Home Care In Spring Lake, NJ

New Jersey may be stuck in the chilly doldrums of winter, still months away from beach season. But even in the offseason, one of the Garden State’s hottest restaurants just opened down the Shore.

Longtime Spring Lake banquet and wedding venue The Shore Club just became home to Olea — a splashy new Italian steakhouse from a chef with a major following.

Nestled in the space that once hosted The Sea Crest Grille, Olea has been a hot table since it opened in early December. From the ECS Hospitality Group and Brandon Carter, the founding chef of wildly popular steakhouse The Butcher’s Block in Long Branch, this new steak, pasta and seafood concept is the latest elevated dining destination for Monmouth County. The space is centered around their namesake, an olive tree — a symbol of heritage and hospitality.

Inspired by cuisine from the Mediterranean coast, Carter’s aim is to blend those international flavors with local and seasonal ones, sourcing ingredients from nearby farmers and fishermen through his creative culinary approach and signature wood-fired style of cooking.

The wine and cocktail program add a playful twist, with catchy names like “The Irish Riviera,” “Ziggy Stardust,” and “Virtual Insanity.”

Does Carter’s stellar steak work from The Butcher’s Block translate in his new project? Does Olea stand out in a state filled with steak, seafood and pasta? Eager to experience the early hype, I visited on a Saturday night.

The good

Olea’s menu is full of tempting dishes, ranging from classic Italian and steakhouse to more innovative American creations. This is hardly a rarity down the Shore. Seeing it executed this well, however, is another story.

The first dish we sampled was a prime example of Olea’s seafood prowess — the crudo ($28). The specifics of the dish change based on what the chef selects daily, and upon this visit they prepared thinly sliced tuna topped with finely diced apple, onion, microgreens and crisp shallots. Each melt-in-your-mouth piece sat in a delicious citrus emulsion that balanced the flavors. I’d order this again in a heartbeat, excited to try Carter’s other delicious raw fish concoctions.

The crab cake rangoon ($28) jumped out on the menu, a fun and creative play on a steakhouse classic. The crispy fried rangoon purses filled with tender crab cakes were packed with flavor and were lighter than you might expect, thanks to the fennel and herb salad with which they were served. The Old Bay agrodolce added another layer of bite and savoriness to the dish, which all in all, was an absolute hit. If you need proof that Olea isn’t just a typical steakhouse, look no further.

Olea’s spicy rigatoni ($28) is nearly identical to the one Carter served at The Butcher’s Block — meaning, it’s one of the best in the state. The pasta was exquisitely al dente, coated in a thick sauce that struck the perfect balance of sweet DiNapoli tomato sauce, creaminess and spice from the Calabrian chili. We noticed several bowls of spicy rig landing on nearby tables, further validating its popularity. This one is a must-order if you’re in the mood for a reliable pasta dish that packs a little heat.

While Olea isn’t a classic steakhouse, it does have an extensive steak selection ranging from bone-in ribeyes to prime tomahawks. The 8-ounce prime filet ($75) was a small but mighty slab of beef that had an incredible crust. It arrived pre-sliced, which was surprising and unconventional, but it somehow still remained juicy. While it could have used a touch of finishing salt, it was still an excellent steak.

Carter’s Cap’n Crunch Brussels sprouts are arguably one of his biggest claim to fame — he paired the trendy veggie with the iconic breakfast cereal with delicious results at The Butcher’s Block. So I was excited to see his Sprouts 2.0 ($16) on Olea’s menu. This iteration featured the same, gloriously fried sprouts topped with a hot honey sriracha glaze, hazelnut crunch and parmesan. A much more grown-up version of his original recipe, but these crispy, sweet, salty and nutty sprouts still hit on all the flavor notes and complimented the simply cooked steak perfectly.

Among the more creative dessert offerings, the fennel pollen ice cream ($15) is a delightfully simple scoop of house-churned fennel and vanilla ice cream topped with sea salt, fennel pollen, and a drizzle of olive oil. The ice cream was more mellow than expected, with just a slight hint of anise. It was a touch too frozen, but after letting it sit for a few minutes it became perfect texturally. Each well-rounded spoonful of creamy ice cream, crunchy fennel pollen and sea salt plus bright, viscous olive oil went down easily — a perfect ending to the rich meal that preceded.

The bad

Truthfully, the Caesar salad ($20) at Olea wasn’t terrible, it just needed a little tweaking. I loved the complex flavor of the dressing, there was just too much of it. The leaves were crisp, and the fried capers added a nice briny crunch. With a lighter touch of dressing, this salad had the chops to be stellar.

I was elated when I saw spaghetti all’assassina ($28) on the menu. This was the first time I’ve come across “the assassin’s spaghetti,” a rustic, southern Italian pasta dish, in the United States, and was eager to see how it would translate. Carter cooks the spaghetti risotto-style in a Dinapoli tomato broth with Calabrian chili, garlic and basil. The noodles are meant to absorb all of the broth and cook down in a pan until charred. Olea’s version had great flavor and came close to hitting the mark, but ultimately suffered in texture — it didn’t achive the dish’s signature crispiness. A longer cook for a more caramelized finish would have been the ticket.

The vibe

The entrance of the restaurant is tucked in the rear of the hotel’s lobby. So guests enter through the main entrance, where they are greeted by a hostess who escorts them to the lobby bar where they are encouraged to enjoy a pre-dinner drink.

The next part of the evening begins in one of the two dining rooms — a cozy, texture-rich sunken room with a fireplace and velvet banquettes, or the more open, neutral toned room with soaring 15-foot olive trees and dramatic chandeliers. There’s another slender bar tucked behind the fireplace dining room, which feels more intimate than the lobby bar.

We were sat near the fireplace, which warmed the room substantially as it filled with a mix of couples and groups of friends dining together. Olea feels special, yet approachable with an upscale vibe that’s not “in your face” showy.

Olea is an exciting addition to the Monmouth County dining scene. Carter has created a cozy new destination for a great meal that delivers on quality without being fussy. The beautiful bar and dining spaces offer a diverse experience, while service across the board was attentive and consistent.

Yes, we’re still months away from high season down the Shore. But it’s easy to imagine Olea still being the hottest restaurant in the region once the summertime hits.

Early badge sales show strong momentum as construction on Maree moves quickly toward a summer debut

SPRING LAKE, NJ — At the recent Spring Lake council meeting, two topics were on the agenda and during the discussion period of the meeting. The sale of beach badges was a point of focus, and officials also provided an update on the new restaurant being built on Third Ave.

Before reviewing the pricing and sales status for 2026, the Borough shared a snapshot of total badge activity for the 2025 season. A weekly report detailing overall badge revenue illustrates just how significant badge sales are for seasonal operations.

Spring Lake Beach Sales 2025

Pool and Beach Combo gives access to both the pool facility and beach for the season. The $275 badge price is split between Beach and Pool. The figures above show only the Beach portion of the price.

These figures illustrate the strength of Spring Lake’s seasonal demand, with more than eleven thousand seasonal badges sold and well over one hundred thousand daily badges purchased throughout the summer.

In terms of badge costs, the price of visiting Spring Lake’s beaches will remain the same as the 2025 badge pricing did not change. According to the approved resolution:

Badges have already gone on sale, and to date the town has sold 1,850 seasonal and senior badges combined. Business Administrator Bryan Dempsey noted that sales typically start strong in December because many residents use badges as holiday gifts. “Over the course of this past 2025 season, we sold over 11,000 total beach badges,” he added. Badges will remain available for gift giving or regular purchase through the end of the year.

The resolution passed this week by the Mayor and Borough Council also outlines updated pricing for seasonal and senior beach badges for the 2026 season. These badges grant access to the borough’s beaches only during the summer months, and pricing adjustments reflect rising operational costs including staffing, maintenance, and safety services. Spring Lake, known for its clean and carefully maintained shoreline, typically updates badge fees every few years.

More details on daily badge prices, pool fees, and any additional adjustments for 2026 will be released in the Borough’s full summer operations notice early next year. Residents and visitors can purchase seasonal badges through the Borough’s online portal or in person during the spring pre-sale period.

A New Dining Spot Takes Shape on Third Ave: In other news from the meeting, Dempsey provided an update on the new restaurant being constructed in the former bank building on Third Ave - Maree. “The restaurant has started and is deep into the construction phase with demolishing completed, and they moved into framing this week. They ripped up the floor. Our expectation right now is that they should be ready to open by Memorial Day as all the work is inside, so weather plays no part in the construction of the new restaurant. Our hope is that it will be open for the summer season."

Marée brings the spirit of the coast to the plate with seasonal American fare, crafted drinks, and warm hospitality. It’s a neighborhood bistro rooted in history, connection, and the belief that great restaurants should feel like community.

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Holiday train rides are a staple this time of year, but have you ever taken the kids to an elaborate model train show? If your family loves all things trains, here are the most impressive holiday model train shows to check out this season:

Holiday Train ShowNew York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NYNovember 15 – January 11Either during the day or on select Holiday Train Nights, catch model trains as they zip through a display of almost 200 replicas of New York landmarks, each re-created from natural materials such as birch bark, pinecones, palm fronds and cinnamon sticks.

Farmingdale Craft Fair and Xmas Train Show Farmingdale Elementary School, Farmingdale November 22 Take a break from shopping for holiday gifts, and pop into the school’s library, where the train show will feature a combined fastrack O and S gauge layout, and a G gauge layout with continously operating trains.

Pacific Southern Railway’s Holiday Train Show Pacific Southern Railway, Rocky Hill November 22-23 Princeton locals James “Murr” Murray, star of Impractical Jokers, and his wife Melyssa Murray, owner of No. 95 Candles, purchased the home earlier this year, and are opening the 5,000-square-foot HO layout to the public. There will be family-friendly activities, light bites and drinks, music, and time to hang out with Murr himself.

Holiday Model Train ShowGarden State Model Railway Club, N. HaledonNov. 28-30, Dec. 6-7, 13-14The open house and model railroad shows feature two operating layouts, Thomas the Tank Engine, a special kids’ layout, and a play area.

Model Railroad Club Holiday Train ShowThe Model Railroad Club, UnionNovember 28-30; December 6-7, 13-14Every hour, a 15-minute performance runs the trains to a professionally narrated script. See how the track is hand-laid, how mountains and scenery are created, and ask about the engineering that goes into the club’s bi-level corkscrew loop.

Antique Toy Train ShowThe Museum of American History, DeptfordThurs.-Sun., November 28 – February 1 See toy trains from the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, including Lionel, Marx and American Flyer engines. Plasticville buildings from the 1950s will give the platforms a vintage holiday appearance.

Train and Winter Show 2025NY Society of Model Engineers, CarlstadtNovember. 29-30; December 6-7, 13-14The New York Society of Model Engineers opens its doors to show off O-scale and HO layouts, with steam and diesel engines, Thomas and friends, freight and passenger trains, and working trolleys.

Christmas Train Village Duggan Hall, Spring Lake November 29 – December 31 The Duggan Building exhibits a re-creation of the beautiful town of Spring Lake via a train village.

Holiday Model Train ShowBarron Arts Center, WoodbridgeDecember 1-30 (closed December 24-25)Mike Gelesky designed and set up the entire display with lots of holiday cheer to celebrate the display’s 35th year.

Weihnachtsmarkt German Christmas Market of New Jersey Sussex County Fairgrounds, Augusta December 5-7 There will be a carousel, pony rides, horse-drawn wagon rides, a petting zoo, a wagon parade, visits with Santa in the courtyard gazebo, storytime with Mrs. Claus and her Elf, a Christmas tree lighting on Friday, festive lights, ice sculptures, and the Pocono Mountain Garden Railway Society train display in the Greenhouse, a visit with author Sue Steinhardt and her dog Imperfect Phil, face painting, and a German Christmas traditions display.

Christmas Craft, Food & Vendor Show Calgo Gardens, Freehold December 6 There will be 60 craft vendors and a few food trucks on site, in addition to all the holiday landscaping and greenery. Ocean County Society of Model Railroaders will set up inside a greenhouse, operating G gauge trains which can be used for garden railroads.

Holiday Train Expo Ocean City Music Pier, Ocean City December 6-7 The show will feature running displays, model trains of all gauges and vendors selling various scale model trains.

Holiday Spectacular Christmas & Train DisplayInfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall Twp. December 6-7, 13-14, 20-21Admission to the Garden State Central Model Railroad Club’s train show includes access to all of the museums on site.

Toms River Train Show Toms River Elks Lodge, Toms River December 21 Members of the Ocean County Society of Model Railroaders will set up operating Legacy, TMCC, and Lionchief trains on fastrack layouts. Joe Mania, of JLM Trains in Freehold, who is a Lionel authorized service center who repairs and restores prewar, postwar and modern trains, will be meeting train lovers as well.

SPRING LAKE, NJ — At a recent Spring Lake Council meeting, Councilwoman Kathleen McDonough noted that the Spring Lake Planning Board approved a subdivision for St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, allowing the church to partition off its parsonage property for sale. She said the church and Wesley Hall will remain, and only the parsonage portion will be sold to the public.

The Spring Lake Planning Board voted 9-0 on Dec. 10 to approve the subdivision of the church’s property at 907 Fourth Ave., enabling the congregation to sell the parsonage as leaders work to address financial pressures and preserve the historic church and its community facilities.

Church officials said the parsonage has been vacant for about a year, requires significant repairs, and is no longer used for pastoral housing, though it remains suitable as a single-family residence. The approved plan creates a 6,366-square-foot parsonage lot, while leaving a 31,211-square-foot lot for the church and Wesley Hall, which will remain conforming under borough zoning standards.

As part of the application, the board also reviewed revisions to the driveway and walkway area serving Wesley Hall, including narrowing the driveway to eight feet, adding grass strips, increasing the setback from the west property line from 2½ feet to 4½ feet, and adding hedges for buffering.

Residents raised questions about the driveway configuration and walkway, and the applicant’s team said the design maintains access to Wesley Hall while addressing neighborhood concerns. Officials also confirmed the parsonage tract would not be eligible for multi-family use under zoning.

Planning Board members emphasized the historic significance of the property and noted that any future redevelopment plans for the parsonage lot would require separate municipal approvals.

In other News: Spring Lake Seeks $20,000 State Grant for Environmental Planning - The Borough approved a resolution authorizing the borough to apply for a $20,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to support local environmental planning efforts.

The grant would fund a project titled “Green Communities Inventory and CFMP Development.”

Councilwoman Syd Whalley said, “This is a shade tree grant that will go toward our tree inventory, and we are working on our next five-year plan and $5,000 of that grant will go towards paying the consultant to guide us. There is an urgency as the price of trees will be going up in the new year, so we want to act quickly to get ahead of the increases.” She added, “Don Grant of the Shade Tree Commission is working very quickly on the property owners requests of over 200 trees. In the end, we will match funding against the requests and see what we can fulfill."

Under the resolution, Borough Administrator W. Bryan Dempsey, or the successor to the office, is authorized to submit the grant application and, if awarded, execute the grant agreement and any necessary amendments that do not increase the borough’s financial obligation.

The resolution also states the borough will comply with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws and regulations related to the agreement. If in-kind services are used as part of the project, the borough must provide an itemized attachment outlining any volunteer work or donated equipment or property.

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In the New Jersey Shore town of Spring Lake, large Victorian and Shingle Style houses sit along tree-lined streets that weave between a quaint downtown and an unspoiled beach. It is a look that hasn’t changed much since moneyed Main Line Philadelphians started making the 80-mile trek to summer there in the late 1800s.

Longtime summer residents John Kelly, 71, and Patrice Kelly, 68, who now live there full time, wanted the same grand, traditional feel for the five-bedroom, 10,000-square-foot house they built a couple blocks from the beach. But they also didn’t want it to look like every other Victorian in town.

“We wanted something that would have been here a hundred years ago but that was still unique,” said Patrice. “Handcrafted but also modern and light.”

The four-year project, finished in 2022 at a cost of around $10.5 million on a half-acre lot they bought in 2018 for $4.85 million, is a blend of Victorian and Shingle Style. The specific crossroads of those architectural styles emerged between 1870 and 1890, said James Anderson of Anderson Campanella Architects who, with his partner and wife, Felicia Campanella, designed the house. “It’s eclectic,” said Anderson. “A mixture of some of the more richly detailed Victorian woodwork with the more rustic, planar and natural Shingle style.”

The architects’ inspiration came from several well-known historic homes, including the Isaac Bell House in Newport, R.I., built in 1882 and one of the earliest examples of Shingle Style, and Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Mass., built as a summer home in 1886. They drew on the Bell house’s brickwork, iron gates and wavy wall-shingle pattern, plus the woven-wood-lattice panels and stair posts inside. Naumkeag inspired the sawtooth shingle patterns and cabinets.

The shape of the Kellys’ house is rectangular; the exterior is stone and wood. There are bay windows, rustic stone pillars, second-floor balconies with views of the ocean, a large wraparound porch and a stone tower. The woodwork, both inside and outside, is intricately carved, with sawtooth, fish scale and wavy patterns.

The cost of land is high in Spring Lake. For instance, a 75-by-150-foot lot on the beach is for sale for $4.95 million. So the Kellys decided they could get the most for their money by building a four-story house, said Patrice. That meant digging underground to put in a basement—or “lower level,” as they call it—necessitating a complicated dewatering process to remove water from the excavated site.

The design was also influenced by John’s career in insurance, which started as a summer job in the mailroom and ended as CEO and owner at the same company, a New York-based firm called Frenkel & Company, later sold to EPIC. In all of their homes, and in their lives in general, he said he always considers safety first. (The Kellys joke that one of their daughter’s college essays was titled, “My father is an insurance broker, so we never have any fun.”)

For their Jersey Shore home, John insisted on a slate roof, lightning rods, two generators and an alarm that goes off if there’s water running for more than two hours. He bought flood insurance from a private company based in London, and he put security cameras everywhere. (Patrice’s sisters once tortured John when he was in South Carolina on a golf trip by repeatedly going into the wine cellar and holding expensive bottles up to the cameras, knowing he was monitoring closely via cellphone alerts.)

Patrice’s background also influenced the design. She wrote a dissertation on the history of community gardens and spent 13 years running community gardens in Essex County, N.J. Their home has a hydroponic room on the lower level where tomatoes and kale grow under special lights, each with its own feeding system. “They’re the most expensive vegetables in New Jersey,” she jokes. There is also a generous lawn and a garden outside, creating green space on three sides of the house.

The couple, who got engaged after three months and married in 1985, raised their three children in Glenridge, N.J., where they lived for 30 years in a Mediterranean-style house. They discovered Spring Lake in the 1990s, staying at a bed-and-breakfast for a few weeks in the summers. They bought a beach house there in 2004 for $1.9 million and built a new 4,000-square-foot Victorian on the property in 2005 for summer stays.

Being so close to the beach meant dealing with flooding after storms and too much upkeep. The couple also wanted a bigger home to live in full time where their extended family would have room to stay. “Most people when they retire want a smaller house. We wanted a larger home so we’d have room to entertain,” said Patrice.

They sold their Spring Lake beach house for $4.15 million in 2021 and their Glenridge house in 2022. Though just a few blocks from the beach, their new home is on a high point and not in a flood zone, they said. Their daughter Caitlin Kelly-McKenna owns an art gallery in town, and her 2 ½-year-old daughter loves to swim in her grandparents’ pool and read books in the tower. “This is the house my mom always wanted to build,” said Kelly-McKenna.

In 2008, the Kellys managed to get off the wait list and into the Spring Lake Golf Club. The financial crisis that year helped them move up the list, which they’d been on for two years, John said. There are currently no openings at the golf club—not even a wait list—for new members, and no one has joined for years, he said.

John said they love the quaintness and the history of Spring Lake. But living in a community that’s so multigenerational means they are still considered newcomers. “We’re newbies, even after 15 years,” he said.