Jersey Shore restaurants, places open, close, are sold

November was a big month for Shore restaurant news.

Five new restaurants and eateries opened their doors, serving everything from freshly baked bread in Little Silver to Mexican food in Toms River – and Holmdel’s Bell Works gained its first full-service restaurant.

One bakery closed its doors while another opened; three restaurants announced opening plans; and another was sold in a multibillion-dollar deal.

Here you’ll find openings, closings and other restaurant news we covered in November.

Divi Tree Coffee announces a second location

More:Divi Tree Coffee opens in downtown Point Pleasant Beach

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Divi Tree Coffee, a Point Pleasant Borough favorite for coffee, breakfast sandwiches and baked goods, has a second location in the works.

Owners Joe and Maylon Torrisi will open their new cafe next year in the former Green Planet Coffee Company on Arnold Avenue in Point Pleasant Beach.

“Our plan is to completely remodel the store and make it consistent with our other store,” Joe said, adding that they will build a kitchen in the space. Green Planet sold grab-and-go items prepared at their other location in Manasquan, which remains open.

Divi Tree offers more than half a dozen coffee roasts per cup or pound, espresso-based drinks, cold brew, frappes, smoothies, breakfast items and toasties.

The new location will be at 700 Arnold Ave. Located in Point Pleasant Beach.

Mabel opens at Holmdel’s Bell Works

After years of running Cardinal Provisions, one of Asbury Park’s most popular restaurants, owners and chefs Laura Brahn and Grace Crossman have opened the doors to a second restaurant.

Mabel, the first full-service restaurant at Bell Works in Holmdel, opened in mid-November. The European-inspired coastal bar and restaurant is located on the first floor of the complex.

The menu includes brunch items like ricotta jam toast, chicken and waffles, lunch items like Scarpariello wings and a fried mushroom sandwich, and dinner items like mussels on toast, steak tartare, cavatelli and pork Milanese.

The restaurant is located at 101 Crawfords Corner Road in Holmdel.

More:Krispy Kreme is preparing to reopen in Ocean County after being gone for nearly two decades

Krispy Kreme is returning to the Jersey Shore

Krispy Kreme donuts, which have been missing from Ocean County since a Brick store closed in 2005, are back.

The donut factory opened this month in a former McDonald’s in the Town & Country Shopping Center on Route 70 in Lakewood. The store has a drive-thru window and is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m

The store is located at 1900 Shorrock St.

The vegan bakery Wild in the Treats is closing

Wild in the Treats, a vegan bakery that opened in the Atlantic Highlands just over a year ago, closed this month.

“After much thought and consideration, I have made the decision that it is time to close Wild in the Treats,” owner Tony Panzica said on Instagram. “Many factors went into this decision… I’m not going to rant about how difficult it is for a small business to succeed in this world.”

He offered treats including cinnamon rolls, brownies, cupcakes, seven-layer cookies, jasmine green tea whoopie pies and lemon bars.

“The truth is that we have seen an upswing in business recently, so this decision was not financial,” Panzica shared. “There are much more personal reasons for this. In short: it’s time.”

More:Finally, the vegan bakery Wild in the Treats in Atlantic Highlands

First Watch is preparing to open its first Shore restaurant

First Watch, a breakfast, brunch and lunch chain set to open its first location in Monmouth County on Tuesday, Dec. 3, is putting the finishing touches on.

Eatontown Restaurant serves breakfast, brunch and lunch with a selection of dishes such as cinnamon chip pancakes, steak and egg hash and avocado toast, as well as fresh juices.

During opening week, customers will receive a free pot of coffee.

The restaurant is located at 133 Route 35 in the Monmouth Plaza Shopping Center in Eatontown. Another is under construction in Brick.

More:The First Watch chain is poised to open the first breakfast and lunch restaurant on the Jersey Shore

Sofia’s Taqueria opens in Toms River

The Bread & Butter Hospitality group, which operates more than a dozen restaurants in New York and New Jersey, opened its first restaurant in the Shore this month.

The colorful Sofia’s Taqueria, which replaced Roxy’s Bar & Grille at Hooper Avenue and Kettle Creek Road, serves a variety of small plates, empanadas, quesadillas, burritos, tacos and platters, as well as a half-dozen varieties of guacamole and more than a dozen margaritas.

A location in Old Bridge opened earlier this year.

The restaurant is located at 11 Kettle Creek Road in Toms River.

More:Tacos, guac, margaritas and more: Sofia’s Taqueria opens Monday in Toms River

Two Shore bakers compete on television

Hulu launched a new baking competition show in November featuring two local bakers.

“Cookie Cupcake Cake,” hosted by Buddy Valastro and Samantha Seneviratne, with Cristian Rojas of Neptune and Megan Aucone of Sayreville.

Rojas owns a custom cake company, The Cake Whisperer, and works in the bakery department at Wegmans in Ocean Township. Aucone is the lead pastry chef at Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace and lead cake decorator at the Tinton Falls location.

The 12 episodes of the series are available on the streaming network.

More:Two Shore Bakers Compete on Hulu’s ‘Cookie, Cupcake, Cake’

Jersey Mike was sold in an $8 billion deal

Jersey Mike’s Subs, the iconic Point Pleasant-based sandwich chain, has been purchased in a multibillion-dollar deal.

Private equity firm Blackstone will acquire a majority stake in the company in a deal expected to close in early 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the investment is worth about $8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

In 1975, at age 17, founder and CEO Peter Cancro purchased Mike’s Subs after working there for several summers. He changed the name and started franchising 12 years later. Today, the company has more than 3,000 locations open or in development.

More:Jersey Mike’s was sold in a multibillion-dollar deal that started with a sub shop in Point Pleasant

Toast City Diner opens in Manalapan

Toast City Diner’s fifth location, open in Asbury Park since 2011 and Red Bank since 2015, is Manalapan’s newest breakfast, brunch and lunch spot.

Founder Amy Russo and partner Adam Torine took over the space previously occupied by Project Brunch in the Towne Pointe Center on Route 9 and opened their restaurant in late November.

New menu additions include a pancake flight and a crispy chicken sandwich, as well as cream cheese-stuffed French toast.

Toast City Diner is located at 357 Route 9 S. in Manalapan.

More:Toast City Diner opens fifth New Jersey restaurant in Manalapan

Benchmark Breads opens in Little Silver

After several years of selling their bread online and at markets, Travis and Betsy Coatney opened the doors to their own retail store earlier this month.

That’s great news for fans of their sourdough, which Travis — who applied his beer-brewing skills to baking bread — perfected at home during the pandemic. The baking for the shop is done in a commercial kitchen in the Atlantic Highlands: hundreds of loaves of country, soft sandwich, semolina, sesame semolina, cinnamon raisins, olive herb and seed fougasse per day.

Little Silver also has coffee and sweets like chocolate chip cookies and chocolate babka, with cinnamon rolls on the way.

The store is located at 141 Markham Place in Little Silver.

More:From baking at home to owning your own shop: Benchmark Breads opens in Little Silver

Perkins Griddle & Go is launching in Monmouth County

More:A Perkins restaurant like you’ve never seen before is coming to Monmouth County in 2025

Perkins Griddle & Go, a cafe-style restaurant chain from Perkins American Food Co., is coming to Monmouth County.

Franchise owners Lisa Dalton and Anthony Degrande have not yet selected a location for the restaurant, which is one of 10 planned for New Jersey.

Perkins announced in September the launch of Perkins Griddle & Go, which will feature digital menus and self-ordering kiosks.

The restaurants serve breakfast, lunch and dinner with a menu featuring dishes such as omelettes, eggs Benedict, French toast and pancakes. The restaurants, which will be smaller than traditional Perkins restaurants, will also feature a Perkins bakery.

Jersey Shore restaurants, places open, close, are sold

ByAmelia Journalton

By Amelia Journalton

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