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Prohibition in the Steinbach building is in the midst of transitioning into the city’s first large-scale sports bar.

Owned by the Gullace family, the former 1920s themed eatery will become Asbury Ale House Sports Bar and Grille within a matter weeks. The family also owns the Shore House Bar and Grill in Point Pleasant.

“We want this to be a casual setting where people can come to once or twice a week as opposed to once a month,” Owner Matthew Gullace [shown above] said. “It will be a gastropub feel with sports memorabilia replacing the prohibition era art.”

Since its Labor Day closure, the 350-capacity restaurant that had housed Prohibition has been undergoing a bit of a personal refurbishment by the Gullace brothers. Partnering in the new venture are Frank, 32, Chris, 28, both of Brick, and Matt, 27, of Belmar. Each will take leadership in running the front and back of house operations as well as the bar management.

“We’re bar guys, that’s what we do,” Gullace said. “My dad [Frank] has owned bars for 38 years and what I notice from this town is that the bars seem to work and that’s what we do best.”

Since the closure, the family has been installing over 35 flat screen televisions, which will showcase every sports game possible on any given day.

In the midst of 8,100 square-foot space a Hot Zone is being created.

The 16-seat space is divided into four rows that groups can enter a raffle in order to screen the day’s sport’s pick on an oversized screen. Specialty leagues include fantasy football tournaments and shuffle board and dart board competitions will be a part of the themed night events.

For the past year, the family has been working to handcraft its draft beer bar, complete with wine and spirits collection. The bar [shown above and at right] will feature 60 local, other domestic and foreign drafts as well as daily drink specials.

“Restaurants really come in and go in this town,” Gullace said. “It’s a tough town but we are going to do what we do best. We are going to bring a great sports bar into Asbury Park.”

The dining area will be separated from the sport’s bar clatter by a sliding partition.

On the menu will be a full bar menu, complete with appetizers, burgers and sliders, said Gullace.

“You’ll have the best of both worlds,” he said. “You’ll be able to come in and get food in the dining room if you want or you’ll be able to sit at the bar and get the complete menu.”

A weekday lunch special features the soup of the day, a sandwich or burger, and a draft beer for $12.

“We’ll also run specials for the tenants who live in the building and those who live in Asbury and the surrounding areas,” Gullace said. “There’s a very loyal following here which is what we really want to cater to. We want to make this the local spot, the local hang out. We pride ourselves in knowing all our customers.”

A part of the personal touch will be the mug club. Patrons can purchase a mug that will housed in their personal cubby hole [shown above right] on a large scale hand build shelving unit. This allows them to purchase any of the drafts at happy hour prices at any time.

“We really appreciate all the people that came in and supported us at Prohibition and just want to let everyone know we are going in this direction because we think it’s a better fit for this town and for us,” Gullace said. “We hope that everyone comes back in and experiences the new sports bar.”

The Asbury Ale House Sports Bar and Grille, located at 531 Cookman Ave., will be open from 11 am to 2 am, seven days a week.

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