Asbury Park-based Smith hospitality group has transformed their former Goldie’s vegan restaurant space into a new restaurant, the Happiness Luncheonette.
The concept of the restaurant “is pure fun and a little trippy,” Smith junior partner Mark Hinchliffe said in an email correspondence with the Sun. The restaurant and hospitality group is “taking food that makes people smile (raw bar, fried seafood, spam, fudge sundaes, bagels, and beer) and mashing that all up to create something wild and awesome.”
With its slender curving bar and long, thin space, Hinchliffe said the restaurant felt like an “old school luncheonette.” But it’s not a luncheonette, per se, he added.
“We liked that perversion of the word: it’s what makes the word inherently more interesting, to not use it in its original meaning,” said Hinchliffe. “As for Happiness, it’s a stand for being present and truly happy. I think in today’s world, it’s a little radical to say that you’re happy: it doesn’t sound cool or deep. There’s a lot of room to play with that perception and turn it on its head. And it just makes us smile.”
Goldie’s gold and white interior walls are now shades of orange and salmon color in an argyle pattern with a strip of blues and greens at center. The white tables, bar stools and 70s style tulip chairs have been exchanged for high top tables with leather and chrome chairs. The Goldie’s bar is still standing but sports a new formica top and the restaurant still operates with an kitchen, which Hinchliffe said “[k]eeps that hustling and bustling energy in the space and the amazing smells of the food really permeate the restaurant.”
Smith owns several Asbury Park businesses, including Porta pizzeria, French brasserie Pascal & Sabine, Brickwall Tavern & Dining Room and its adjacent extension, The Annex, along with Knockout design and print firm.
Neil West, who oversees Brickwall and Pascal & Sabine for Smith, is the executive chef. Former Goldie’s Chef Shannon Phillips is the chef de cuisine. Featured items on the menu include Brown Butter Lobster ($24), Old Bay shrimp ($15 perdozen), PEI mussels with pernod cream and fennel fronds ($15), and a “Spamsteak” sandwich ($10), Hinchliffe said.
The range of menu choices “speaks to the playfulness” Smith seeks to create in the restaurant, he said.
“These are not items that take themselves seriously, but the execution of them is very serious,” Hinchliffe said. “We’re super passionate about this food: it’s just fun and intriguing (spam for sure) and it makes people want to try things and hang out in the space.”
Takeout is available but vegan and gluten-free options are not, he said.
Happiness offers the same draft beers as its nextdoor neighbors Brickwall and Annex, but a special craft keg “Happy Tap” unique to the luncheonette will change nightly, Hinchliffe said. Fish Bowls, 60 oz. cocktail concoctions with fruit purée and liquor mixes — meant for sharing — start at $20. One bowl, dubbed the “Berry Manilow” includes Stoli blueberry and raspberry vodkas, passion fruit liqueur and blackberry, raspberry and strawberry purées. Patrons that stopped in to sample the food and drinks during the restaurant’s soft opening over the weekend were “excited” about the drink additions.
The Happiness Luncheonette, located at 550 Cookman Ave. Suite 101, will re-open on Thursday. Starting Friday hours are 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. daily.
[Photo at top courtesy of Smith Group.]
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