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RUMSON: BBQ, BOURBON & RECYCLED AMERICA

vic rallo 032816 2Restaurateur Victor Rallo has transformed the former Molly Maguire’s Gastropub into a barbecue joint. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

surf bbq 032816 3With two Italian restaurants and a television show about the food and wine of Italy in his portfolio, Victor Rallo‘s latest venture might strike some as a sharp departure from his obsession with his ancestral homeland.

But Surf BBQ, which opened last week in Rumson, is simply the latest turn in a continuing quest for culinary “authenticity,” Rallo told redbankgreen in a recent interview.

“This is about the only true, historical American cuisine,” he said. “I wanted to open something great, but I wanted it to be true to its origins.”

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RUMSON: RALLO TO OPEN ‘SURF BBQ’ HERE

molly maguire's 102011Restaurateur Victor Rallo plans to transform the former Molly Maguire’s Gastropub into a smoked barbecue joint. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Surf-BBQ-LogoThe Greater Red Bank Green, teeming with culinary variety but short on ribs, is about to get some finger-lickin’ fare.

The former Molly Maguire’s Gastropub in Rumson, which closed Tuesday, will reopen in January as Surf BBQ, buyer Victor Rallo tells redbankgreen.

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RUMSON: MOLLY MAGUIRE’S CLOSING

molly maguire's 100615Molly Maguire’s, above, and Kathy Maguire on her first day as owner in 2011, below. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

kathy-maguire-1Just three weeks shy of their fourth anniversary in the business, Kathy and Mike Maguire are closing their Rumson restaurant, Molly Maguire’s Gastropub.

The Tuesday night finale is in preparation for sale of the East River Road establishment to restaurateur Victor Rallo, owner of the nearby Undici, on West River Road, and Birravino, in Red Bank, Kathy Maguire said Monday.

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NEW OWNERS FOR MURRAY MACGREGOR’S

kathy-maguire-1Kathy Maguire takes a breather on day one as owner of the Rumson bar and restaurant. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

machgregors-1Word about the sale had leaked out, so when Kathy Maguire showed up for work on her first day as owner of Murray MacGregor’s Publik House in Rumson Thursday, she was all but beseiged with vendors pitching beer, food and more.

Also on her doorstep: a nosy reporter from redbankgreen.

Among our first questions: um, what’s a 44-year-old married mother of five who coaches JV and varsity field hockey at St. John Vianney in Holmdel doing taking on management of a booming business in an industry she hasn’t worked in for years? Is she nuts?

We’re not the first to ask, Maguire tells us with a laugh.

“I like a challenge, and I just wanted to do something other than a nine-to-five job,” she said.

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