Patti Balderas at Tavolo Pronto in Fair Haven (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)
By JIM WILLIS
Red Bank’s Patti Balderas, who with her husband Arturo owns and runs Tavalo Pronto in Fair Haven, tells PieHole they’ll be testing the waters in Sea Bright this summer by taking over food concession at Ship Ahoy beach club.
The couple have amassed a loyal following over the past four years at their River Road location. Balderas says running the kitchen at Ship Ahoy gives them a chance to expand without having to launch a full second location.
“It’s just half a year of another seven-day-a week-business,” says Balderas. “Plus it’s the beach, so it will be fun.”
Sea Bright has been on the couple’s radar for some time now. Balderas tells PieHole that she and Arturo looked into starting a food truck in Sea Bright after Hurricane Sandy, but “the permitting and everything was very confusing.”
A friend suggested that Balderas check with Darrell and Marie Jackson, who own Ship Ahoy, to see if they might be interested in subletting the beach club’s kitchen. Marie Jackson also runs Atlantic Highland’s Flaky Tart.
“Marie is such a great pastry chef,” says Balderas, “I’d known of her for years, but we’d never met. Then, right before Thanksgiving, Marie called [Tavolo Pronto] one day to order something, and while she was on the phone I said to her that Arturo and I were thinking about trying to get into one of the beach clubs. And that’s all it took.”
Balderas says the opening is scheduled for Saturday, May 24 and that the new location will replicate the menu from Tavolo Pronto, with a full array of panini and specialty salads, as well as breakfast sandwiches and omelets.
“We’re going to do a lot of the same menu as [Tavolo Pronto], but we’re going to do typical beach fare as well – hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers and grilled cheese – we’ll have those for the kids,” she says.
