Sarah Griesemer
The last month of 2024 was rife with news of restaurants we will welcome in 2025.
From the return of a long-running market to the approval of a new restaurant by the beach, there is a lot to look forward to this year.
Here is the restaurant news we reported on in December.
Fuze Eatery Empanadas & Smoothies to open in Eatontown
A family-owned empanada and smoothie shop, previously a tenant of the shuttered Monmouth County Mall, is replacing a long-standing Cluck-U Chicken.
Brothers and co-owners Bryan and Stalin Larco, who run the business with their mother Monica, father Stalin and sister Angie, hope to open their restaurant soon.
The menu features a dozen flaky-crusted savory empanadas and half a dozen sweet empanadas, all of which are filled and fried to order. Savory options include arroz con pollo, plantain and cheese, pulled pork, pizza and Buffalo chicken; sweet varieties include guava and cream cheese, dulce de leche, and peanut butter with banana.
The restaurant is at 15 Route 36 in Eatontown; fuzeeatery.com.
Sickles Market plans reopening following bankruptcy
Sickles Market, a 116-year-old Little Silver business that closed abruptly in March due to its owners' financial difficulties, may reopen this year.
The investment group 1663 Partners LLC, who will become the market's new owners, plan to pull business out of bankruptcy and potentially reopen by summer.
Sickles Market is at 1 Harrison Ave. in Little Silver.
Cava to open first Shore restaurant
A shuttered Atlanta Bread Bakery Cafe in Brick Plaza will become the Shore's first location of Cava, a Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant, in 2025.
Cava, which will occupy half of the building, serves build-your-own rice bowls and pitas filled with grilled chicken, steak, falafel and lamb meatballs with toppings like hummus, tzatziki, slaw, pickled onions, roasted eggplant and a variety of dressings.
There are nine locations in New Jersey, but this will be the first in Monmouth or Ocean counties.
Cava will open at 1042 Cedar Bridge Ave. in Brick.
Mabel opens at Bell Works
It came as no surprise to fans of Asbury Park's Cardinal Provisions in Asbury Park that owners Laura Brahn and Grace Crossman have created another beautiful restaurant, this time at Holmdel's Bell Works.
Mabel, the first full-service restaurant and bar at Bell Works, seats more than 200 diners between its dining room, lounge and bar. It opened in November and serves lunch and dinner Wednesdays through Saturdays, and brunch on the weekends.
The menu, inspired by coastal European flavors, has pan-roasted octopus, scarpariello wings, white wine-steamed clams on sourdough toast, steak au poivre, and a fried mushroom sandwich, plus pancakes, quiche, chicken and waffles, and Crossman's famous xuixo pastries at brunch.
Bell Works is at 101 Crawfords Corner Road in Holmdel; mabelatbell.com.
Yellow Dog Coffee Roasters opens in Stafford
Thirty-year-old Dave Smithman didn't start drinking coffee until he was in his 20s, but he quickly began roasting his own coffee beans, then selling them, and now he has his own coffee shop.
Yellow Dog Coffee Roasters in the Manahawkin section of Stafford, with a roaster that holds 30 pounds of beans at a time, serves drip coffee, pour-over coffee, cold brew and espresso-based drinks. Yellow Dog also offers baked goods like cinnamon rolls, muffins, cookies and scones, plus breakfast sandwiches.
The coffee shop is at 420 N. Main St. in the Manahawkin section of Stafford; 609-661-8698, yellowdogroasters.com.
Mister C's Beach Bistro to become The Reef Club
The Reef Club, a waterfront restaurant and bar taking the place of Mister C's Beach Bistro in Allenhurst, was approved by the borough in December.
Led by Spring Lake Seafood owners Bradley and Lula Rodriguez and entrepreneur Eli Yedid, The Reef Club will undergo a proposed $2 million renovation. Bradley anticipates opening the restaurant in time for the summer season.
"What we are doing is a full renovation to bring the most unique, amazing beautiful spot on the Jersey Shore by far, and the best food and service in New Jersey," he said. "We're not going for anything less."
The Reef Club will be at Allen Avenue and Ocean Place in Allenhurst.
Xina of Toms River is expanding to Bradley Beach
Xina, a popular Toms River restaurant known for its creative sushi and Chinese entre?es, is opening a second location.
The restaurant is under construction at 415 Main St. in Bradley Beach, a shuttered 7-Eleven, said Rick Lee, who with his family has owned Xina since 2012. He is planning an early 2025 opening.
Diners can expect a menu similar to the original restaurant, which serves dishes like steamed Peking duck buns, red curry mussels, bulgogi kimchi fried rice, and miso salmon with black coconut sticky rice, plus creative sushi rolls.
Xina will open at 415 Main St. in Bradley Beach. The Toms River restaurant is at 3430 Route 37; 732-279-6327, xinarestaurant.com.
Big Dogs opens in Toms River
Big Dogs, a new iteration of a restaurant previously called Big Dogs Cafe, opened in December in Toms River.
New owners Giovanni Bautista and Micaela Herrera, who also own six Taco-Tastic restaurants in Ocean County and Big Dogs in Berkeley Township, opened the burger, chicken sandwich, fries and milkshake spot at Fischer Boulevard and Route 37. The original was a few miles west on Route 37.
Big Dogs is at 3101 Route 37 E., Toms River; 732-889-8030, bigdogsnj.com. The Berkeley Township location is at 242 Route 9 in the Bayville section; 848-480-2234.
Rosie's Pizza of Point Pleasant Beach opens in Middletown
Rosie's Pizza in Point Pleasant Beach has become one of the Shore's most popular pizzerias since opening in 2017, and owner Mike Mercuro has added a second location.
The restaurant, at Kings Commons shopping center in Middletown, opened Wednesday, Jan. 1. Like the original restaurant, it serves sourdough pizza, salad and meatballs.
"I like really, really simple," Mercuro said. "I just want the entire place to be focused on the pizza, focused on the product."
Rosie's Pizza is at 1500 Route 35; 908-493-5900, rosiesppb.com. Also at 620 Bay Ave., Point Pleasant Beach; 732-746-3060.
Ada's Gojjo expanding with vegan restaurant
Ada's Gojjo, which serves Ethiopian and Dominican food in Asbury Park, will open a second restaurant in the city in 2025.
Owner Adanech Asghedom will serve vegan Ethiopian food at the new restaurant, which soon will be under construction at 721 Cookman Ave. Asghedom purchased the building, previously occupied by Heaven Art & Antiques, over the summer.
Plant-based diners make up a large percentage of her current customers, Asghedom said, so focusing on vegan food makes sense.
The original Ada's Gojjo is at 1301 Memorial Drive, Asbury Park; 732-222-5005, adagojjo.com.
Broadway Hot & Honey to add three stores in 2025
A locally founded chicken restaurant will grow threefold at the Shore in 2025.
Broadway Hot & Honey Chicken, which opened in early 2024 in Wall, is adding restaurants in Oceanport, Freehold Township and Middletown. The menu includes chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, wings, biscuits, salads and more.
The restaurants will be at 700 Oceanport Ave. in Oceanport, 165 Elton Adelphia Road in Freehold Township, and 1500 Route 35 in Middletown.
The Wall restaurant is at 1861 Route 35, Wall; 732-820-6765, broadwaychicken.com.
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