Thirty Acres, Jersey City, which opened in April 2012, will be closing on November 28. Owners Alex and chef Kevin Pemoulie are moving to Seattle. Pemoulie was chef de cuisine at David Chang’s Momofuku Noodle Bar before he opened in Jersey City. His Facebook page has the following post: “Hey Everybody! It is with both sadness and excitement that we would like to announce that Alex, Kevin & Vivian will be leaving Jersey City for the great Pacific Northwest. Thirty Acres will officially be closing it’s doors Saturday, November 28th. We will be taking tasting menu reservations through Wednesday 11/25 and plan on blowing it out with 2 days of OG a la carte dining and drinking for our final weekend. Thank you all for the support and love over the past (nearly) 4 years here in JC. We hope to see you all in Seattle in the future!”
NJ RESTAURANT OPENINGS
29 Chestnut, an Italian restaurant, has opened at 29 Chestnut Street, Ridgewood; BYO.
Axton’s, named after chef/owner Anton Testino’s son, has opened at 437 Ringwood Avenue, Pompton Lakes (973-831-0037); BYO. This Italian fusion restaurant has 50 seats with an open kitchen. Chef Testino attended the Culinary Institute of America, and has appeared on the Food Network’s reality cooking show Chopped and Hell’s Kitchen on Fox. In 2014, Testino was named an official spokesperson for St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, a charitable organization that he has been a part of and supported for a number of years.
The Citizen, 332 Second Street, Jersey City (201-963-4277); full bar and small menu items.
Bar Cilento, serving light fare along with a full-service bar, has opened at 37 Plainfield Road, Stirling (908-647-2272).
Early Bird Portuguese Bakery, has opened at 615 South Avenue West, Westfield, offering custard cups, crème-filled Portuguese doughnuts, as well as savory dishes, such as empanadas and marinated pork sandwiches (908-301-0478).
Havana Central, a Cuban restaurant, has opened at 55 Parsonage Road, Menlo Park Mall, Edison (732-906-5708); full bar.
Mancinos Restaurant has moved from Bloomfield Avenue in Denville to 490 E Main Street, Denville (862-209-4751); BYO.
Montclair Bread Company has opened an annex at the Isabel Rose Cafe location at the Montclair Public Library, 50 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair. Mini-doughnuts, croissants and muffins are offered. Coming soon: soups, salads, made-to-order sandwiches and other savories.
Porto Falafel, offering Egyptian/Middle Eastern cuisine and halal meat, has opened at 2933 Vauxhall Road, Union (908-906-4800); BYO.
River & Rail Cantina, a Tex-Mex restaurant featuring 100 specialty tequilas, has opened at 230 South Street, Cranford (908-922-4300).
Scratch Made Kitchen, 54 Vineyard Road, Edison (732-275-8049); full bar.
Two Que’s Café and Catering, has opened at 599 Chestnut Street, Union (908-810-1427).
CLOSINGS
Baumgart’s Café, Livingston
The Bicycle Club, Englewood Cliffs
Caffe Bene, Little Falls
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