A makeover into a seafood restaurant with a roof deck is proposed for the site of Caliente Cantina, a short-lived restaurant at 26 West Front Street. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Yet another Red Bank restaurant and bar is hoping to join the rooftop dining trend, and this one has a widescreen view of the Navesink River.
The plan to convert 26 West Front Street to a seafood restaurant follows the recent closing at that address of Caliente Cantina, itself a successor to the short-lived 10th Ave. Burrito.
Jimmy John’s has opened in the long-vacant former Wayne’s Market space on West Front Street. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A few quick bites of Red Bank restaurant news for this edition of Retail Churn:
• A sub shop, co-owned by a member of Gaslight Anthem, has opened.
• Two restaurants in town have changed their names.
• Actually, three, if you count the former Brannigan’s. In case you missed it, the Wharf Avenue mainstay has a new moniker to go with a dramatically new look.
Carley Wolf joins bandmate Jonny Wolf on the stage of 10th Ave. Burrito Tuesday night, as the Austin-based duo the Ghost Wolves helps the new venue up the original-music ante in downtown Red Bank.
By Tom Chesek
As reported earlier in redbankgreen, the recently opened Red Bank branch of 10th Ave. Burrito Company made its debut in the downtown restaurant wars equipped with an arsenal of assets that ranged from “165 seats, a coveted liquor license and primo views of the Navesink,” to more than 100 varieties of tequila and a not-so secret weapon: “live music – cover bands need not apply.”
While the town doesn’t often get mentioned in the same breath as Asbury Park and other musically-minded burgs, the fact remains that most every night of the week finds something for music aficionados to choose from; be it at the Basie or one of the borough’s bars, beaneries, sidewalk bumpouts or black-box performance spaces. But even as Red Bank regulars like Sonny Kenn, Quincy Mumford and Matt O’Ree have made a habit of stocking their saloon sets with generous amounts of originals, the town hasn’t truly seen a full-time venue for homegrown originals and national touring acts since the long-ago heyday of Big Man’s West. It’s a situation that 10th Ave owner Brian Katz and manager Chris Masi (formerly the music booker at the Downtown) seek to address with an attention-compelling slate of up-and-coming talents, cult favorites and best kept secrets that range from deliriously anarchic alt-rock to urban-hipster roots Americana, and even an unexpected visitor from across the pond — a schedule that really clicks into place as summer turns to fall.
10th Ave. Burrito owner Brian Katz with a mural depicting luchadores in an agave field—complete with a tequila distillery. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
10th Ave. Burrito Company opened in Red Bank last week, and there’s no mistaking: it’s serious business, aiming to leverage its 165 seats, a coveted liquor license and primo views of the Navesink River to success.
But with a giant mural of masked Mexican wrestlers, a cadre of tattooed and weird-bearded servers, and a barely filtered owner, the West Front Street eatery appears to be off to a running, if low-key, start on his goal of “bringing something unique” to the town. More →