As 2025 comes to a close, food and dining news marches on.
November brought new restaurants to the Shore, including a pizzeria, a gourmet cupcake shop and a chocolate store selling handpainted candies. Two big-name pizzerias announced their plans for Monmouth County, and a pair of chefs with Shore ties cooked their hearts out on Food Network.
Here is the food and dining news we reported on in November:
New pizzeria openings
The owners of Coniglio’s Old Fashioned, a North Jersey pizzeria, are opening Coniglio’s King of Pies in the former Killer Pies space on Mattison Avenue in Asbury Park. Pictured Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025.
One big-name pizzeria opened recently and two more are coming to Monmouth County.
Vinnie’s Pan Pizza, a Millburn restaurant known for its thin-crusted pies, opened in November at 713 Riverview Drive in Brielle. Owner Peter Falzo’s pizzas are inspired by the ones his late uncle made at his North Jersey pizzeria, Cammarata’s Pizza Pantry in Livingston.
Next to open will be Coniglio’s King of Pies, from the owners of Coniglio’s Old Fashioned in Morristown. Owners Nino and Shealyn Coniglio are building their newest restaurant in the former Killer Pies space at 649 Mattison Ave. in Asbury Park. They’re planning a menu of pizza, sandwiches on fresh-baked bread, and salads, with breakfast to come,
Finally, the owners of the shuttered Pollara Pizzeria in Berkeley, California, plan to open Pollara at 76 Monmouth St. in Red Bank in the spring. Jon Smulewitz, who specialized in Roman pizzas and housemade cheeses and salumi at his former restaurants, will make all three, plus baked pastas.
A Slice of Heaven closes after 30 years
A Slice of Heaven, which was open for 30 years in Beach Haven, closed Nov. 17. Its owner is searching for a new location.
In the middle of November, Colleen Mazzella and her son, Dominick, served their last pizza inside the Beach Haven building their restaurant, A Slice of Heaven, has called home for 30 years.
Mazzella and her late husband, also named Dominick, opened the pizzeria in 1995. They were known for their stuffed cheesesteak pizza, meatballs and cheesesteaks, and like many businesses on Long Beach Island, became part of visitors’ vacation traditions.
The building at 7th Street and Bay Avenue was sold several years ago, and the Mazzellas needed to vacate by the end of November. They are searching for a new location.
Tim Hortons to open in Lacey
Tim Hortons will replace this former White Castle in the Forked River section of Lacey.
Tim Hortons, a Canadian coffee chain, is returning to the Jersey Shore following the 2019 closure of its Hazlet location.
The coffee shop, known for its coffee, espresso beverages, breakfast sandwiches, bite-sized doughnut holes called Timbits, and lunch options, will take over a former White Castle building at 245 N. Main St. in the Forked River section of Lacey.
This location follows another expected to open on Lanes Mill Road in Brick in early 2026.
Emilio’s Kitchen chef released from ICE custody
Emilio and Ruperto Vicens, brothers and business partners, at Zoe’s Emilio’s Kitchen in Atlantic Highlands. November 21, 2025
Following a monthlong detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Monmouth County restaurant owner and chef Ruperto Vicens was released from Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark on Nov. 18.
In what Vicens believes was a case of mistaken identity, ICE officers picked him up Oct. 19 while he was heading to work at Emilio’s Kitchen in Atlantic Highlands. It took several weeks to get a hearing due to the backlog of cases in immigration court.
During that time, Atlantic Highland’s Mayor Lori Hohenleitner rallied support for Vicens and spearheaded a fundraiser that gathered nearly $100,000 in donations to for his legal defense.
“For me it’s like, a miracle. At some point I was in tears by hearing how much people have given to my family,” Vicens said.
CeeCee’s Cupcake Palace opens in Freehold Township
Charita “Cee Cee” Houston-Guyton is opening Cee Cee’s Cupcake Palace on the first floor of Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold Township. Pictured Nov. 20, 2025.
The newest tenant of Freehold Township’s Freehold Raceway Mall is Cee Cee’s Cupcake Palace, a gourmet cupcake shop from Charita “Cee Cee” Houston-Guyton.
Her bakery, located between Five Below and Laser Xpressions on the mall’s first floor, opened Nov. 22.
Houston-Guyton, a self-taught baker, makes jumbo cupcakes in flavors like banana pudding, sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, strawberry cheesecake and vanilla cinnamon, as well as hot chocolate, cake by the slice, and chocolate-covered pretzels, graham crackers, cookies and strawberries.
Chef Britt Rescigno returns to TV
Chef Britt Rescigno, a New Jersey native, is competing on Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas.”
Former Shore chef Britt Rescigno is back on Food Network, competing on “Tournament of Champions.”
The chef, who grew up in Burlington County and earned a following cooking on Long Beach Island, is appearing on “Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas.” The holiday version of the show, on which Rescigno has competed three times in recent years, features 32 chefs cooking in teams of two for a $100,000 cash prize and $50,000 to donate to charity.
On the Nov. 19 episode, Rescigno and her teammate, Jonathon Sawyer, outcooked chefs Lee Anne Wong and Zac Young in a challenge that involved calamari, cranberries and dried figs.
Pop’s Corner closes restaurant to focus on baked goods
The bakery and coffee shop at Pop’s Corner in Point Pleasant Beach.
After two years of serving breakfast and lunch at a busy corner in Point Pleasant Beach, Pop’s Corner closed its restaurant on Nov. 30.
Owners Brian Neiman and Bruce Fischer have decided to focus on the wholesale side of their business, which involves baking muffins, cookies, croissants, banana breads and more for local coffee shops and companies. This follows parnerships with Offshore Coffee Co. in Long Branch, Belmar and Asbury Park; all 11 Rook Coffee locations, Hazel Boutique & The Hazelnut Café in Lavallette, and Sun & Waves in Spring Lake,
The bakery and coffee shop at Pop’s Corner, 500Arnold Ave., remains open to the public, with seating available in a portion of the former dining room.
Chef David Viana returns to Food Network
Chefs David Viana (left) and Brian Lopes as seen on Food Network’s “Alex vs America.”
Chefs David Viana and Brian Lopes of Lita in Aberdeen appeared on Food Network’s “Alex vs. America” in November.
The show, now in its fifth season, pits celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli against challenging chefs “in two cooking rounds where anyone can be sent home, including Alex,” according to Food Network. “With ultimate bragging rights and $15,000 on the line, the chefs will battle to see if they have what it takes to beat Alex.”
Viana and Lopes competed (and ultimately lost) alongside Michael and Kwini Reed of Poppy + Rose in Los Angeles and Kevin Tien and Paola Serrano of Moon Rabbit in Washington, D.C.
Coney Waffle ice cream named one of nation’s best
“The Passion Ride” ice cream at Coney Waffle (with their signature waffle and ice cream behind) at the Toms RIver ice cream shop. Pictured Nov. 13, 2025.
Coney Waffle, an ice cream and bake shop with nearly half a doxen stores at the Shore, is known for its over-the-top milkshakes and ice cream-stuffed waffles.
But in November, they earned another claim to fame when one of their ice cream flavors, “The Passion Ride,” was named Flavor of the Year for the Northeast and third best in the country at the North American Ice Cream Association’s 92nd Annual Convention & Tradeshow.
“It’s a pretty big accomplishment in our business,” owner Joe D’Esposito said.
The tropical flavor, which is available at Coney Waffle, was created in collaboration with TV food personality and Red Bank native Casey Webb and Fins Tropicali Cuisine, a restaurant with locations in Bradley Beach, Point Pleasant Beach and Sea Girt. It was inspired by Fins’ smoothie of the same name, made with passionfruit juice, pineapple, lime juice and mango.
Honey Baked Ham reopens in Middletown
The Honey Baked Ham Company has reopened on Route 35 in Middletown. Its ribbon cutting took place Nov. 15, 2025.
The Honey Baked Ham Co., 770 Route 35 in Middletown, reopened last month following a cloure and remodel.
The store is known for its spiral-sliced ham with sweet and crunch glaze, heat and serve sides, sandwiches and desserts.
Handcrafted Chocolate opens in Point Pleasant Borough
Lauren Klein’s Point Pleasant Borough chocolate shop, Handcrafted Chocolate, opened Saturday, Nov. 15. Pictured Nov. 14, 2025.
Chocolatier and pastry chef Lauren Klein, who owns an online hand-painted bon bon business and sells her chocolates at local markets, now has a store of her own.
Handcrafted Chocolate, 2804 Bridge Ave., offers scratch-made bon bons in flavors like eggnog, peppermint hot chocolate, Vietnamese coffee, chili crunch, salted caramel and peaches and cream, among others. Customers can buy them by the piece or in assorted boxes, as well crunchy peanut butter cups, Dubai chocolate cups, chocolate bars, and hot chocolate with housemade marshmallows.
Shore bar named to USA TODAY list
USA TODAY published a list of the nation’s best dive bars in November, and several from New Jersey made the cut — including one at the Shore.
The Ark in Point Pleasant Beach joins two dozen other dives from around the country, alongside Jay’s Elbow Room in Maple Shade and Great Notch Inn in Woodland Park.
Salt Creek Grille to close
Salt Creek Grille owner Steve Gidgood is pictured outside Salt Creek Grille in Rumson.
In November, Salt Creek Grille in Rumson announced that after 27 years in business, its last day in business will be Wednesday, Dec. 31.
“We have come to the end of our lease, and while this chapter is coming to an end, the memories we created together will last a lifetime,” reads its announcement, which was made on social media.
The news comes a month after the restaurant announced the closing of its Princeton location.
David P. Willis and Olivia Liu contributed to this story.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK 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.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: New restaurants and closings at the Jersey Shore
