Big Food for the Big Game is Big Business for Toms River Eateries

Wings, pizza, subs -- even fried hot dogs -- are on the take-out menu from local eateries for your Super Bowl party

It's Super Bowl party time. We resurrected a feature on some of the business impact the big game has. Here's a look from at how Toms River businesses get ready to make thousands of chicken wings and extra-large pizzas. What's that? You're having a Super Bowl party and haven't ordered the take-out goodies you're planning to serve? Whoot! That's a referee's whistle signaling the two-minute warning, pal. What the heck are you waiting for? You think you're the only one counting on Portugese-style wings from Brasas BBQ ? “Last year was our first Super Bowl and we ran out of food,” laughed Brasas owner Victor Santos. “If they call ahead, I can guarantee them the food.” You can order a party of 50 wings, two racks of baby-back ribs and rice or …

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Catherine Galioto

12:35 am on Sunday, February 5, 2012

Yes, that's what the intro to the article says. We resurrected this feature from last year.   more ›

Two Days of Demolition on Mathis Plaza Eyesore

Today marked the end of the South Toms River structure

The glass and concrete structure, a long crumbling part of the Mathis Plaza on Rt. 166, has finally been destroyed and removed. Demolition started yesterday and was completed early this afternoon, on the South Toms River park that sits on the Toms River, directly across from Huddy Park. Backhoes and front loaders scraped the area of debris into the afternoon. Check out our gallery from the final hours of the old gas station before construction crews reduced it to rubble.

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Multi-Use Building Approved for Church

Toms River Zoning Board OKs use variance for a new office building for St. Mary of the Lake.

The Toms River Zoning Board of Adjustment has approved a land-use variance permitting construction of a two-story, multi-use building for The Church of St. Mary of the Lake. Located on the corner of Honey Locust Drive and Massachusetts Avenue, the church, represented by attorney John DeVincens, came before the board with preliminary plans to construct a 200 to 225-person occupancy building. The project intends to provide additional office space for church business and will include a catering hall for parishioner meetings and other church-related gatherings. “I believe that this is inherently beneficiary to the community,“ he said at the zoning board meeting last week.  “[The building] serves a very real function.” According to a statement …

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Gas Guzzler

Interlocal Gasoline Purchase Saving School Busing Costs

Plus: Where's the cheapest gas in Toms River, and cost of round trip to Ortley Beach.

In recent months, sharply rising gasoline prices have forced Toms River residents to dig increasingly deeper into their pockets to fuel up their vehicles. In our already fragile economic “recovery,” these spiraling gas prices are putting increased strain on residents’ already tight budgets. However, one of the few bright spots to this unpleasant scenario for students and their parents is that the spike in pump prices hasn’t had a significant impact on the District’s school bus service – at least not yet. Toms River Regional's fleet of 167 buses purchases fuel through an interlocal agreement with the Township, explained William Doering, business administrator at Toms River Regional Schools. In effect, the schools “piggyback” onto discounted…

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Accidental Death of Public Works Employee at Composting Facility

Box truck driver died of head injury this afternoon, police said.

In what the Toms River police chief called an accidental death, a township public works employee died while unloading a box truck of leaves after 1:30 p.m. today. Longtime Department of Public Works Truck Driver Joseph Cisco, 53, of Toms River died from a head injury near the controls for the hydraulic lift of a box truck at the leaf compost facility on Whitesville Road on Friday afternoon, said Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy this evening in an email. Just after 1:30 p.m. two employees called police and Officer Brian Dugan responded to the scene and, “immediately determined that a Toms River public works employee unloading a box truck of leaves was killed,” said Mastronardy. The Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office …

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Downtown Leader Picked for Asst. Town Administrator Job

Kevin Mizikar, executive director for Toms River Business Development Corp, to begin Massachusetts job April 11

The man who joined the downtown business improvement district in the fall as its executive director was selected as a New England town's new assistant township administrator Tuesday night. Kevin Mizikar was approved by officials in Grafton, Mass., Tuesday night at the recommendation of his new boss, Grafton Town Administrator Timothy McInerney. He serves as the executive director of the Toms River Business Development Corp. in Toms River. His experience includes serving as an intern in the West Virginia Senate, followed by work at both the state and federal levels in Morgantown, W.Va., the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Township of Mount Holly, N.J., according to his profile on the Toms River Business Development Corp. website. During …

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Lobster Shanty Gets New Look, Name

Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty in downtown Toms River to sport a new name to go with revamped menu and interior.

Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty in downtown Toms River is no more. The next chapter of the longtime waterfront restaurant will be the Water Street Bar and Grill. Since January, the Lobster Shanty has been closed to undergo a massive renovation under longtime owners Chef's International. Bob Cooper, president and CEO of Chef’s International, which owns the Jack Baker’s chain of restaurants, said he and his crew have spent the winter season working on a major renovation of the Toms River Jack Baker’s Lobster Shanty located along the town’s namesake river on 4 Robbins Parkway.  In fact, renovation does not do justice to Cooper’s undertaking. Though the exterior of the aged waterfront building appears business as usual, the interior is a far cry …

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County Road Department to Knock Out OCC Roadwork

Roads portion of new Gateway Building project comes with parking and roadway upgrade, creating loop road around campus

Too high! That was the reaction of Ocean County officials last year to bids of more than $5 million for a new road and other infrastructure improvements at Ocean County College designed to serve the new $30 million Kean at Ocean Gateway Building. So county officials went back to the drawing board and put the county Road Department to work making some of the improvements. On Wednesday the county’s freeholders are planning to award a $2.5 million contract to Manzo-Maroba Inc. of Morganville for some of the work. Then the Road Department crews will come back and pave a half-mile long section of road and parking lots, all before classes start in September, if all goes well. County Engineer Frank Scarantino said the in-house work saved about $1…

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Zoning Board Approves Affordable Housing, Townhouses, Strip Mall for Route 9

Nobility Crest project to be built north of Cox Cro

Officials approved last night a plan that would put affordable housing units, townhouses and a strip mall on Route 9 north of Cox Cro Road. The Toms River Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to approve the Nobility Crest project with an amended variance on a proposal to build a strip mall, townhouses and two apartment buildings. The project was first put before the board in 2006, again in 2009 and, after three meetings in 2011, the client, Nobility Crest @ Dover LLC, was granted final approval to proceed with construction by the board.   The plan will erect a 53,000-square-foot shopping center, two 25-unit apartment buildings and 200 townhouse units north of Cox Cro Road on Route 9. Joseph D. Coronato Esq., who represents Nobility Crest @ …

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Dog Among Officers Retiring from Toms River Police Force

K-9 Clancy served from 2002 to 2011

Clancy has been enjoying a month of retirement, having left the Toms River Police Department on Feb. 8 to relax and sniff around Sgt. Patrick Dellane’s family home in Toms River. K-9 Clancy, a German Shepherd police dog, joined the Toms River Police Force Aug. 1, 2002 and worked with his master, Sgt. Dellane, for those eight years. Clancy now lives with Dellane as a family pet after his retirement became effective Feb. 8. Among plenty of “awws,” smiles and hopefulness to pet Clancy, a packed town hall gave the retiree a hearty applause for hard work serving township residents. Clancy was recognized among more than a dozen other recently retired members of the Toms River Police Department. Each staff member received a plaque and officers …

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