A Singapore-based restaurant has threatened to sue Cé La Vi over its use of the name. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Less than two weeks after it opened, a Red Bank restaurant with an Americanized French name has been threatened with a trademark infringement lawsuit.
Erica Lieberman and Nick Napoletano opened Ce La Vi this week in the Monmouth Street space last occupied by Lil Cutie Pops. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Demonstrating adaptability in an increasingly competitive dining market, a Red Bank dessert shop has remade itself into a three-meals-a-day restaurant.
Also in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn: intriguing news about a downtown liquor license, and the return of a fair-weather gourmet spot.
A savory French crepe served at the charming Whipped Creperie & Dessert Bar. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
Americanized crepes? “Why not?” thought Nick Napoletano, who owns Whipped Creperie and Dessert Bar in Red Bank with Erica Lieberman.
Traditional French crepes are served sweet, with sugar, Nutella, jam or a creamy cheese filling. But Napoletano envisioned “an Americanized, savory version,” he tells PieHole. “I wanted to take familiar foods like turkey and cheese and create a more hearty filling on a whole-wheat crepe.”
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After a two-month gut-job remodeling, Red Bank’s beloved Mr. Pizza Slice was back in business Thursday morning, according to a Twitter post by Red Bank RiverCenter. The fully renovated Monmouth Street mainstay features longtime owner Steve Napolitani‘s pizza recipe, as well as dishes by new owners Tom Cappello of Gaetano’s and Nick Napoletano of Whipped Bites.
Also expected to be back in business: the restaurant’s long-busted Ms. Pac-Man machine. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Nick Napoletano shows one of the windows discovered beneath the paneling at Mr. Pizza Slice. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
After getting pounded flat and spun in the air by commenters, the new owners of Mr. Pizza Slice in Red Bank have reversed course and decided to keep the old pizza recipe on the menu.
As the cheesy paneling came down inside the Monmouth Street slice-and-soda joint earlier this week, new co-owner Nick Napoletano told PieHole that longtime owner Steve Napolitani‘s pizza recipe would be preserved, along with his “signature” fries and hot dogs.
Two downtown restaurateurs have acquired Mr. Pizza Slice on Monmouth Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A non-nonsense staple from the days before Red Bank became flooded with chic eateries, Mr. Pizza Slice has changed hands for the second time in two years.
This time, the buyers are the owners of two downtown restaurants. They closed the pizzeria last week for what they expect will be a month or so of interior and exterior renovations, one of them told redbankgreen’s Retail Churn Monday.
Also closed last week: Sicilia Cafe, on Broad Street, which was acquired by first-time restaurateurs just six months ago.
The upper two floors of 74 Broad Street have been vacant for years. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
One of downtown Red Bank’s most prominent buildings has a new owner, redbankgreen has learned.
The century-old three-story structure at the corner of Broad and Monmouth streets was sold Friday to a local family that’s been on something of a buying spree in the central business district recently.
Michael Mancuso of Puglia, where he’s the saucemeister working alongside his father, Ben. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)
redbankgreen’s PieHole is all about local food and drink. If you haven’t liked us on Facebook yet or followed us on Twitter, you may have missed some of these recent stories . . .
• Red Bank’s Whipped Bites is bolstering its menu of crepes to include lunch and dinner offerings.
• There’s a new restaurant called Puglia at the long-vacant former home of Red Bank Pizza, one with roots in Manhattan and a Sandy story.
Follow the links to the stories, and check out PieHole’s Facebook page or follow its Twitter feed @RedBankPieHole for up-to-the-minute postings.
Nick Napoletano gives PieHole a sneak peak of the new savory crepes menu at Whipped Bites. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)
By JIM WILLIS
Whipped Bites is busy. The dessert café and creperie on the corner of Broad and Monmouth streets in Red Bank has been in a near-constant state of transformation since this summer, when Nick Napoletano and his girlfriend Erica Lieberman took over the lease on the space from chef Marc Fontaine, who had been making crepes in the location.
When the couple first took over the space, it was a hodgepodge collection of tables and chairs, with empty refrigerator cases and a small sign in the window that read “crepes.” Despite the less-than-inviting space, the Nutella crepes were enough to keep PieHole coming back again. And again. Though frankly, we’d eat Nutella crepes while crouching over a cardboard box in a shipping container and still ask for seconds.
But over the past few months, the couple has revamped the café into a comfortable, welcoming space that invites you to take a seat and leisurely enjoy a coffee with your crepe or dessert.
Napoletano says the café is doing a brisk breakfast business, especially for Sunday brunch when it offers specials like Grand Marnier French Toast or Champagne-infused Belgian Waffles, and draws a steady after dinner crowd on Friday and Saturday nights.
Now, after sweetening up the space and honing the dessert side of the business, Napoletano is in the process of revamping the savory spectrum of the cafe’s menu. PieHole caught up with him as he was finalizing the new menu.
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