{"id":2372,"date":"2014-12-05T05:29:40","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T10:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=2372"},"modified":"2014-12-05T02:52:56","modified_gmt":"2014-12-05T07:52:56","slug":"brick-roots-run-deep-for-local-chef-restaurateur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2014\/12\/brick-roots-run-deep-for-local-chef-restaurateur\/","title":{"rendered":"Brick Roots Run Deep for Local Chef, Restaurateur"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chef<\/a>

Chef Mike Jurusz, owner of Chef Mike\u2019s ABG in South Seaside Park. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Growing up in Brick, Mike Jurusz was known as the kid who could fit in with just about any group in school. Name a sport, and he probably played it for the Dragons. So when a buddy in high school suggested he try out the culinary program at the new vocational school that opened up across the street from Brick Township High School, he decided to give it a go.<\/p>\n

The prospect of free food may have helped, he admits, but those four years of classes in his hometown ultimately led him on a journey across the country, from city to city and coast to coast, and eventually back home to Ocean County as the head chef and owner of one of the Shore\u2019s best restaurants \u2013 and best comeback stories following Superstorm Sandy.<\/p>\n

Jurusz is the owner of Chef Mike\u2019s ABG<\/a> on the oceanfront in South Seaside Park, just outside the gate to Island Beach State Park. He still lives in Brick \u2013 these days on the Brick Memorial side of town \u2013 and has come full circle to realize his dream of owning his own restaurant after spending years training under some of the nation\u2019s best chefs in a multitude of cuisines.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family bought a house down here in 1971 when I was two years old,\u201d Jurusz said. \u201cI\u2019m half Polish and half Italian, so for me, growing up in that household was wild. My dad\u2019s parents were from Poland and they moved here when he was a young boy. They did everything traditionally \u2013 Polish food, spoke the language, made everything from scratch. And my mom\u2019s parents were from Italy and were the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n

His grandparents\u2019 traditional dishes were made with \u201cstuff the FDA won\u2019t even allow anymore,\u201d like meats that were half lean and half fat, and natural creams and butters.<\/p>\n

Jurusz\u2019s introduction to the restaurant business came before he even realized it. A neighbor \u2013 his childhood friend\u2019s father \u2013 owned the Matchpoint Lounge restaurant on Route 88, and he and his friend would play there during the day.<\/p>\n

\"Shellfish<\/a>

Shellfish featured in Dec. 2014 at Chef Mike\u2019s ABG. (Photo: Chef Mike)<\/p><\/div>\n

Eventually, \u201che put us to work,\u201d Jurusz said, peeling shrimp, pounding chicken and grinding tomatoes to make traditional Italian sauces.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was cooking all of this really cool, hardcore stuff, and didn\u2019t even know it.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time Jurusz began taking classes at the vocational school, he knew becoming a chef would be his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fell in love with it,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew I had a natural gift for it. I didn\u2019t even have to try. I just listened and paid attention to what was being said.\u201d<\/p>\n

His first two years at Vo -Tech were under the guidance of a traditional Italian chef. But at one point during his high school career, the chef in charge of the program died, and the school district hired a younger chef who had worked at restaurants in New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly, I\u2019m learning how to do these crazy sauces, break down veal, and it was nothing like anyone else was doing around here,\u201d Jurusz said.<\/p>\n

From there, he was accepted at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, R.I. and graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA and perfect attendance, all while working in restaurants and learning the business.<\/p>\n

Then, what he now calls \u201cChef Mike\u2019s Nationwide Tour\u201d began.<\/p>\n

His career as a young chef took him to 13 states in just a few years. From New York, to Oklahoma, to Arizona and out to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI studied under the best chefs in the country, traveled everywhere, and once you get in that circle it\u2019s kind of like you\u2019re in,\u201d Jurusz explained. \u201cI always had a job, though of course I had no money. But I did it to be a sponge, just to absorb everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the midst of the the tour, however, he said he always felt a pull to come back home to Brick and the Jersey Shore.<\/p>\n

A Return Home<\/strong><\/p>\n

He was chef and manager in restaurants in Secaucus and Bay Head, helped start the Marlins Cafe in Point Pleasant Beach, and eventually was hired as head chef at the Atlantic Bar and Grille, the restaurant to which he would eventually return as owner.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted to turn the place around,\u201d he said, from a relatively low-end bar by the beach to a higher-end restaurant. The potential \u2013 being one of the few restaurants at the Jersey Shore with an unobstructed view of the Atlantic Ocean \u2013 was huge. So little by little, Jurusz introduced new menu items, focusing on the dinner crowd. There were fresh oysters, the first Chilean sea bass selections at the Jersey Shore, and unique microbrews on tap to go with everything. There were hundreds of wine options. And by the end of the year, the once-struggling restaurant had produced over $1 million in sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to do something really special there,\u201d he recalls, with the crowd ranging from locals to multiple governors who would spend hours there each weekend while visiting their retreat at nearby Island Beach State Park.<\/p>\n

Eventually, however, Jurusz said the prices grew very high as the restaurant evolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt became an occasion restaurant,\u201d he said. \u201cI would meet people and they would say, \u2018we\u2019d love to come, but it\u2019s so expensive.'\u201d<\/p>\n

That left Jurusz searching for a new opportunity, which eventually presented itself in Point Pleasant Beach, where he was given the opportunity to design and open 709 on Arnold Avenue. The restaurant opened to spectacular reviews \u2013 and a packed house, night after night \u2013 in 2010 under Jurusz\u2019s management as head chef.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took almost a year just to set the place up; when I first went there, it was only four walls,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Though 709 was a hit, Jurusz still wanted to own his own restaurant, having experienced so much success on both the business and culinary ends, with the desire to bring both together.<\/p>\n

Chef Mike\u2019s ABG Is Born<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shortly after Superstorm Sandy struck the Jersey Shore in 2012, leaving the northern barrier island in tatters, Jurusz got the call \u2013 an opportunity to purchase Atlantic Bar and Grille.<\/p>\n

By late 2012, his absence had taken a toll. Revenue was down, and the restaurant had lost its luster. But the good news was that the oceanfront building itself \u2013 built in the 1950s with tons of concrete by an Italian immigrant \u2013 had stood up perfectly to Sandy, suffering no damage in the storm. Armed with a key to the front door and a pass to enter the then-barricaded island, Jurusz fired up the ovens, took a look around the place, and decided to make his return \u2013 this time as owner.<\/p>\n

\"Shellfish<\/a>

Shellfish featured in Dec. 2014 at Chef Mike\u2019s ABG. (Photo: Chef Mike)<\/p><\/div>\n

After a good cleaning and an investment in orders of fresh fish, meats and ingredients, the restaurant \u2013 now called Chef Mike\u2019s ABG \u2013 was up and running in a month\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

The restaurant, again, became a hit, with familiar staff members, many of whom had been there for the better part of 15 years. But in addition to the ultra-fresh seafood and shellfish, high-quality cuts of meat and unique drink options, Jurusz\u00a0 has focused on providing a superior level of personal service, something he feels the industry as a whole has been lacking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s called the hospitality industry for a reason, but people seem to have forgotten that part,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The restaurant accommodates special requests, and features dishes<\/a> that are safe for those who have certain food allergies or prefer a vegetarian choice.<\/p>\n

The specials are always changing \u2013 through the holiday season, shellfish and raw bar items are being featured \u2013 and the restaurant has forged a unique and valuable reputation for preparing varying cuisines equally well. The menu features items ranging from an onion crusted Chilean sea bass to a grilled New Zealand rack of lamb. Other specialties include tender, peppercorn-crusted fillet mignon medallions prepared with lump crab in a bleu cheese cream sauce with garlic mashed potatoes.<\/p>\n

The restaurant is now featuring its Friday \u201cdate night\u201d menu, with two dinner selections from a special menu and a bottle of wine for $50, a perfect way for new patrons to become introduced.<\/p>\n

For Jurusz, owning the restaurant also serves as a homecoming, where friends from the area meet \u2013 and old classmates stop in for a special, oceanfront dinner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived in 13 different states, but I always came back to Brick,\u201d Jurusz said.<\/p>\n[divider]\n[box type=\u201dshadow\u201d align=\u201daligncenter\u201d width=\u201d600\u2033 ]Chef Mike\u2019s ABG<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Address:<\/strong> 10 Central Ave, Seaside Park, NJ 08752
\n\u2022 Phone:<\/strong> 732-854-1588
\n\u2022 Website:<\/strong> http:\/\/www.chefmikesabg.com<\/a>[\/box]\n

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Growing up in Brick, Mike Jurusz was known as the kid who could fit in with just about any group in school. Name a sport, and he probably played it for the Dragons. So when a buddy in high school suggested he try out the culinary program at the new vocational school that opened up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,12],"tags":[77,24,667,167,668,669],"class_list":["post-2372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-in-brick","category-ocean-county","tag-barrier-island","tag-brick-nj-news","tag-chef-mikes-abg","tag-island-beach-state-park","tag-mike-jurusz","tag-south-seaside-park"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_3257.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgt2Ft-Cg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}