Exit Zero was established on July 4, 2003 as a black-and-white weekly magazine in Cape May. The name was inspired by Cape May’s placement at the end of the 172-exit Garden State Parkway and the mission is to promote and celebrate Cape May with a fresh, relevant voice. In 2005, Exit Zero began the expansion of its brand beyond newsprint, opening a tiny retail store, selling Exit Zero-branded apparel and Cape May artwork. The store later moved to a larger location on the island and when the restaurant next door became available in 2015, the company knocked through the wall and created Exit Zero Cookhouse, offering Indian and Thai curries. The Cookhouse was ranked number one restaurant in Cape May by TripAdvisor that summer. In 2018, the restaurant moved across the street into a purpose-built new HQ and became Exit Zero Filling Station – a restaurant, retail store, gas station and publishing office. The gas pumps were removed in 2021 as Exit Zero focused on a new outdoor dining space complete with vintage private dining trailers. That same year, Exit Zero took over the restaurants and retail at the Cape May-Lewes ferry terminal after signing a 10-year lease with Delaware River & Bay Authority. The newly created Ferry Park launches in the spring of 2022, offering three new restaurants, a cafe and retail store, along with a world-class wedding venue. A waterfront park, shopping village, hammock grove and recreation area is slated to open in the spring of 2023.