By: Cathy Padilla | March 1, 2021 | , Dining |
It nourishes, comforts, connects, and gives pleasure while also creating huge avenues of income through entertainment and activities. This past year of living with the pandemic has changed our relationship with eating and had an incredible impact on the food industry, particularly restaurants. Despite it all, some dreamers and doers are forging ahead, navigating the many challenges, and opening new eateries in Monmouth County.
Many who once dined out four to five times a week have found themselves learning to cook at home and it could be argued that restaurants have suffered more than almost any other type of business during COVID. Unfortunately, through no fault of their own, we have lost some of our favorite dining out locations. Restaurant owners are still scrambling to come up with new ways to navigate the imposed restrictions and limited opportunity to interact with the public, especially during an excessively cold and snowy winter.
As it is with most things in life, winter is followed by spring; darkness gives way to light. So, as we collectively wait in hopeful anticipation for a return to normalcy, we at CM caught up with several lovers of food who are pursuing their culinary dreams despite the current conditions. Their passion has guided these local chefs and entrepreneurs to open new restaurants during the pandemic. All unique in their approaches, they do share some common threads – mostly gratitude, hard work, and a passion for bread! We hope you, our readers, will find ways to support these business owners, as well as all the companies within our community.
PHOTO: Michele Ellis | CREDIT: Carmela Caracappa
95 Broad Street, Red Bank
Michele Ellis, who has lived in Monmouth County for 13 years and specifically Lincroft for the past five, opened her café in October of 2020. A mom of two boys, she spends every minute she is away from her shop with her husband, Todd, their two sons, Tyler, 11, and Hudson, 9, and their adorable beagle dog, Zoey. A firm believer that ‘hope is not a strategy’, she has planned her work and worked that plan to find success during one of the most challenging times in our recent history.
CM: How has it been operating during the pandemic?
Michele: It has been a challenge opening a business during the COVID pandemic. My lease was signed in February of 2020. I lost a few months with the no build order in April and May. I took a lot of time to think about what the right thing would be to do given the pandemic climate. With the warm weather and improvement in COVID cases during the summer and fall I decided to go for it.
CM: Why the food industry?
Michele: First, I really love and believe in small business. Downtowns, like Red Bank, are the heart beats of our communities. Second, I love food, particularly bread and sweets! I grew up going to our local bakery on Saturday mornings for fresh bread and cookies. Bringing what I love to Red Bank has been more of a joy than a job.
CM: What about Red Bank is special to you?
Michele: Red Bank is one of New Jersey’s gems! The people and community give Red Bank a small-town feel, but we have as much great food, shopping, and entertainment as any big city. During the pandemic, the community has supported local businesses and the business community has supported each other. We are getting through this together.
CM: What sets you apart from other local cafés?
Michele: We make our bread and sweets fresh every day using real ingredients. Customers tell us our bread, and especially our blueberry cream cheese scones, taste like what they remember eating as a kid. That’s because we are using the same top quality real ingredients today that were used then. If you haven’t tried one of our delicious sandwiches on our fresh-made bread you are missing out. (Try our Cheddar Garlic Bread, you can thank me later!)
CM: What is the most rewarding part of your career?
Michele: I previously worked in consumer products at the corporate level. I really enjoyed those jobs, but I realized I needed to chase my dream of owning my own business. The most rewarding part of my career thus far is making this leap! It has been a ton of hard work, and will be a ton more, but I am very proud of where I am and am looking forward to making this business a huge success!
CM: Who has most influenced your career?
Michele: My parents. Both my parents worked while I was growing up. I saw my parents work hard for everything we had and still make time for my sister and me. The work/life balance is very important to me and my family.
CM: What would you say to someone planning to start a new business?
Michele: One word – PLAN. I would not be where I am today without thoroughly planning every aspect of this business. Understand where you are and where you want to go. Make a plan to get there. Revise that plan when you have more information. Then repeat. Do this until you have all your bases covered. Then, when it’s time – make the leap!
PHOTO: Shanti & Steve | CREDIT: Michael Persico
1057 NJ-34, Aberdeen
Shanti and Steve met at a Halloween party in 2009. They fell in love, got married, and exactly five years later on Halloween, opened their restaurant Talula’s in Asbury Park. The Mignognas have since had two children, Joni, 3, and Cass, 3-months, and become partners at Alternate Ending Beer Co. (AE) in Aberdeen, which happened to open the week of Halloween in 2020. The couple has lived in Asbury Park since November of 2016 and expresses gratitude for their neighbors who have been incredibly supportive of both businesses.
Shanti and Steve met at a Halloween party in 2009. They fell in love, got married, and exactly five years later on Halloween, opened their restaurant Talula’s in Asbury Park. The Mignognas have since had two children, Joni, 3, and Cass, 3-months, and become partners at Alternate Ending Beer Co. (AE) in Aberdeen, which happened to open the week of Halloween in 2020. The couple has lived in Asbury Park since November of 2016 and expresses gratitude for their neighbors who have been incredibly supportive of both businesses.
CM: What has it been like opening a new business during the pandemic?
Shanti: Well, we didn’t really choose to open during COVID. We were already in it deep. While it was super scary and unsettling, we knew AE was going to be so special and the entire team worked relentlessly to make it a success. It’s no secret our industry is suffering big time right now. But we’re not alone. This has been an experience we’ve shared with the whole world. We’ve all taken such an emotional and professional hit this last year, but we keep going. We push, learn, adapt, and do what we need to do to keep our businesses alive and our teams safe. We remind ourselves daily of how lucky we are to be making it work. So far, we’ve had an overwhelming response from the community. And while it has been a difficult road, seeing our guests enjoying themselves helps us keep going.
CM: Why restaurants?
Shanti: This is the second career for us both. I went to school for business and did event marketing for brands like Nike, Zico, Mrs. Meyers, and Teen Vogue. Steve was a mechanical engineer and specialized in green energy modeling for big office buildings all over the world. We became unsatisfied with our careers and inspired each other to take a chance on the food industry. I started baking for a small sandwich shop in Brooklyn. Steve started cooking for a cool Jewish Delicatessen in Manhattan. We did it for free in the beginning and were just so happy to be there, learning and loving what we were doing. We fell hard for the industry. We started experimenting with sourdough at home and hosted weekly pizza nights with friends in our apartment. We road tripped the country exploring neighborhoods and eating all the pizza (and other food) we could. We crashed at Steve’s parents’ house for a year building our business plan along with a legit wood fired Pompei style oven in their backyard. Got the opportunity to open up our dream restaurant and moved to Asbury Park to make it happen. The rest is history.
CM: Why was pizza your food of choice for Talula’s?
Shanti: We love what we do. We love how pizza makes everyone so happy. We’re passionate about sourdough and all types of fermentation. We’re passionate about making simple, honest food that we want to eat ourselves and feed to our families. We’re committed to sourcing the freshest, highest quality ingredients and doing as little to them as possible. We are inspired by our community, our teams, the farmers, and all of the badass, hard-working people in this relentless, yet romantic, industry.
CM: What makes you different from others doing what you do?
Shanti: Sourdough and quality ingredients are the first two things that anyone would probably say about the food we make at Talula’s and AE. But if you look closely and really get to know us, it’s the people that make the difference. Our teams and our culture are what really sets us apart. We like to have fun and make sure that our menus reflect that, too.
CM: What is the most rewarding part of your career?
Shanti: 1. Watching our teams grow and take pride in their work. 2. Working with and collaborating with passionate, talented, like-minded partners. 3. Being part of a super thoughtful, inspiring community of artists and small business owners. 4. Watching our guests gather around the table with their loved ones to eat our food and make lasting food memories with us. 5. Being able to share it all with our kids! Our daughter Joni was always at the restaurant prior to the pandemic and I look forward to the return of those days. I want them to know how important it is to work hard and do what you love.
CM: What is the most challenging part of what you do?
Shanti: Trying to find balance between family and work. I guess the downside of doing something so personal and something you love so much, is that you never really stop working. We have to remind ourselves all the time to stop talking about work and just be with each other and our amazing kids.
CM: What helps to keep you going through all this upheaval?
Shanti: Lately I find myself saying to myself, ‘just keep swimming.’ Sorry I don’t have anything more profound. That’s where my brain is at these days, being a business owner and a mom during a pandemic. Disney+ or bust, people.
CM: Who has most influenced your career?
Shanti: Our families! Does anyone ever answer any differently? Family is everything. We’re lucky enough to both come from very special, loving, unique families. They not only always supported us, but also instilled in us the very creative, hungry spirit that has made us successful. Between both of our families, we have many incredibly wise, honest, gracious business owners to look up to and aspire to be more like.
PHOTO: Anthony Mangieri | CREDIT: Una Pizza Napoletana
91 First Avenue,
Atlantic Highlands
Anthony Mangieri has single-handedly made more than 700,000 pizzas (and counting). Having had restaurants in New York and California, he opened his latest location in Atlantic Highlands in 2020. He crafts what he calls ‘uncomplicated pizzas with complex flavors’, which is a result of the naturally leavened dough and the hand-selected ingredients. Known for his monk-like dedication to pizza perfection, customers travel from all over the world to eat his pies.
Anthony has been featured across print, online, and broadcast media including TV spots on Good Morning America and Food Network Top 5 as well as a recurring role on the Showtime series, Billions. His obsession with pizza making is only rivaled by his deep dedication to mountain biking, skateboarding, and punk rock. Raised in Ocean County, Anthony has lived in Monmouth County most of his adult life and has one daughter, Apollonia, 9.
CM: How has it been operating during COVID?
Anthony: It took a year to build the restaurant, which opened two weeks prior to COVID. Being a newly opened business, we made the decision to do take-away and never closed. We have stayed open every week throughout the pandemic, and the response thus far has been incredible. It seemed like the right thing to do, both from a logistics and financial standpoint. We’re extremely grateful to the community for their support.
CM: Why did you choose the food industry?
Anthony: I have always had an obsession with food, ever since I was a kid. From a young age, I was enamored with my family’s culture and history; my grandfather was also in the food business and made ice cream. As I got older, my passion for food became more serious, though I never dreamt I could turn it into a career. It has been a wild journey, and it’s almost hard to believe how far we’ve come.
CM: Why did you choose Atlantic Highlands for your newest location?
Anthony: I’ve loved Atlantic Highlands for years and would mountain bike and trail run nearby. The town is incredibly charming, and it feels special to be part of the neighborhood. I actually looked at the same space I’m currently in some time ago – before I opened in San Francisco. It didn’t work out at the time, but clearly it was meant to be. We love being here.
CM: What sets you apart from others doing what you do?
Anthony: Something that sets us apart is probably the fact that for the first 20+ years of operating the business, I was the only individual to make the pizza. I would make every dough ball and pizza; it was important to me to have that connection with the customer. Moving forward now, our team pushes ourselves relentlessly to make the pizza better every single week. It’s naturally leavened dough, pushing the heat on the oven, using the freshest ingredients – all very specific techniques which are key to our pizza-making.
CM: What’s the most rewarding part of what you do?
Anthony: The fact I’m able to still do it every day, and that people still support it. The customers that keep coming back allow me to continue to make pizza and always learn something. Another rewarding part is when the pizza comes out of the oven just right – that’s the best.
CM: Do you have a tip for new business owners starting out?
Anthony: Be grateful.
See this story in print!
|