The former Bridge Avenue Gas station at 187 Riverside Avenue in a photograph from last winter. (Photos by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
For 30 years, restaurant owner Vic Rallo has gazed at the old, decaying gas station next door to his Birravino restaurant and thought of a scene in the 1962 movie “That Touch of Mink,” in which Doris Day and Carey Gant stop there on their way to Asbury Park.
And for at least half that period, residents and Borough of Red Bank officials have lamented how the crumbling old service station at 187 Riverside Avenue contributes to what the 2023 Master Plan calls, understatedly, an “unsightly entryway” to the town.
Two weeks ago, Rallo finally closed on his dream of buying the gas station. And he now says he’s hoping to restore the old building and create a new silver screen-worthy gateway to town.
Carey Grant peers out from the back of a poultry truck while Doris Day comes out of the gas station at 187 Riverside Drive in the 1962 film “That Touch of Mink.”
“Not only is it nostalgic and symbolic,” Rallo said of the property in a press release announcing the purchase. “It now has newfound significance in paving the path to the new gateway to Red Bank.”
Rallo announced a partnership with Mancini Duffy Architecture, a company with an office in Red Bank, to bring to fruition his dream of creating “a bustling hot spot that our community and visitors alike will admire.”
The interior of the former service station.
A sale price has not been disclosed and no final record of sale has yet been filed with the Monmouth County Clerk.
Besides restoring the existing building, Rallo (photographed at right, below) declined to give details about what type of business he planned for the site, or whether he planned to seek approvals for any other structures on the property. But he did say he hopes to have the project complete by June 2026.
“Red Bank has always been part of my story,” Christian Giordano, President and Principal at Mancini Duffy said in Rallo’s press release. “I grew up in Middletown, crossed that bridge countless times as a kid, and now raise my family here. This corner has always symbolized the start of town, and I cannot think of anyone better than Vic to shape its next chapter.”
The seller was longtime property owner James Gambacorto, of Middletown.
The shop operated as Jimmie’s Service Station for many years before becoming a Raceway for two decades until 2020. It then operated as Bridge Avenue Gas for a short time before closing for good.
The property most recently has been the center of a lawsuit by the Outfront Media, which owns a billboard on the property. The company is suing the Borough of Red Bank over the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s denial of its plans to replace it with a taller digital sign. That case remains ongoing.
The office hasn’t been cleaned out since $1.49 a gallon.
Rallo’s fixup of the property will be just one part of a dramatic remaking of the town’s northern Route 35 entrance. Across the street, developer Saxum is building a 212-unit apartment building on the 2.7 acre site adjacent to the Cary Grant, er, Cooper’s Bridge.
Saxum’s 212-unit apartment building rises in the background across the street from the property.
To the west, a defunct Exxon station at 199 Riverside Avenue and 80 Rector Place was recently declared an area in need of rehabilitation by the Borough Council, as the town seeks to jump-start action on what has become a site where developer’s plans go to die.
Here’s the full text of Rallo’s press release about his purchase of 187 Riverside Avenue.
There is a scene in the 1962 movie, “That Touch of Mink” where Doris Day and Carey Grant are traveling to Asbury Park on Route 35. They cross over the Coopers Bridge and stop at the gas station at 187 Riverside Drive Red Bank, New Jersey.In 1962, it was a Sunoco station, not what we’d all come to know—Bridge Avenue gas.“That Touch of Mink” was my gateway to the classics. And for the last 30 years, every time I’ve gazed at the gas station, I’ve thought of that film, and the concept of a gateway. My gateway into classic films, and that gas station, which to me represents the gateway to our beloved Red Bank. Alongside the counsel of Ed McKenna Jr, Rallo Hospitality closed on the Gas Station property on October 21st, 2025. Eddie had long known our goal to “buy the gas station”— which was planted in him decades ago by my father Big Vic, and reinforced by me for the last 18 years. Finally, our dream of owning this important corner came to fruition.We are excited to announce a partnership with Mancini Duffy Architecture, a full-service architectural firm specializing in design and planning, with seven offices nationwide, including one right here in Red Bank. “Red Bank has always been part of my story. I grew up in Middletown, crossed that bridge countless times as a kid, and now raise my family here. This corner has always symbolized the start of town, and I cannot think of anyone better than Vic to shape its next chapter,” said Christian Giordano, President and Principal at Mancini Duffy. Together, it is our goal to make the gateway to Red Bank a bustling hot spot that our community and visitors alike will admire. It has been a long time coming, and now the change begins.We have begun the environmental cleanup, and we will soon start the restoration of the original building on the property. We hope to complete the project by June 2026. Please stay tuned for the next chapter and if you get a chance watch “A Touch of Mink.”Not only is it nostalgic and symbolic, it now has newfound significance in paving the path to the new gateway to Red Bank.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
