April was a busy month for the Shore’s culinary scene.
We learned of new restaurants on the way, from a world-famous burger chain to a spot serving barbecue by the beach. A Long Beach Island borough voted against a new all-day restaurant, and a landmark in Asbury Park has new owners.
Here is the food and dining news we reported on last month.
Shake Shack coming to Brick
The Shake Shack in the Brick Commons, shown April 29, is scheduled to open Wednesday, May 7.
Ocean County will get its first Shake Shack Wednesday, May 7, when the restaurant opens at 614 Route 70 in Brick Commons.
It follows others in Eatontown, Freehold Township, Middletown and the Judy Blume Service Area on the Garden State Parkway in Wall.
Originally founded as a hot dog cart in New York City, Shake Shack is known for its Angus beef burgers, chicken sandwiches and frozen custard.
On opening day in Brick, the chain will donate $1 from every sandwich sale to Fulfill Food Bank.
Cheessteaks to open in Belmar
“The OG” from Cheessteaks, opening in Belmar, is made with ribeye and Cooper Sharp cheese on a seeded semolina roll.
A pair of childhood friends from South Jersey are bringing their Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks to Belmar.
Antonio Delgado and James Haines opened their first Cheessteaks restaurant earlier this year in Merchantville and are adding a second at 821 Belmar Plaza in Belmar. The restaurant takes the place of Sonny’s Grille in Belmar Plaza, which closed in late April.
They hope to open the week prior to Memorial Day.
Delgado and Haines’ concept mirrors the fast-paced style of Philly cheesesteak spots: Customers order ribeye or chicken cheesesteaks with Cooper Sharp American cheese or Cheese Whiz, and get their sandwiches wrapped to go.
The meu also will have cheese fries; a deep-fried, cheesesteak-topped Sabrett hot dog; wings with more than half a dozen sauce options; and panzarotti from Tarantini, a Cherry Hill-based company that makes the fried dough pockets filled with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.
Buffalo Wild Wings coming to Hazlet
Shown April 24, the former TGI Fridays restaurant at the Hazlet Town Center is set to be converted into a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant.
Buffalo Wild Wings is replacing the former TGI Fridays at Hazlet Town Center on Route 35.
The new restaurant will be approximately 7,400 square feet with 250 seats, around 80 to 90 televisions, and 30 beers on tap. Franchisee The Munson Restaurant Group is working to acquire a liquor license and submitting plans to the Hazlet land use board.
The full-service restaurant has a targeted opening of early 2026.
Jersey Freeze expanding to Colts Neck
Jersey Freeze, a Monmouth County landmark restaurant and ice cream shop, is expanding.
Owners Matt Cangialosi and Katie DiNonno are partnering with restaurateur Matthew Borowski on a Jersey Freeze ice cream store in Colts Neck. It replaces a former ice cream shop at The Orchards at Colts Neck on Routes 34 and 537, and they plan to open this summer.
The new location, which will offer soft and hard ice cream, cakes and novelties, marks the beginning of an expansion plan to add more ice cream locations and attract franchisees.
“We’re probably going to open anywhere between five to 10 ice cream shops, then we’re just going to franchise,” said Borowski, who co-owns 618 Restaurant in Freehold Borough and the recently opened Mezcal in Old Bridge.
Chefs with New Jersey connections end ‘TOC’ runs
Contestant Britt Rescigno, as seen on Food Networks’ fifth season of “Tournament of Champions.”
Despite early success on Food Network’s cooking competition show “Tournament of Champions,” neither David Viana nor Britt Rescigno took home the championship belt this season.
Viana of Lita in Aberdeen, Judy & Harry’s in Asbury Park and Heirloom Kitchen in Old Bridge lost to fellow “Top Chef” alum Sara Bradley in the April 6 episode, “The Randomizer Strikes Back.” It was his first time competing on the show.
Rescigno, a New Jersey native who now owns a restaurant in Idaho, lost to Chef Antonia Lofaso in the April 20 finale, “A New Champion Is Crowned.” It was her third time competing on the show.
Harvey Cedars votes down new restaurant
Beach and Bourbon Hospitality, which owns Azzurri Italian Cucina in Harvey Cedars, is proposing a new restaurant, Harvey Cedars House, in the borough.
The owners of Azzurri Italian Cucina in Harvey Cedars hope to convert a former real estate office on the borough’s main thoroughfare into a family restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. But last month, the Harvey Cedars Land Use Board denied their application.
The decision followed two meetings that were heavily attended by neighbors of the property, who opposed the size of the proposed Harvey Cedars House and the traffic it would bring to the area.
Despite changes made by the applicant, Beach and Bourbon Hospitality, the board’s decision was unanimous. Board members recommended they consider eliminating an outdoor component of the project that abuts a neighboring property and reconsider traffic configurations, then return with a new application.
A new kind of Outback steakhouse opens
Outback Steakhouse opened its new restaurant on Route 35 at West Park Avenue in Ocean Township on April 15.
Outback Steakhouse opened a new location on Route 35 in Ocean Township in April, featuring a new design for the chain with updated interiors and a focus on takeout and delivery.
The restaurant took over the space previously occupied by Nino’s Coal Fired Pizza. Its interior features local artwork celebrating Ocean Township, and a kangaroo basking in the sights and sounds of nearby Asbury Park.
Surf City Dog House coming to LBI
Phillip and Stacey Ghigliotty are opening Surf City Dog House on Long Beach Boulevard.
Long Beach Island’s dining scene will feature a new kind of hot dog this summer.
Surf City Dog House, 1521 Long Beach Blvd. in Surf City, will serve a hot dog that starts with a whole, unsplit bun placed atop a heated metal spike.
“The piercing machine creates a hole and warms and toasts the bun,” said Stacey Ghigliotty, who plans to open the restaurant with her husband, Phillip, in May. From there, toppings are added, then a ¼-pound hot dog is slid in. The result is a self-contained hot dog that stays warm.
The opening menu will offer two specialty hot dogs — the Top Dog, with mustard and onion relish, and the High Tide with pineapple relish, garlic sauce and honey mustard — and a build-your-own option. Hot dogs will be a beef and pork blend, and there is a vegetarian option.
Additional toppings include chili, cheese, ketchup, spicy and yellow mustards, relish and spicy relish.
New owners for Asbury Park’s Moonstruck
The multistory Moonstruck Restaurant in Asbury Park.
Luke Magliaro and Howard Raczkiewicz, whose decision to move Moonstruck Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge to Asbury Park from Ocean Grove in the early 2000s helped spark a renaissance in the city, are selling the restaurant.
The owner has not yet been named, and Magliaro told the Asbury Park Press he could not comment until the sale was finalized.
Magliaro and Rackiewicz opened Moonstruck in 1995 in an Ocean Grove storefront across the street from a breakfast and lunch restaurant that they owned, The Raspberry Cafe. Less than a decade later, they relocated to the former Deck House building on Wesley Lake in Asbury Park.
Voting under way for TASTE Awards
Catezza Italian Kitchen & Bar in Red Bank is among the nominees for best restaurants in the TASTE Awards.
The TASTE Awards, honoring culinary excellence at the Shore, have returned after a post-pandemic hiatus — and diners are invited to help decide the winners.
Dozens of restaurants are nominated in categories including Best New Restaurant, Best Steakhouse and Best Brunch. The awards are organized by ShoreFoodie.com, a local dining guide from the team behind Jersey Shore Restaurant Week, in partnership with the Asbury Park Press, Jersey Bites and 107.1-FM The Boss.
Diners are invited to vote for award finalists at shorturl.at/hVYUK. Voting is open through Saturday, May 10, then industry professionals will select the winners.
Arooga’s closes in Howell
Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar, photographed March 31, 2025.
Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar, which opened on Route 9 in Howell in 2020, has closed.
The Pennsylvania-based restaurant chain replaced the former Ruby Tuesday location in the Lanes Mill Crossing shopping center.
Wonder comes to Middletown
Wonder, a food hall serving dishes from a collection of top restaurants, is up and running in Middletown.
Customers order via an app, touch-screen kiosks or at a counter, and dishes from multiple restaurants are prepared simultaneously in one kitchen. The food, which is packaged for takeout, is presented all at once. Diners can take their food to go or eat at nearly a dozen seats.
Restaurant options include Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson, Walnut Lane by Jonathan Waxman, The Mainstay by Marc Murphy, Yasas by Michael Symon, and Bobby Flay Steak, among many others.
There are nearly three dozen Wonder restaurants in New York City, Rhode Island, Connecticut and North Jersey, and more are planned for Brick, Shrewsbury, Toms River, Cherry Hill and Mount Laurel.
The Market at Sickles Farm to open in Little Silver
Sickles Market in Little Silver closed in March 2024.
The former Sickles Market in Little Silver will reopen under new ownership as The Market at Sickles Farm.
The new owners, 1663 Partners LLC, plan to maintain the market’s tradition of offering high-quality produce and prepared foods. The garden center is expected to open in May, with the full market and cafe following in July.
The opening comes after Sickles Market, a storied Monmouth County family business, closed in March 2024. Its owner, Bob Sickles Jr., filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2024, as did AHS Realty LLC, his business which holds the land of the Little Silver store and his Rumson home.
Sickles, his two daughters and a former employee are being hired to run the store.
Three new additions to Asbury Park boardwalk
Shucked by Local 130 Seafood in Asbury Park serves oysters from New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Canada and the West Coast.
A trio of new eateries, all with other locations in Monmouth County, have recently opened or soon will inside the Grand Arcade at Convention Hall on the Asbury Park boardwalk:
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Shucked by Local 130 Seafood, a seafood restaurant taking the place of Asbury Oyster Bar, opened April 25. The project is led by the owners of Local 130 Seafood in the city, with Chef Ryan Bush, previously of Brothers Daley in Sea Bright and La Mondina in Brielle, leading the kitchen.
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Mutiny Beach, sister restaurant to Mutiny BBQ on Fifth Avenue, opens Friday, May 2, in the Seahorse Bar & Grill space. Mutiny Beach will offer a bar and grill-style take on barbecue, owner Tom Dunphy said.
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, coming soon, Asbury Park
