KEANSBURG, NJ — Not only did the Beach Gallery in Keansburg abruptly — and permanently — close this week, and is under investigation by the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, but two couples put down full payments to have their weddings there on Oct. 11.Half Moon, another Keansburg restaurant, stepped up to be their wedding venue instead, said Diana Graci, who runs Half Moon with her husband Emiliano.The Beach Gallery closed on Monday or Tuesday. By Thursday, the restaurant posted this statemen...
KEANSBURG, NJ — Not only did the Beach Gallery in Keansburg abruptly — and permanently — close this week, and is under investigation by the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, but two couples put down full payments to have their weddings there on Oct. 11.
Half Moon, another Keansburg restaurant, stepped up to be their wedding venue instead, said Diana Graci, who runs Half Moon with her husband Emiliano.
The Beach Gallery closed on Monday or Tuesday. By Thursday, the restaurant posted this statement to their website saying they will not be reopening.
According to Graci, it was Wednesday afternoon when: "We weren't even open yet and I was at the restaurant when I suddenly got this knock on the door. It was a couple, a man and a woman, standing outside. They said they were just informed the Beach Gallery would not be reopening and would I be able to host their wedding in one week?"
Shortly after that couple left, a second couple showed up, also Wednesday afternoon.
It was the Keansburg borough clerk who sent both couples to Half Moon. Graci said both couples went to town hall to pick up their marriage licenses and were told by a clerk their event venue had suddenly closed. News 12 reports utilities at Beach Gallery were turned off, which forced the town to shut down the restaurant. News 12 also reports multiple Beach Gallery wait staff have not been paid, including a waitress who spoke to Patch for this article yesterday.
Both couples put down full payments to have their weddings at the Beach Gallery, said Graci. For one couple, it was more than $10,000.
"They paid in full. They both told me they got phone calls this past weekend, it must have been Saturday, from the Beach Gallery asking for their full payment. Which they paid," said Graci. "You know you're going to close. And they still took their payments," she said of the Beach Gallery.
"I can't even tell you the level of stress these couples were under. You know when you're so mad you're almost quiet. They did not know how to articulate how upset they were."
Graci said she talked to her husband and both of them "immediately" knew they had to host the two weddings. Two weddings in one day. In one week.
"The couples are both Keansburg locals, and we live in Keansburg; we own a home here; we have a child here," she said. "We are very invested in the growth of this town and this community. We said of course we'll do it. My husband and I are just gonna power through. We feel so badly for these couples. I just want to do what I can to help these people. They lost all their money."
Graci canceled all reservations made for Oct. 11 (and gave the customers gift cards), and worked on menus and event details with the two couples. Half Moon will host a brunch wedding for 70 people on Oct. 11, and a dinner banquet later that evening for 40 people, with the ceremony either on the beach or at the restaurant, depending on the weather. Another business, Ash and Vines, also donated a photo wall to each couple for their wedding day once she heard their story.
All phone lines at the Beach Gallery are down since the restaurant closed. A call from Patch earlier this week has not been returned.