By John Burton
RED BANK – Goodbye Broadway Diner and leave room, possibly, for Toast.
The Broadway Diner, a Monmouth Street staple for nearly two decades, closed abruptly Monday.
Mayor Pasquale Menna, who believes he had the last cup of coffee at the diner Monday morning, said that following the death of co-owner Bob Russo in February, the remaining two owners were restructuring the business, “going through the normal process,” and then entered into a deal to sell the location to Russo’s daughter, Amy Russo.
Amy Russo owns and operates two eateries, Toast in Montclair and Toast Asbury Park. The locations serve breakfast, brunch and lunch.
The younger Russo will renovate the Red Bank site before opening, Menna said.
Amy Russo declined to discuss specifics this week.
“I haven’t even decided what I’m doing with it yet,” she said Wednesday. “I know it’ll be a variation of Toast.
“It won’t be a 24/7 diner. It doesn’t make money,” Russo said, noting, she hasn’t ruled out being open for 24 hours a day for at least a few days a week.
She said she expects to close on the sale of the diner Thursday, July 31.
The news of the diner’s closing was met earlier this week by disappointment, bewilderment and surprise as patrons arrived at the 45 Monmouth St. establishment only to find it shuttered with a sign reading: “Sorry closed” behind the glass door.
The diner, which was open 24-hours a day for 18 years, was home to what it claimed were the best pancakes available. Like most Jersey diners, it was the place for the late-night crowd seeking comfort food and the regular breakfast, lunch and dinner haunt of many working locally.
Tom Sharpe and Cheryl Bell of Belmar were confused and surprised Tuesday when they tried to enter the darkened diner for lunch.
“It was a classic, a staple,” Sharpe said.
“This was one of our favorite places. The help was like family,” said Claire Taylor. She and her husband Stan Taylor traveled from Manalapan to walk around Red Bank and have lunch at the diner.
“I’m an old-time trucker and truckers like diners,” Stan said as he looked at the 1950s-era chrome exterior. “We loved it here.”
“I loved the pancakes,” Claire said.
“This is a travesty. How could this be allowed to happen?” Kevin Israel said in mock outrage.
“This is where we came for late night cheeseburgers after a night at Chubby’s in the ‘90s,” said Israel, who works on Monmouth Street. (Chubby’s is now FIXX, a popular nightspot at 26 W. Front St.)
“Tuesday was turkey on the bird,” said Bill Kosoff, who works for a local financial firm, recalling the weekly dinner special. Kosoff said he would stop into the diner two or three times a week. “I’ll miss it. It was a favorite.”
Among those who would regularly stop by were borough police officers, taking the short trip from headquarters at 90 Monmouth St. “We used it a lot,” Police Chief Darren McConnell said. “In the middle of the night it was the one spot in town you could sit down and eat a meal.”
The police department had a contract with the diner to provide meals for prisoners, held in the headquarters lockup, McConnell said. “I guess we’ll have to figure something else out.”
For patrol officers working the night shift, “There isn’t a fallback plan,” said the chief who guesses that officers will for the time being head to a convenience store or a quick pickup at the Americana Diner in Shrewsbury for food.
The Broadway Diner also served as a good, central location for a quick work-related meeting.
The diner’s structure dates back to 1959. It was first a diner then served as a Chinese restaurant about 30 years ago before becoming the Broadway Diner, Linda Wamsley, the diner’s then-general manager told ***ITALThe Two River Times***END in 2009, when the diner was celebrating the site’s golden anniversary.
“What we really sell is comfort,” she said. “It’s more than a restaurant. It’s part of the community,”
Menna agreed.
“What it brought was not just convenience, but a sense of community,” the mayor said. “You could be old or young, walk in there and sit at the counter. Before you know it, someone would sit next to you and small talk led to knowledge, friendships.
“It was not pretentious. It was affordable. It was a gathering place,” he added.
