships he made along the way.
