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RED BANK: ‘RE-ENTRY’ THROUGH THE KITCHEN

State Senators Declan O’Scanlon, left, and Vin Gopal flank ex-Governor Jim McGreevey as he speaks with Re-Entry participants at Soul Kitchen Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

“Nobody should be defined by their worst decision,” former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey said on a visit to Red Bank Thursday.

That’s particularly true for ex-felons who may never have learned the basic skills needed to become self-sufficient members of society, he said.

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May 28, 2021 - 7:58 am |

RED BANK: BON JOVI THANKS BIZ OWNERS

jovi martino fadell 062216donegoodlogoRock star Jon Bon Jovi chats with Red Bank merchants Linda Martino, center, of Lux Beauty Store, and Dorothy Ferlanti, of Pinot’s Palette, at the JBJ Soul Kitchen Wednesday evening.

Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, part-time Middletown residents, hosted a reception for business owners who donated a portion of their receipts on June 16 to a fundraiser for the nonprofit restaurant, which the couple opened in 2011 to fight food insecurity.  (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

 

June 23, 2016 - 5:17 am |

RED BANK: BUY A BOWL, FEED A SOUL


bowls 4An artist at work on a bowl for the event, and a sampling of the bowls available for purchase, below. (Photos by Bob McKay. Click to enlarge)

bowls 3For the second year in a row, the Red Bank-based Art Alliance of Monmouth County will host its Empty Bowls Project at JBJ Soul Kitchen this weekend.

A joint fundraiser to benefit Soul Kitchen and the alliance, the event features a sale of one-of-a-kind, locally made ceramic bowls.

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May 13, 2016 - 2:00 pm |

RED BANK: BON JOVI TALKS UP SOUL KITCHEN

bon jovi 101911Middletown resident Jon Bon Jovi, seen here at the opening of the pay-what-you-can-or-earn-your-meal JBJ Soul Kitchen in 2011, tells USA Today in an interview at the Red Bank eatery he helped create why he doesn’t wash dishes there anymore.  (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

 

May 30, 2014 - 7:48 am |

RED BANK: HUNGER ON THE TABLE

christie colicchio 093013Governor Chris Christie joined restaurateur Tom Colicchio, right, and an interviewer on stage at the Count Basie Theatre Monday afternoon for a discussion of the politics of combatting hunger. The four-hour afternoon program, called ‘Soul of Hunger,’ also brought together panelists from food pantries and supermarkets and featured a screening of the documentary, ‘A Place at the Table.’ (Click to enlarge)

October 1, 2013 - 6:53 am |

SUMMER PROGRAM’S A ‘SLAM’ DUNK FOR RBR

summreslamart-1RBR students draw their partners’ portraits during a special art session with the Community YMCA’s Holly Haines during the special speakers’ visit in Summer Slam, an RBR freshman transitional program.  (Click to enlarge)

By MARIANNE KLIGMAN
RBR Community Information Officer

During one day in July, rising Red Bank Regional (RBR) freshmen were running relays across the cafeteria floor, and dropping for push-ups in a mini-version of boot camp.  The next period they were team-drawing a pictorial class story. Students also participated in experimentation with percussion instruments creating a short acoustical symphony. Fun turned to social awareness as they learned about environmental advocacy and the mission to help feed the less fortunate with dignity at Soul Kitchen, the Red Bank Community restaurant.

These programs were all part of a special day of guest visitors who shared their skills and knowledge with Red Bank Regional’s Summer Slam, a freshman transition program which is operated by The SOURCE, RBR’s School-based Youth Services Program.

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September 19, 2013 - 8:02 am |

SOUL KITCHEN, BOOKSTORE IN GIVEAWAY

Cases of new books await distribution at River Road Books, above. Soul Kitchen, below, will serve as a giver site. (Click to enlarge)

By DANIELLE TEPPER

Book fans know that when they fall in love with a story, their immediate reaction is to tell someone so they, too, can fall in love with it. Remember how you first heard about The Hunger Games or Fifty Shades of Grey? Word of mouth is the spark that starts the fire and, sometimes has the ability to ignite a full force blaze that’s pretty hard to ignore.

That’s this concept that inspired World Book Night, a campaign designed to introduce the joy of reading to those who can’t afford or are perhaps even a little intimidated to pick up a new novel.

Launched in the United Kingdom a year ago, World Book Night is now coming to the United States, with some 5,000 towns and cities expected to give away almost half a million free books. Among those bibliophilic volunteers are River Road Books in Fair Haven and Red Bank’s own pay-what-you-can JBJ Soul Kitchen. More →

April 20, 2012 - 1:57 pm |

SOUL KITCHEN FINDS ITS FOOTING

Newly recruited general manager Ryan Timmons outside Soul Kitchen earlier this week. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Three months after opening, Soul Kitchen, the pay-what-you-can-or-work-it-off restaurant on Red Bank’s West Side, is  progresssing toward its goal of feeding the haves and have-nots in equal numbers, new manager Ryan Timmons tells redbankgreen.

About 30 percent of the restaurant’s patrons pay with vouchers earned through volunteer work at Soul Kitchen or a growing roster of other non-profits, Timmons said. The goal is a 50-50 mix among diners, and “the voucher-to-payment ratio is going up,” he said.

Meanwhile, paying customers are being generous when settling up bills via the discreet donation envelopes that servers present to them at the end of their three-course dinners, he said. The suggested donation is $10, but “very few” customers leave just that amount, he said, and instead pay more to help subsidize meals for others.

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February 3, 2012 - 1:57 pm |

GOT AN ACHE FOR BON JOVI?

jbj-advilJon Bon Jovi in the Advil commercial he shot in Red Bank. (Click to enlarge)

Back in September, redbankgreen told you about Jon Bon Jovi shooting a commercial for Advil at the Soul Kitchen, which hadn’t yet opened. Well, for all those fans with an ache for the pop star, here’s the spot, which debuts today.

Advil’s a backer of the JBJ Soul Foundation, which built and runs the pay-what-you-can restaurant on Monmouth Street in Red Bank.

December 9, 2011 - 8:54 am |

EARLY FEEDBACK: SOUL KITCHEN WORKS

jbj-soul-kitchen-101911Soul Kitchen as seen on opening day last month, hosted by Jon Bon Jovi, below. (Click to enlarge)

bon-jovi-101911Lots of glitz was on display last month when the JBJ Soul Kitchen, the new pay-what-you-can-or-volunteer restaurant, opened in Red Bank last month.

It wasn’t just the star power of pop star Jon Bon Jovi, whose foundation bankrolled the operation, but the swarm of New York media and even the superchic look given to the former auto repair shop by Red Bank architect Michael Malone.

It made some people wonder: would this turn out to be a restaurant for the haves only? Would those who need what Soul Kitchen was created to provide come out, too?

A volunteer at the Soul Kitchen, Christina Georgas, tells redbankgreen that they do. A bit reluctantly, on occasion, but they’re coming in.

“The great thing is that we have that long driveway out front, and sometimes we see them hesitating,” says Georgas, who works as a server. “So we go out and tell them, ‘Please, come on in.’ And they do.”

In an article published Monday on Philly.com, the website of the Philadelphia Inquirer, food reporter Dianna Marder also reports that the concept is working.

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November 7, 2011 - 2:18 pm |

SOULFUL PLUG FOR SOUL KITCHEN

A Rhode Island man recently posted this YouTube video, in which he praises the new JBJ Soul Kitchen on Monmouth Street in Red Bank. During his meal the night before, Jon Bon Jovi himself was in the kitchen of the pay-what-you-can restaurant washing dishes, he says.

November 4, 2011 - 8:10 am |

BON JOVI OPENS SOUL KITCHEN

bon-jovi-dorotheaJon Bon Jovi gives his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, an attagirl as she prepares a table at the opening of the JBJ Soul Kitchen Wednesday afternoon. The yard outside the restaurant, below, features a vegetable and herb garden. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

soul-kitchenWith a heavy rain irrigating the vegetable garden behind him and cameras streaming the event live, pop star Jon Bon Jovi inaugurated a pay-what-you-can-or-work-it-off restaurant on Monmouth Street in Red Bank Wednesday afternoon.

Dubbed the JBJ Soul Kitchen, the eatery is “not a soup kitchen,” Bon Jovi told a tent packed with press and local officials. “We hope to empower individuals who just need a hand up, and enable some who just need to lend a hand.”

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October 19, 2011 - 3:04 pm |

POP STAR TOUTS ADVIL FOR SOUL KITCHEN

soul-kitchen-092611A production crew swarmed the Jon Bon Jovi-supported Soul Kitchen on Monmouth Street in Red Bank Monday morning as the pop star prepared to shoot a commercial for pain-reliever Advil that will tout the not-yet-officially-open pay-what-you-can restaurant.

Plans for an official opening of the eatery have not yet been finalized, a Soul Foundation spokeswoman tells redbankgreen. (Click to enlarge)

September 26, 2011 - 11:00 am |

THE WEEK IN REARVIEW

pink-linePink striping down River Road in Fair Haven in celebration of Pink Week, which continues this week. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

You’ll notice the redbankgreen masthead’s looking a more on the red side than green these days. That’s because last week kicked off Pink Week, Riverview Medical Center and Red Bank RiverCenter’s annual push for breast cancer awareness, detection and treatment.

We’re not here just for supportive graphics, but on this Monday morning to keep you abreast (couldn’t help it) of what that’s all about, and other news from the end of April. Click on.

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May 2, 2011 - 7:05 am |

RUBBER STAMP NO.1: BON JOVIAL MEALS

A promo video for Soul Kitchen.

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Plans by Jon Bon Jovi’s Soul Foundation to open a freestanding pay-what-you can community restaurant in Red Bank sailed to approval Monday night, when the borough’s planning board all but rolled out the red carpet for the high-profile rocker’s team of engineers, attorneys and architects.

The OK clears the way for the non-profit Soul Kitchen, the community-minded project led by the pop star’s wife, Dorothea, to break ground on renovations to the three-bay former repair shop near the western end of Monmouth Street.

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April 26, 2011 - 8:45 am |

BON JOVI FINDS NEW KITCHEN SPACE IN RB

soul-kitchenPlans for Jon Bon Jovi’s Soul Kitchen will keep the bay doors for now. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Bon Jovi’s Soul Kitchen has found itself a new home in Red Bank. It just needs a thumbs-up from the borough to fire up the grill.

The mega-star and super-philanthropic Middletown resident’s non-profit, the JBJ Soul Foundation, has filed plans with the borough’s planning and zoning office to move into a former auto repair shop on Monmouth Street, just west of the train tracks.

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April 15, 2011 - 12:59 pm |

BON JOVI BRINGS ‘SOUL’ FOOD TO CHURCH

st-anthonySt. Anthony of Padua transforms into the Soul Kitchen on Friday nights, offering a community restaurant through a partnership with the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

You can add restaurateur to the résumé of Jon Bon Jovi.

Through his non-profit JBJ Soul Foundation, the megapopstar musician has teamed with St. Anthony of Padua to open a “community restaurant” they call the Soul Kitchen to offer fine meals to the indigent. There are no prices posted. If you can afford to make a donation, they’ll take it. If not, then you volunteer at the restaurant to work off your fare.

Operating most Friday nights since November, the innovative eatery has gotten a “phenomenal response,” said Ed Markiewicz, who runs the church’s food pantry.

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January 6, 2010 - 7:08 am |
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