By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
OCEANPORT – Park Loft, the new event space created from Fort Monmouth’s former 1940s Dance Hall, has been chosen as the venue for this year’s annual Lunch Break Gala, scheduled for Oct. 14. The theme this year is “Renew the Promise of Hope.”
“I’m very excited we are hosting our 14th gala this year at Park Loft on the former Fort Monmouth site,” said Gwendolyn Love, executive director of the social resource center headquartered on Drs. James Parker Boulevard in Red Bank. “The owners have done a great job renovating the building. We’re honored to welcome our guests for a night in celebration of our work in the community.”
Last year’s gala was held at the Count Basie Center for the Arts and was hosted by Emmy-winning comedian/host Jon Stewart, who lives in Red Bank. A host has not yet been secured for this year.
Created in 1983, Lunch Break has grown significantly over the years, along with its clientele in Monmouth County and beyond. Its operations include a food pantry, employment training, temporary housing, résumé and job services, life skills, college prep guidance and vocational workshops and financial counseling. The organization, which does not charge for its services, has over 2,000 volunteers along with community, corporate and business partnerships.
Last year, Lunch Break’s Food Services served more than 89,000 hot meals while the food pantry had 19,000 grocery pickups. The facility serves breakfast five days per week and delivers meals to the homebound six days a week including holidays. It’s clothing donation program, Clara’s Closet, distributed apparel to over 2,800 individuals; 1,362 backpacks and school supplies were provided to students in need. Children’s cooking classes, along with a Suit Up business attire program, extend Lunch Break’s reach.
A $12 million capital campaign launched last year to expand the facility to accommodate demand, organization representatives said. The proposed building incorporates space for on-site services including the Life Skills Center, currently located in Shrewsbury, warehouse storage, administration and donation accessibility.
Lunch Break’s annual gala organizers are hopeful curiosity and publicity generated by Park Loft will attract people to the event, which usually draws close to 400 attendees. Jill Gwydir, the organization’s development and marketing manager, said she learned of Park Loft through friends who knew Thomas Schoborg, the venue’s executive chef. Schoborg joined the new facility after seven years at Rooney’s in Long Branch. His previous kitchen credentials include Rosa Mexicana and PJ Clarke’s in Manhattan.
“We went to see the space early on before the interior was completed,” Gwydir said. “It’s just gorgeous, captures the spirit, and is not like anything else around here.”
“Lunch Break raises the bar every year to attract people and keep them excited about our parties,” added Ellen McCarthy, Lunch Break’s communications and public relations coordinator. “Ours is not a typical fundraiser. We have a lot of activities in the program. Park Loft’s concept was very appealing to the committee with all its history and the history of the fort. It’s the perfect marriage.”
She noted that adjacent to Park Loft is Family Promise of Monmouth County, another nonprofit that works collaboratively with Lunch Break to assist local communities, families and the homeless.
The transformation of the former Dance Hall was recently completed after over 14 months of construction, hampered by pandemic-related delays. Developer Fuller “Trip” Brooks purchased the Super Storm Sandy-damaged property off Route 537 from the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority for $4.85 million and made a capital investment of over $3 million to refurbish it. He was able to retain original features like the 80-year-old pine ceiling, ceiling trusses and high windows that let in additional natural light. His wife Alecia created the interior design in a “French modern industrial” style. A plaque commemorating the building’s history was installed on its main floor fireplace.
“We are fairly far along in the planning,” Brooks said of the gala. “Our experience with Lunch Break has been wonderful. They have a lot of experience putting together events of this size. This will be our first big event and we’re very excited.”
Park Loft will begin hosting weddings within weeks and is booking events from late fall into 2024. A permanent roof installed over the outdoor patio marks the end of construction, Brooks said. He has also purchased and is redeveloping the fort’s Barker Circle nearby on Route 537, which will include a restaurant in the former firehouse.
Lunch Break plans to send out gala invitations the first week in August, McCarthy said. More information, including sponsorship opportunities, can be found at lunchbreak.org.
The article originally appeared in the July 28 – August 3, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
