About Joey Tomato’s Pizza

I first came to the Point Pleasant boardwalk in 1990. The Jenkinson’s Pavilion had just burnt down and a friend of mine asked me to help design all the food areas of the new Pavilion that was being built. I knew the owners of the Pavilion before the fire, as they were relatives of the person I was in business with in Seaside Heights. I was not new to restaurants and I had been in business in a similar food operation in Seaside for 23 years prior to the fire. So, I guess with my background they thought I could help them.

It took us only 6 months to build the Pavilion but we worked day and night to get it done. My job was to help with all the food layouts, make the menus, hire the staff, and open the business. Not and easy job, but the challenge kept me going.

When the business was ready to open, there had been no time for training, so all the new hired help was there for the first time on opening day. That was the day I thought I was going to have a heart attack and die. No one knew anything, where anything was, and we had neither food nor paper to operate with. No one knew how to work the registers. It was Memorial Day weekend and it was busy.

We made it—but thinking back I have no idea how. I was only supposed to be there for the opening and then go back to my own business in Seaside at the Beachcomber Bar and Restaurant. As I said, I was there 23 years and it was still operating when the new “Jenks” opened up. Even though this project was temporary, when I was asked, “Do you want to stay and be the GM?”, my ego in got in the way and I said “yes”.

Since I had another year in the Beachcomber, I asked my manager to run it for me. He did so while I ran Jenks. That was the last year I owned the Beachcomber. In 1991.

After a year at the pavilion there was another fire and it was “Chi Chi’s” that burnt down across from the Pavilion. It was a pizzeria and the old tenants had had enough. The owners of the property were the owners of the Pavilion, so I’m guessing because of what I had done for the family, they leased the burnt pizzeria to me. I was now a 50% partner of the new Pizzeria.

Joey Tomato’s Pizza was born. The building got it’s name because at the time the family was getting accused that the fire was done on purpose. Which it was not but it was in the papers so with that we thought we would take advantage of the accusations and use it as a good opening name. Joey Tomato’s. Sounded like what we were getting accused of and it was funny to us. But it did get us a lot of free publicity. That year after the fire we built Joey Tomato’s.

At the time, I already was running Jenks Pavilion and we sold pizza there. So I decided that the pizza we were going to sell in Joey’s had to be different—and it had to be gourmet. In 1992 the building was ready and we opened as Joey Tomato’s. We did not make money right away—it did take a while. But after people tasted our product and appreciated our good service we started doing well. I operated both businesses for 25 years but in 2015 I retired from Jenks and solely operated Joeys—but not in a full time capacity.

When I retired from Jenks and did something that I had dreamed of doing all the 48 years that I operated a full time food business. I decide to be a charter boat-fishing captain and started Joey Tomato’s Fishing Charter. For several years I did both jobs, fishing on the days and going to the pizzeria when I need to. My wife helps out at Joey’s full time. In my business we depend on the fair weather, and we remained open during the Covid 19 pandemic, so—here’s hoping for bright, sunny days all the time!