Barbecue fans know Ray Sheehan as the man behind BBQ Buddha, a line of barbecue rubs and sauces sold in markets across the state.
Now he is the owner of a new restaurant, too. Ray's Roadside Kitchen, serving homestyle comfort food — some of it flavored with those sauces — opens Wednesday in the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold. Sheehan owns the 40-seat restaurant, previously Granny's Grill, with Christian Nevers of the New Egypt section of Plumsted.
"We wanted to bring another dining option to our area and have a community part to it," said Sheehan, who also lives in New Egypt. "We want to be beneficial to our community, whether it's creating jobs or giving them a place to eat."
He turned to local artists to paint a Garden State-themed mural in the dining room, and the restaurant serves and sells coffee from Pinelands Coffee Roasters of New Egypt. Sheehan plans to welcome local musicians to perform at the restaurant, and local artists to display their work on its walls.
The restaurant, which is BYOB, offers counter service. "It's not fast food, it's good food fast," said Nevers, whose also manages his family's grocery store, New Egypt Marketplace.
How it started:Neptune's BBQ Buddha spices things up
The food is Southern-style with a nod to barbecue, Sheehan said. He is making fried chicken coated in housemade dredge ("something that's unique," he said) and served plain or with dustings of Jersey Devil Hot or Bee Sting Honey seasoning.
There's a pressed sandwich of carved ham with Brie and honey mustard, and fried flounder with sides of barbecue beans and potato salad.
Despite his background in competition barbecue, that style of cooking isn't the focus of the menu — it will appear as specials, Sheehan said. But his sauces add flavor to several dishes: Mantra Hot Sauce flavors pimento cheese, which tops a freshly ground burger and is served as an appetizer with crackers; Kansas City barbecue sauce adds a touch of sweetness to the Pit Life BBQ burger, with Cooper Sharp cheese, onion rings and bacon; and Memphis Mop barbecue sauce coats pulled pork.
"We want to keep it simple," Sheehan said. "We want to showcase home cooking."
For subscribers:From birria to jerk chicken, try this roadside food at the Jersey Shore
There are also "Big Bowl Salads" with scratch-made dressings.
"With the menu, you can be as naughty or as nice as you want to be," Sheehan said. "You can have a big salad or you can have fried chicken."
Once the restaurant is up and running, Sheehan and Nevers plan to add scratch-made biscuits to the menu, and host dinners featuring recipes from Sheehan's cookbooks. To start, the restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Go: 465 Route 539 in Cream Ridge; 609-758-0616, instagram.com/rays_roadside_kitchen.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], and for more Jersey Shore food news, subscribe to our weekly Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.