By John Burton
RED BANK – Another new eatery in Red Bank. Been there…done that…right? Well, no you haven’t with Kitch Organic, for a couple of reasons.
In a town that offers foodies just about every possibility to tickle their gastronomical fancy, Kitch Organic has a unique take on dining healthy and eating well. And while occasional visitors to the borough might be more inclined to travel to the downtown commercial district, the usual locale for dining out, Kitch Organic’s founders opted for the west side.
Joseph Durso, who owns and operates Kitch Organic, 75 Leighton Ave., said, “We’re far from activist-y,” about his business and his menu. “But people really should be eating this way.”
The food is 100 percent organic, completely gluten- and wheat-free, dairy-free and has a variety of vegetarian, vegan and Paleo items available for dining in or takeout.
“We never open up a can in our kitchen,” chef Jennifer Freeman said, noting even the ketchup and mustard are made on site, as are the bread and other baked goods.
Kitch Organic also has its own garden, in the rear of the restaurant, where Freeman and Durso grow vegetables and herbs in season, as well as providing an additional 12 dining seats in nice weather.
“I’m able to work with the produce I want if it’s in season,” the chef said.
Durso, 29, who sports a neatly trimmed, heavy beard and was wearing a Kitch Organic baseball cap, previously worked in the financial services industry.
He and his former business partner, Rick Ivone, got the idea from a mutual friend who told them about a West Coast chain that the partners hoped to establish on the East Coast. Plant Café has eight locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and when efforts to bring the brand here didn’t work out, Durso decided to run with the idea, he said.
Durso has family members who are struggling to manage diabetes, and since it seems to run in the family, “I figured it would help me to eat better,” being surrounded by healthier alternatives, he said.
It seems to have worked, he said, given he’s lost about 30 pounds since he began running the business in early October and eating from its menu.
Kitch Organic has cold press juice machines and serves a full slate of healthy smoothies and protein shakes. Among the entrees, Durso counts the Chicken Bahija as one of his favorite entrees – for now. “My favorite is usually whatever I’m eating at the time,” he acknowledged.
Chicken Bahija is a sweet potato cake served over Brussels sprouts tossed in a honey siracha sauce and topped with citrus barbeque chicken.
Kitch Organic sells its juices at Coffee Corral, Drs. James Parker Blvd., also on the borough’s west side. Their breads are available at French Market, Rumson.
So far, “Everything has worked out phenomenally well,” he said.
That success, in part he attributes to his location. Durso was raised in Middletown and attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft.
“I always loved Red Bank,” spending much of his time growing up in the borough, he said.
Now he lives here, on Locust Avenue, also on the west side and feels he and his business fit in. Initially some neighbors had the idea “It was some uppity place taking over,” but were won over, with neighbors becoming customers, Durso explained. The area is residential, with Leighton Avenue lined with modest single-family homes. Durso’s building, which he owns, was the site of liquor and convenience store that had long vexed the neighborhood and has been vacant for many years.
Now, as he’s completely remodeled the location that can accommodate 22 diners, “The neighborhood has really begun coming to us,” picking up dinners and stopping for lunch. He’s also been seeing an influx of people who work in the borough, who live in Rumson, Holmdel and elsewhere who stop by to grab something to go on their way home.
Mayor Pasquale Menna observed the emergence of Kitch Organic is reflective of redevelopment that has begun to occur on the west side. Along with the strictly commercial revitalization that’s been going on, “there is the cool, urbanist-type of revitalization,” appealing to recent resident millennials, that has been making inroads here, he explained. “And that’s what we have here,” Menna said. “And I think it’s wonderful.”
Durso thinks so, too and is hoping for a future here and to take the brand elsewhere, eventually.
“I think this is a trend that will be staying,” as people adapt better diets for their long-term health,” Durso said.
