Middletown Township – As Martha Daverio, the co-owner and familiar face at The Lincroft Inn, sat at the onetime stage coach stop for the last time as she recalled what meant most to her during the last 40 years of her life at the historic restaurant.
“It’s really all about the people and how we connected to their lives; it was heartfelt,” she said of the Inn which closed its doors Sunday, Sept. 11. “We shared life’s most important moments with our customers – showers, weddings, christenings, memorial services – and often for generations in the same families. We also shared our lives around the bar and often catered their parties in their homes.”
Since 1977, Martha has been the face of the Inn. She and her husband, Terry, became the proprietors of in 1977.
Martha, who prefers to be “just Martha,” and Terry, who is suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s, are moving to Palm Beach, Fla., and selling the Inn, but they pass the torch with sadness.
“The new owners will keep the name Lincroft Inn. I have faith they will keep the tradition and will bring back the LI again,” Martha said. “After the completion of the ninth renovation (The Daverio family completed eight over the years), the Lincroft Inn will reopen again and I wish them all the very best.”
In the meantime, the restaurant will remain open for booked banquets and will honor its commitments.
The Daverio lineage is long.
Terry’s grandparents, Mary and Dante Daverio bought the Inn, which was built in 1697, just shy of ninety years ago in 1927. During the Prohibition years, hot meals cooked by Mary on an old coal stove and “spirits” secretly made by Dante in the cellar established the place as an important part of the community.
Martha recalled the days when Terry’s parents Bob and Connie Daverio owned the Inn and jackets were required in the dining room, which at the time was where the main bar is now. A small bar was nestled in the back of that room at the time.
The fourth generation took a hand at running the Inn when their niece Kristen Daverio ran the restaurant while Martha and Terry spent a trial run in Florida.
Martha is quick to praise Kristen and the staff – Angela, the banquet coordinator; her husband, Bob; Bartenders Robin, Sherry, Virgil, Mike and Brad; Chef Louie, Daisy, Mario and Denise; Waitresses Sarah and Britney; Hostesses Sue and Gina and so many others who made the Inn feel like a home away from home.
“Most of our staff was with us for many years,” Martha said. “They are like family and they will be missed.”
As she tearfully said long goodbyes to her friends, Martha said, “I’ll miss everyone so much. Everyone has been so kind. But I’d like to try to enjoy my years with Terry, where he’ll be safe and happy and always at home.”
“When someone is ill and supervising the kitchen, things can go terribly wrong,” she said “Thankfully our loyal customers understood.”
The customers were horsemen, judges, lawyers, stockbrokers, landscapers, police, firemen and first aiders; they were from the Lions, Due Process, Bamm Hollow and Fort Monmouth, representing all walks of life. Mostly it was just about locals. It was everyone’s Cheers, everyone’s club.
“So many Brookdale professors called it the faculty club,” Martha laughed. “It’s a place where young and old timers feel at home.”
The Inn could be on a literary tour given the long list of some impressive authors, brought to dinner through Brookdale Community College’s Visiting Authors series. The writers, who were always given “table number one,” included such notables as James Dickey, Three time Pulitzer winner Edward Albee, Maya Angelou, Alan Ginsberg, Joyce Carol Oates, Erica Jong, Aldrianne Rich and Rex Reed. And that’s just a sampling.
The Inn’s connection to Brookdale was just part of the priority Martha and Terry put on being part of the community.
When Terry was well, he would feed anyone who was helping get things running during a storm or fighting a fire or dealing with any local emergency.
“Once Terry helped a cardiologist who was moving into the area and gave him bedding for his family because his moving truck never showed up,” said Martha, who was a fixture, always making sure her customers were happy and checking in on their lives. “That’s the type of man he is; always there for the community.”
“After 9/11, the community, including Cub Scouts and Brownies who were just a few, collected donated items in need and the 18 wheeler made it to ground zero.” Martha recalled.
Not surprisingly, Martha and Terry generously turned their ballrooms into a department store during the aftermath of Sandy. Cheryl and Dave McDaniel and their company, Direct Success, secured and packed an 18-wheeler full of donated supplies and sanitized clothes but needed a distribution point. A mutual friend intervened and the Lincroft Inn was the spot. The event was widely advertised in all the areas where Sandy hit hardest and the turnout was impressive. Rooms adorned in stunning Christmas decorations, were laid out with folded clothes much like a Macy’s, complete with volunteer personal shoppers, including Martha’s sister, the rock star Debbie Hary.
The Inn has many a story to tell. It once stood on a 350-acre tract of land granted to John Bennett by the King of England some 325 years ago and has seen many resurrections and expansions since. Once known as the Leedsville Inn, it was a well known stop on the Lakewood-New York stagecoach line because of its fine well water.
It’s still the local watering hall.
As one customer who grew up in Colts Neck and still lives locally, said, “I’ve been coming here since I was 15 years old when my parents brought me here every Sunday. Beyond the many dinners at the bar or in the dining room, so many of my own family moments were here like my older son’s rehearsal dinner, my younger son’s 21st birthday, my husband’s 70th, roasts and so many celebrations..”
“Sad times too. This is the last place I had lunch with my mom,” she said. “Martha and the staff always took such good care of us no matter the circumstance. I understand why they have to move on, but we all wish it weren’t so. Now, it’ll be a grand memory.”
