Bonefish Grill Opening: Baiting Patrons

It's no fish story. Bonefish Grill will soon open and is looking to lure seafood lovers and curiosity-seekers in to catch a meal.

Once Middletown's newest restaurant opens on Nov. 7, the restaurant chain's Tampa-based corporate owners hope the restaurateurs it reels in will fall hook, line and sinker for the eatery's casual atmosphere and eclectic menu.

Last week, before it opened, motorists driving past Bonefish Grill's new location, at Chapel Hill Center's southern end, slowed down to gaze into its darkened plate glass windows. Upon seeing no activity inside, the motorists continued on to Whole Foods and other stores in the highway strip mall at Route 35 and Chapel Hill Road.

Upon hearing from Patch about the rubber-necking drivers passing by the site, Greg Pitkoff, the restaurant's New York-based media representative, assured would-be diners that the wait is almost over.

Originally scheduled to open on Monday, Pitkoff said OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC, Bonefish Grill's parent company, decided to postpone the public opening until after Halloween.

By then, patrons will have cleared their plates of Halloween parties and trick-or-treating festivities, he added. They would also be more apt to dive into a meal prepared by Bonefish Grill's chefs, known in the company's apt vernacular as "anglers."

"Our opening is now scheduled for Nov. 7," Pitkoff confirmed.

Like the revolving door that serves as a separate entrance to Bonefish Grill's cocktail lounge, tenants at the nearly 40-year-old Chapel Hill Center have come and gone, particularly over the past decade.

The restaurant's newly renovated 5,400-square-foot space is split between a bar/ lounge and a separate dining area with tables and booths. Golden hardwood floors have been placed throughout the premises, which was most recently the Chapel Hill Pharmacy.

The selection of the Chapel Hill Center or the township as a whole for the chain's new site is proprietary information that cannot be disclosed, according to Pitkoff and OSI representatives. But the liquor license for the restaurant was purchased from the defunct, still shuttered Steak and Ale, further north on Route 35.

OSI owns and operates Bonefish Grill restaurants nationwide. The Middletown outlet is its first in Monmouth County. In Ocean County, there is a Bonefish on Route 70 in Brick Township.

Upon opening, Bonefish Grill will join two other OSI-owned operations — and — on Middletown's menu of chain restaurants.

Inside the new restaurant, polished darkwood tables with granite tops are the chain's distinguishing decorative feature, along with hand-blown amber glass.

Both the lounge and dining room are spacious allowing for a flow of foot traffic. Several tropical plants dot the dining area which features higher, raised tables and chairs at its center.

Founded in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2000, Bonefish Grill lists its "market-fresh seafood" "wood-grilled specialties" and "signature cocktails" as what sets it apart from its competitors, Pitkoff noted.

One libation, dubbed the Ocean Trust Martini, is key to Bonefish Grill's support of Ocean Trust, a national, non-profit environmental advocacy group that has partnered with the company. For each Ocean Trust Martini sold, Bonefish Grill donates one dollar to the organization.

Originally, a pre-opening fundraiser was set for Nov. 5 to benefit the Monmouth Arts Council. That, however, has been cancelled due to unforseen circumstances. Bonefish is, instead, making an outright donation of $6,000 to the Arts Council.

Named for its physical location atop a slope just north of Chapel Hill Road, the shopping center was originally anchored by an A&P. After the financially struggling grocer closed that store, the space remained vacant until Whole Foods came along in 2005. The Austin, Texas-based retailer renovated the original A&P space before opening.

Over the years, the smaller spaces at Chapel Hill have housed a pizzeria, a card store, and other small businesses. Besides the defunct pharmacy, the space to be used by Bonefish Grill also once housed a Commerce Bank branch.

Commerce, now known as TD Bank, eventually built and moved into a stand-alone building across Route 35. However, PNC Bank built its own separate structure at the center's south end.

Today, Whole Foods and Bonefish Grill bookend a day spa, dry cleaner, a Dairy Queen, and a single vacant space. Fameco Real Estate, LP, based in Woodbridge and Plymouth Meeting, Pa., leases the spaces at the shopping center, according to the realtor's web site.