New downtown bar opens its doors
Prohibition serves up American food, cocktails from a bygone era
Downtown Asbury Park’s newest bar and restaurant, Prohibition, is open for business.
The restaurant is a modern take on the prohibition-era speakeasy. It offers prohibition-era cocktails and an American food menu in an elegant but casual atmosphere, according to co-owner Frank Gullace.
“We want to make it as nice as possible, but for people to be able to come back a couple times a week and feel comfortable,” he said.
The 8,100 square foot space is located at the former site of Old Man Rafferty’s restaurant, which closed in late July.
Brothers Frank Gullace, 30, Matthew Gullace, 26, and Christopher Gullace, 27, owners of the Shore House Bar and Grill in Point Pleasant purchased the Asbury Park location at the corner of Emory Street and Cookman Avenue in the Steinbach’s building.
The brothers added a cocktail lounge where restaurant patrons can comfortably sip a drink while they wait to be seated, and the space can also accommodate patrons who may not want a full dinner but want to imbibe a cocktail or two, Matthew Gullace said.
Focus on service is a main objective for the business owners.
“The last thing I want is to have people wait over an hour for dinner,” said Christopher Gullace.
The food menu offers small plates and plates for sharing at a mid-range price point. Entrees include a signature ground beef and bacon burger served with beer infused cheddar cheese, and a version of Chicken Francaise topped with prosciutto and mozzarella served with pesto mashed potatoes, and run between $15 and $25 each.
In addition to the regular menu, the old main bar in Rafferty’s has been transformed into a sushi and raw bar.
A section of the building slated for a speakeasy sports bar is still under construction. It will feature 48 beers on tap and offer patrons a chance to join Prohibition’s bottle club. Admission in to the club comes with a personal bottle of Jack Daniels featuring a gold plate with the restaurant’s name, made and aged specifically for the location from a single barrel, Frank Gullace said. The bottles will remain on site and once one is finished, will be hung on the wall along with the other bottles made from the single barrel.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Frank Gullace said.
Owners hope to have the section open within the next three weeks, Christopher Gullace said.
The Gullaces, who grew up in Brick Township, take pride in the fact that the restaurant is family-owned and that their father Frank and mother Stephanie will be on site helping out as well, Frank Gullace said, adding his father has been in the restaurant business for 30 years.
“We’re all here and are all involved, people are welcome to come in and say hello,” he said. “We love the space, love the town and everyone has been nice and accommodating.”
“This community is so alive, that’s what we like most about it,” Frank Gullace said. “There are so many people — and so many different people.”
“We went to school at St. Rose in Belmar – I have never seen a city grow as fast as Asbury Park is,” Christopher said.
Restaurant hours are 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week.
Prohibition is located at 541 Cookman Ave.
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