The roofed deck at McLoone’s Rum Runner. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
On a clear day, Tim McLoone‘s newly rebuilt Rum Runner restaurant in Sea Bright offers bird’s-eye views south along the Shrewsbury River past the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge, north toward Sandy Hook Bay, and to the east, beach clubs, interspersed with peeks of the Atlantic Ocean.
Stunning eye-candy aside, PieHole finds another reason to appreciate this back-from-the dead Sandy survivor. More →
The bar in a glass-walled room one patron called “the aquarium” offers panoramic views of the Shrewsbury River. Below right, restaurant principal Tim McLoone with an opening-night guest. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Three and a half years after the original was damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Sandy, McLoone’s Rum Runner reopened Tuesday night in the form of dazzling behemoth of a “jewel box” beside the Shrewsbury River in Sea Bright.
Above the river, actually. Unlike its modest predecessor, which sat barely above high-tide, the new one is elevated to keep all but the lowest part of a stairwell dry even during the worst storm surge, and provide parking underneath at other times, said its designers.
A worker was reported to be OK after he fell from the roof of the McLoone’s Rum Runner restaurant under construction in Sea Bright Thursday, police Chief John Sorrentino tells redbankgreen.
Michael Cruz, whose name and town of residence were not immediately available, fell an estimated 30-to-40 feet in the accident, Sorrentino said.
McLoone’s Rum Runner, a Sea Bright favorite since 1987, was demolished Monday, nearly 21 months after it was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Owner Tim McLoone has approvals to rebuild the restaurant, which adjoins the Shrewsbury River, with greater elevation, and plans to reopen by next summer. (Photo above by Janet Dorgan. Click to enlarge)
Tim McLoone, below, plans to open a yet-to-be-named burger restaurant in the former Murphy Style Grille on Broad Street, above. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
By his own admission, and as his wife gently reminds him, Tim McCloone did not give it a lot of thought six weeks ago when he embarked on a plan to open a restaurant in downtown Red Bank.
Among other locations, he’s already got eateries on the boardwalks in Long Branch and Asbury Park; recently took over CJ Montana’s in Tinton Falls, rebranding it as CJ McLoone’s; and is readying new places in Hoboken and Hillsborough.
Oh, and last week, he landed approvals to rebuild McLoone’s Rum Runner, his flagship Sea Bright restaurant, which was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.
So where does his plan to open a restaurant in the Broad Street space long held by Murphy Style Grille fit in strategically?
“I’m not thinking strategically, or I would not do this,” McLoone told redbankgreen with a laugh Tuesday, one day after he signed a lease for the space. “I’m devoid of strategy.”
McLoone’s Rum Runner in Sea Bright, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, will be rebuilt at its Ocean Avenue location abutting the Shrewsbury River and reopen before summer 2015, according to a report by Word On the Shore. Under plans approved by the planning board last week, the new version of the restaurant will be elevated 10 feet, according to the report. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
The roofed deck at McLoone’s Rum Runner. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
On a clear day, Tim McLoone‘s newly rebuilt Rum Runner restaurant in Sea Bright offers bird’s-eye views south along the Shrewsbury River past the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge, north toward Sandy Hook Bay, and to the east, beach clubs, interspersed with peeks of the Atlantic Ocean.
