In a surprising turn, the 20-month-old Zaferon Grill in Verona has closed. Last April, the Mediterranean-American restaurant celebrated its one-year anniversary with Verona’s mayor on hand. The restaurant website announced the sudden shutdown, effective Saturday, October 13. Oddly, the restaurant’s Instagram account previewed a fall dish on the same day and had previewed other upcoming dishes in days prior. No reasons have been given for the closure. Zaferon Grill, 648 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona; 973-433-7533
Open:
—Chef David Murray’s reinvention of the short-lived Farmhouse in Cherry Hill was completed with Friday’s opening of Denim American Bistro. The new concept is located in the same historic home, but with fewer seats and a shorter seasonal menu of small, medium and large plates, as well as a $40 prix fixe of each of the three sizes. The menu highlights seasonal products (including gavage-free foie gras, which means the geese weren’t force-fed). There are also gluten-free and vegan options on Murray’s menu. Appropriate to its name, the restaurant has also made itself a designated drop spot for the Teens for Jeans clothing donation initiative. Denim American Bistro, 312 Kresson Avenue, Cherry Hill; 856-520-8114
—Launched by husband and wife team and Cherry Hill natives Rachelle and Kevin Johnson, Roots Café is set to open October 19, with a soft opening this week. Housed in the former space of 20-year Maple Shade mainstay, Forno, the café will do a farm-to-table menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with Rachelle doing the baking, and much of the interior design. The concept is approachable, affordable but creative diner-style food that’s also seasonal and sustainable where possible. The restaurant is currently BYO but plans to change that as the restaurant grows into a neighborhood spot. Roots Café, 28 South Church Road, Maple Shade; no phone yet.
—Viva Margarita 2 has been open in Wallington for close to three weeks now (the first Viva Margarita is in Cliffside Park). As in the original Viva, the restaurant expands on a traditional Mexican restaurant menu with California style tacos and a mammoth treat called Chimichingadas (deep fried burritos). Margaritas, as ever, will flow. Viva Margarita 2, 413 Patterson Avenue, Wallington; 201-935-8484
—The 41-year home of Los Amigos in West Berlin has a new tenant: Volcano Steak & Sushi, a hibachi concept making its first foray into New Jersey. The restaurant, doing classic hibachi with sushi and a few Chinese menu options, has been open since summer but only recently fully completed major restyling. Volcano Steak & Sushi, 461 Route 73, West Berlin; 856-768-6888
In the Works:
—Da Pepo, a 25-seat Italian restaurant, is in the works in Montclair. Not much else is known about the restaurant yet, but it’s a fair guess they’re weeks (as opposed to months) away from opening, as they’re hiring both back and front of the house. Da Pepo, Montclair; no phone yet.
—Iachetti’s American Brick Oven Kitchen is a “new family-owned restaurant” set to open in Glen Rock. The restaurant has no website but their Facebook page is active and a phone message says they will be open next week. 918 Prospect Street, Glen Rock; 201-773-4782
—The MC Hotel in Montclair slated to open in January of 2019, the first boutique full-service hotel in the city since 1938, and they’re currently hiring an executive chef to oversee hotel culinary operations, including an as-yet unnamed farm-to-table restaurant. The MC Hotel, 690 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair; 844-624-6835