This year kicked off with a flurry of restaurant openings and closings at the Shore — and news that more are on the way.
The dining scene is especially busy in Asbury Park, where a longtime coffee shop closed its doors, a downtown spot has new owners, and a handful of restaurants either opened or announced they are on the way.
In Seaside Heights, a new breakfast and lunch restaurant will open before summer. And to put a cap on the month, we learned a well-known local chef is heading to television.
Here are openings, closings and other restaurant news we reported on in January.
Chef David Viana headed to Food Network
January was a big month for Chef David Viana.
First came news that Heirloom at the St. Laurent, an Asbury Park restaurant in which he is a partner, is undergoing a change of concept in February. Next, the announcement that Viana is in the running for a James Beard Foundation Award; he is a semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.
Finally, the chef was revealed to be a competitor on Food Network’s upcoming “Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers,” premiering Sunday, Feb. 16. Sixteen chefs will compete for eight spots on the cooking show “Tournament of Champions,” which airs in March.
Puffy Cotton Candy opens in Freehold Raceway Mall
The Gentle Giraffe character created by Puffy Cotton Candy.
Puffy Cotton Candy, a shop where the silky sugar confection is spun into the shapes of animals and characters while customers watch, opened Saturday at Freehold Raceway Mall.
Founded in Tennessee, the cotton candy is inspired by Japanese artisans crafting flower shapes from cotton candy.
“Cotton candy was always a part of my life,” said franchisee Alyssa Corino of Little Egg Harbor. “I grew up with cotton candy at the boardwalk and I always loved it, and just seeing that you can make different art with it was really awesome.”
The store is on the upper level of the mall, near center court.
Milk Sugar Love Creamery coming to Asbury Park
Milk Sugar Love Creamery and Bakeshop, a Jersey City shop known for its small-batch ice creams, will open this summer at 1319 Memorial Drive in Asbury Park.
“It’s been a dream of mine to have a shop near the beach because I grew up going to Ocean City as a kid, and my best summer memories were being on the boardwalk with ice cream,” said owner Emma Taylor, who turned an ice cream cart business into the Jersey City brick and mortar in 2014.
The Asbury Park store will be nearly three times the size of the original and offer seating for 12, a walk-up window, and an expanded production kitchen. It will serve 16 flavors of ice cream, like Earl Grey Fudge, Midnight Cocoa, and Summer Corn and Blueberries.
Aarzu Modern Indian Bistro owners expanding to Asbury Park
A new restaurant from the owners of Aarzu Modern Indian Bistro in Freehold Township is opening in the former Mainstay space in Asbury Park.
Aarzu Modern Indian Bistro in Freehold Borough has become one of the area’s most popular restaurants since opening eight years ago.
This year, Archana Sharma, Sammeer Raajpal, Shravan Shetty and Sidharth Sharma are building a restaurant and bar focused on coastal Indian cuisine in the space that previously housed The Mainstay. They plan to open in mid-April or May.
“We want to showcase to all the customers and clients that we are looking forward to having that India is a lot more than chicken tikka masala and butter chicken,” Raajpal said.
The restaurant, at 525 Cookman Ave. in Asbury Park, does not yet have a name.
Heirloom at The St. Laurent to become Judy’s, an Italian restaurant
The dining room of Heirloom at The St. Laurent in Asbury Park, which is becoming a new restaurant called Judy’s.
Heirloom at The St. Laurent, which opened in 2022 inside the former Hotel Tides in Asbury Park, is undergoing a transformation.
Heirloom, sister restaurant to Heirloom Kitchen in Old Bridge, will serve its last meal Sunday, Feb. 16, then close to become Judy’s, serving an a la carte menu of “Italian classics with a whimsical, international flair.” The adjoining bar and lounge will be named Harry’s.
The restaurant is at 408 7th Ave. in Asbury Park.
New breakfast, brunch, lunch spot coming to Seaside Heights
The couple behind a successful cupcake company is diving into breakfast, brunch and lunch this summer.
Mila’s of Seaside, owned by Mikayla and Johnny Manganiotis and named for their daughter, will open at 701 Boulevard in the space previously occupied by Drifters restaurant. An April opening is planned.
“We going to have the traditional breakfasts — create-your-own omelets, eggs your style, and pork roll and all that, but we’re also going to have some great dishes like a cannoli pancake, a churro pancake and avocado toast,” Mikayla said.
The couple also owns Mr. Cupcakes in Brick.
Kaya’s Kitchen in Belmar celebrates 20 years
January marked two decades in business for Kaya’s Kitchen, a vegan restaurant started by Omer Basatemur.
“I’ve always been kind of a workaholic,” Basatemur said from his restaurant, which was among the earliest plant-based eateries in the state when it opened in 2005. “I’m willing to take that weight on my shoulders. I know success is on me, but also failure is on me.”
The restaurant, which serves generous portions of appetizers, soups, pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, entrees, Mexican dishes, desserts, fresh juices and breakfast, is at 1000 Main St. in Belmar.
New owners for The Black Swan Public House in Asbury Park
The Black Swan Public House from Chef James Avery will open its doors. It’s an English gastropub-type place in the downtown area of the city. Asbury Park, NJWednesday, August 11, 2021
The Black Swan Public House in Asbury Park, a European gastropub opened by Chef James Avery in 2021, is under new ownership.
The restaurant, which sits at the corner of Mattison Avenue and Emory Street in the city’s downtown, has been acquired by BarCo Brands, a hospitality group led by Monmouth County residents Andrea Pappas, Greg Bartz, Phil Villapiano and Tim McMahon. They also own Low Dive, Swimcrush and The Break on the city’s boardwalk, as well as Deal Lake Bar + Co in Loch Arbour and Baseline Social in Oceanport.
Avery stayed on to oversee the culinary aspect of the restaurant, 601 Mattison Ave. in Asbury Park.
C’est Cheese fills culinary gap in Asbury Park
A personal cheese plate created by Tina Haskopoulos, owner of C’est Cheese in Asbury Park.
Cheeses from around the world and the United States fill the case at C’est Cheese, a new Asbury Park business from Tina Haskopoulos and her mother, Eileen.
Tina, who spent years working in specialty cheese shops in Jersey City and New York City, favors cheeses from small farms. She also stocks meats that are sliced to order, charcuterie board accompaniments like honey, jam, olives and tinned fish, and plant-based cheeses and meats.
C’est Cheese is at 516 Summerfield Ave. in Asbury Park.
Colts Neck Inn Steakhouse gets new look, revamped menu
Lou Mavrookas, his grandson, 12-year-old Leonidas Mavrookas, and son, George Mavrookas, stand inside the recently renovated dining room at Colts Neck Inn Steakhouse in Colts Neck. The family has owned and run the restaurant since the 1970s.
The late George Mavrookas opened Colts Neck Inn Steakhouse in 1973, and more than 50 years later, his family has kept it running.
Now it has a new look and menu, thanks so his son Lou Mavrookas and grandson, George. The 150-seat restaurant, originally a stagecoach stop, recently underwent a full renovation, its first in many years.
“We gave it a fresh facelift all the way around, and we’re very proud of it,” George said of the months-long renovation. “We’re really excited to restore the restaurant to one of the staples of Monmouth County and Colts Neck, like it used to be: A local place that has a little bit nicer food than your usual run-of-the-mill place, but won’t break your bank.”
The restaurant is at 191 Route 537 in Colts Neck.
Asbury Park Roastery closes boardwalk location
After more than 10 years inside the Grand Arcade of Convention Hall on the Asbury Park boardwalk, Asbury Park Roastery has closed.
Owner Alli Kennedy decided to leave the space to focus more attention on her main location, 803 Second Ave., and as “a matter of prioritizing my life and my time, and pursuing things that allow me to grow personally and professionally.”
The boardwalk space will be taken over by Offshore Coffee Co., which has coffee shops in Long Branch and Belmar.
David P. Willis contributed to this article.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com, follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to her weekly newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jersey Shore restaurants open, close in January 2025
