MONMOUTH BEACH -- Karyn Jarmer, who has led My Kitchen Witch through recessions, Superstorm Sandy and a pandemic, will sell the restaurant and catering business to an employee next month and step away, she said Friday.
Jarmer, 60, said she has been battling atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can leave her feeling like she has run a marathon, and finally decided to act on her doctor's advice to reduce her stress.
"I still love this business so much, and I can't give up writing menus and such, but it's the way the world is right now," she said. "It's making it very hard."
The sale to Lisa D'Averso marks the end of a chapter for the Beach Road business that has made a name by offering healthy comfort food, a witch-themed decor (more like a good witch than a bad witch), and a catering service that focuses on television and film productions.
Jarmer has managed to survive in a notoriously difficult industry in part through determination. During COVID-19, she and her masked-up staff took orders, put meals in customers' trunks, made deliveries and kept the restaurant afloat. She built a loyal following.
"Everybody goes there for coffee, everybody goes there for lunch, everybody goes there sometimes for special dinners," said Carl Gross, 79, who has lived in Monmouth Beach with his wife, Mary, since 1983. "Other things come and go, but Karyn's a fixture. It's home, you know?"
Jarmer lives in Red Bank with her wife, Melissa McConnell. A Neptune High School graduate, Jarmer began a catering business in New York City in 1995, building a high-profile client list that included the "Sally Jesse Raphael Show" and "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee Show."
Jarmer, however, began to worry about her safety after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and decided to move to Monmouth Beach full-time, where she had a home. One day after a run, she stopped in Acuna Cafe for breakfast, looked around, and, on a whim, asked the owner if he wanted to sell the restaurant.
He said no. But he called the next day with a change of heart. Jarmer bought the restaurant and, while thinking of a name, recalled the time she was catering for "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," when she got a last-minute phone call from the staff telling her Madonna was going to be there and would need a vegan breakfast.
Jarmer panicked. She wondered how she would pull it off.
"Well, you're the kitchen witch, aren't you?" a staff member told her.
Jarmer opened My Kitchen Witch May 13, 2005 — a Friday the 13th — and slowly found her stride. She started with scrambled eggs and omelets, before adding toast and expanding the menu. She opened seven days a week. She added Friday night dinners, a juice bar, a market and another catering business.
"Once I got my rhythm, I would say within a month or two, people really started spreading the word," Jarmer said. "And it was kind of like, be careful what you wish for. Because we were busy, and I started having waits for brunches on Saturday and Sunday for an hour."
Jarmer overcame obstacles. When Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, she moved her catering business to Freehold within 48 hours and continued to operate while My Kitchen Witch — and the rest of Monmouth Beach — recovered from the flood. She reopened the restaurant nine months later.
The business continued to thrive, surviving the pandemic and taking advantage of a spike in television and film crews in New York and New Jersey that needed catering. Among the clients: the movie "Anora," which recently won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Jarmer, however, said the stress was taking a toll. Diagnosed with AFib, her doctor told her five years ago that she needed to take a step back. She began to talk to D'Averso, who had worked for Jarmer for 12 years and helped build the catering operation, about buying the business.
D'Averso agreed. "I’m honored to be handed the torch of My Kitchen Witch and look forward to bringing it up to levels beyond your expectations," D'Averso said in a statement. "This seems like a natural step for me.”
Jarmer said she would help behind the scenes for the next three years — while devoting more time to pickleball, feeding deer at her home and tending to her garden — before walking away.
Officially, the sale is expected to be complete on May 13, 20 years after My Kitchen Witch opened.
"I hate the word 'retirement' because it sounds like I'm quitting," Jarmer said. "I'm passing it on so it can continue to grow. I'm just not going to work as hard. And, pretty soon, not at all."
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter at the Asbury Park Press. He has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry since 1999. He can be reached at [email protected].