By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
OCEANPORT – BarCo Brands, owner of Deal Lake Bar + Co. on Loch Arbour’s border with Asbury Park, has leased a substantial space in Fort Monmouth’s Commissary at Baseline for a new sports bar/restaurant to be called Baseline Social.
BarCo will be the third and final tenant in the redeveloped former U.S. Army Commissary, now owned by Denholtz Properties of Red Bank. The first, Birdsmouth Brewery, opened Oct. 14. The second, as reported Sept. 15 by The Two River Times, is MGT Foods, a family firm producing Mr. Green Tea Ice Cream and other brands, expected to open early next year.
BarCo Brands was founded in 2017 by friends Andrea Pappas, Greg Bartz and Phil Villapiano, son of the former Oakland Raiders football star. The trio purchased and overhauled McGillicuddy’s Lakeside Taphouse into an indoor/outdoor American eatery, renaming it Deal Lake Bar + Co., and opening it in 2020.
Joining them in their Fort Monmouth venture at 675 Oceanport Way is BarCo Brands director of growth and development Tim McMahon, an executive with the McLoone’s restaurant group for 18 years, who has worked with other dining brands including Bertucci’s.
This will be the second restaurant to open on former fort property following the Marina at Oceanport on Oceanport Creek which opened in 2015. Another dining establishment fronting Parkers Creek is part of a planned mixed-use project by a different developer.
BarCo Brand’s owners anticipate Baseline Social opening in spring 2023.
“Our success in opening and operating Deal Lake Bar + Co inspired our ownership team to seek out opportunities to create an entirely new inclusive, elevated sports bar concept,” Pappas said. “We firmly believe in the vision that Denholtz Properties has for Fort Monmouth, and we are thrilled to be an integral part of the historic property’s success story.”
With 14,000 square feet inside and 3,000 more outside, the owners plan a layout featuring four separate sections. The main floor will host a bar and “bull pen” seating area, an LED viewing wall, and a platform lounge suited for live music or private events. An entertainment section will have five Full Swing technology simulator bays offering golf, baseball, football, lacrosse, dodge ball, basketball and hockey. The outdoor bar and dining area will have a firepit lounge, warmed by infrared heaters for nine-month use. The fourth section will be a mezzanine containing bar seats and a dining area overlooking the main bar and lounge, with a view of the LED viewing wall, lounge areas and a “living room” with televisions for private events.
Villapiano said the menu is still being developed and will offer “fresh, flavorful, elevated bar food, eschewing typical frozen fried foods.” The restaurant will have pizza ovens and serve lunch, dinner and late-night fare. Plans are to initially hire at least 100 employees. The venue will seat over 200 people inside and over 50 outside.
Villapiano has a background in facilities management and operations, Pappas has experience in employee recruitment in the food and beverage industry, and Bartz has worked in sales and marketing. All, including McMahon, are Monmouth County residents.
“I see in BarCo group the next 20 years of the bar/ restaurant landscape,” McMahon said. “I’m very excited not only about the history and being a bridge to the next iteration of the fort, but that it’s part of the fabric of all our lives. We lived around Fort Monmouth but were never able to go in. We lived through its demise. Now, to be part of the gateway of the fort is very exciting and intriguing.”
Commissary at Baseline is located near the Oceanport Avenue entrance to Fort Monmouth.
Villapiano said BarCo Brands learned of the facility’s availability through a mutual friend who introduced them to the owners of Birdsmouth Brewery. Under the auspices of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), some 86 percent of the base has been sold off in parcels to private developers over the past decade.
“We learned how to go through the processes,” said Villapiano of BarCo Brands’ experience with McGillicuddy’s. “You learn what you don’t know regarding permits, zoning, and working with contractors through the buildout, to operations, and the needs of staff. It was a great lesson. Trial by fire. Tim has done way more of this than us.”
The recent announcement that Netflix has emerged as the top bidder for the fort’s 292-acre Mega Parcel with hopes of building a film production complex came as welcome news to the entrepreneurs.
“It would be pretty cool having that around us,” Villapiano said. “It would be fun to integrate what they are doing into our space. Private parties could use our tech and we could build relationships. The resurrection of the Commissary is awesome. We’re lucky to be next to great minds (of other redevelopers). Hopefully we can team up and work together.”
“Our goal wasn’t to simply lease the Commissary; we wanted to bring in tenants that provide experiences and products unlike anything else in the local market,” said Kristine B. Hurlbut, Denholtz Properties’ senior vice president for leasing. “Through these leases… we have brought our vision for this important property to life. We look forward to the success of these tenants and beginning our next phase of redevelopment at Fort Monmouth.”
The 26-acre parcel purchased by Denholtz Properties includes the fort’s former PX, Post Office, and Warehouse District. There, Phase Two plans include the construction of 72,400 square feet of industrial/flex space in three buildings, scheduled for completion next year.
The article originally appeared in the October 27 – November 2, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
