{"id":17087,"date":"2025-01-31T04:58:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T09:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/?p=17087"},"modified":"2025-02-01T00:46:40","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T05:46:40","slug":"beloved-south-seaside-park-restaurant-will-remain-open-as-developer-seeks-to-demolish-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/2025\/01\/beloved-south-seaside-park-restaurant-will-remain-open-as-developer-seeks-to-demolish-block\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved South Seaside Park Restaurant Will Remain Open As Developer Seeks to Demolish Block"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chef<\/a>

Chef Mike\u2019s ABG, South Seaside Park, N.J. (Photo: Chef Mike\u2019s ABG)<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s a Friday night in the summer in South Seaside Park, and you never know who might pop in for a perfectly-mixed drink and one of the Jersey Shore\u2019s best cuts of filet Mignon. Governors have been known to dine there often while vacationing at their summer retreat at nearby Island Beach State Park. It\u2019s an oceanfront tradition for vacationers, and a beloved elegant setting for locals to enjoy their home. Chef Mike\u2019s ABG is legendary \u2013 and it\u2019s located on a swath of land where a developer is asking the state to permit the demolition of nearly an entire block occupied by a motel, to be replaced with 13 single-family homes.<\/p>\n

When neighbors received notices in the mail that the developer, Arya Properties, was seeking permission under the state\u2019s Coastal Areas Facilities Review Act to effectuate the plan \u2013 long rumored, but never having come to fruition \u2013 their first reaction was to call Chef Mike\u2019s. Some contacted the press. One woman said proximity to the restaurant\u2019s perch on the oceanfront at the end of 24th Avenue was one of the reasons she moved to the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Arya Properties, owned by Ocean County Commissioner Frank Sadeghi, does not own the property. But his company has applied for the permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection, a customary step when a developer is considering purchasing a plot of land and wants assurances that what he envisions can be built there. In this case, a large motel which stretches most of the length of the block would be demolished, as well as the oceanfront restaurant that is legally located on the same lot. The land would be divided into 13 parcels, ranging from 3,000 square feet to about 8,000 square feet, which would accommodate single-family homes in varying configurations.<\/p>\n

Mike Jurusz, \u201cChef Mike\u201d himself, said his beloved restaurant will remain open regardless of the state\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of back story about it,\u201d he said this week.<\/p>\n

\"Chef<\/a>

Chef Mike (right) and the restaurant\u2019s manager, South Seaside Park, N.J. (Photo: Chef Mike\u2019s ABG)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Chef<\/a>

Chef Mike\u2019s ABG, South Seaside Park, N.J. (Photo: Chef Mike\u2019s ABG)<\/p><\/div>\n

Jurusz said he was considering buying the property, which has been for sale for five years, himself. But the restaurant\u2019s liquor license is tied to the operation of the motel, and would be set aside if the motel were to be razed. A private beach outside the restaurant would likely be at risk of reverting back to public ownership, taking away one of the aspects that makes the fine dining restaurant so unique.<\/p>\n

Jurusz said he just signed a new lease that runs from Feb. 2025 to Feb. 2026, and the restaurant will be open year-round except for an annual break at the height of winter. While the threat of the property being sold has loomed for some time, Jurusz expects Chef Mike\u2019s ABG to maintain its unique \u2013 and prized \u2013 location for the foreseeable future. Redeveloping an entire block on the oceanside would likely require multiple rounds of permitting approvals that could span years.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if it was sold tomorrow, it would probably take years for them to break ground,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

An outline of a proposal for development on 24th Avenue in South Seaside Park, N.J. (Planning Document)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Chef<\/a>

Chef Mike\u2019s ABG, South Seaside Park, N.J. (Photo: Chef Mike\u2019s ABG)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Chef<\/a>

Chef Mike\u2019s ABG, South Seaside Park, N.J. (Photo: Chef Mike\u2019s ABG)<\/p><\/div>\n

Arya\u2019s application before the DEP was the subject of public notices received by residents within 200-feet of any position of the affected area this week. The document contains little in the way of details, and directs those with concerns to submit a public records request to the agency for more information. Being that Arya is seeking a CAFRA permit, the state will require either a 30-day public comment period or an in-person public hearing, the dates of which will be announced in a future notice.<\/p>\n

At Chef Mike\u2019s the staff is preparing the weekend\u2019s specials. The restaurant reopened last week after its annual post-New Year break, with Jurusz planning a number of special events this season, as well as a vast number of charitable efforts that has helped make him one of the most respected and admired restaurateurs in the Shore area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are on course to have a great year,\u201d Jurusz said. \u201cWe will absolutely be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

(We strongly recommend the filet mignon medallions.)<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a Friday night in the summer in South Seaside Park, and you never know who might pop in for a perfectly-mixed drink and one of the Jersey Shore\u2019s best cuts of filet Mignon. Governors have been known to dine there often while vacationing at their summer retreat at nearby Island Beach State Park. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[2840,506,1959,47,1955],"class_list":["post-17087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seaside-heights","tag-arya-properties","tag-chef-mikes-abg","tag-featured","tag-island-beach-state-park","tag-south-seaside-park-nj-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/461718903_933127415506559_5364250877700858708_n.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgsn9q-4rB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17087"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17096,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17087\/revisions\/17096"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}