By Scott Cronick
Since taking over Essl’s Dugout in West Atlantic City in 2018, Bobby and Carey Hettmannsperger have changed the culinary scene of Atlantic County.
It’s not an exaggeration.
Not only did the couple resurrect Essl’s, a legendary breakfast and lunch spot since 1972 – home of the Messl sandwich with breakfast meat, egg, cheese and homefries on a kaiser roll – but the Hettmannspergers redefined mobile catering in South Jersey, appearing at many local events while also bringing their awesome food to weddings and private parties unlike anyone else in South Jersey.
Now, Essl’s, which also operates out of the Elks Lodge in Brigantine for members only, will expand its operations with not just one, but three more locations.
The biggest – and most exciting – news is that Essl’s will go Italian with a new market concept.
Located in the former East Bay Crab & Grille location in the Cardiff Plaza Shopping Center in Egg Harbor Township, the market – which doesn’t have a name yet – will offer everything from pizza to subs to sliced deli meat to entrees and everything in between.
How many times have you said to yourself, “Man, this area needs a place like Bagliani’s?” Now, it will have one.
Before Essl’s Italian market opens – most likely by Thanksgiving – there is a lot of work to be done in the 4,000-square-foot space, including major construction, the installation of new kitchen equipment and cosmetic upgrades to meet the Hettmannspergers’ standards.
Walk in and customers will be greeted by a main counter featuring deli meats that will be sliced to order to your specifications and a case displaying a variety of fresh-made pizzas available by the pie or slice. Meats will range from imported Italian delicacies and sausages to American favorites to meats roasted in house, including roast beef, corned beef and more.
There will also be pre-made sandwiches, pastas, salads – including Essl’s famous potato salad and cole slaw – homemade pastas, soups, sauces, roasted peppers and pre-made entrees from all ethnicities, including German and American favorites routinely offered at their original location. Carey’s homemade desserts will also be on full display.
Since it will be a market, customers can also expect imported, quality balsamic vinegars, olive oils, Italian sodas, imported pastas and gourmet cheeses from around the world.
“We will cut wheels, grate our own parmesan and Locatelli and even make our own mozzarella,” Bobby Hettmannsperger said. “The breads will be brought in from New York, and charcuterie and cheese boards will also be offered. We will have daily specials like we do at Essl’s, and our sandwiches will be creative and fresh and interesting. The chicken and veal parms, for example, will be made with fresh cutlets, not some frozen patty. Everything is about the best, quality ingredients made from scratch. And the market will feature some great things you won’t find in many other places.”
The market, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, will have seating for about 40 guests, and Hettmannsperger will host pop-up dinners once the operation is underway.
Thanks to its enormous kitchen and walk-in boxes, Essl’s market will also serve as the main location for all of Essl’s catering operations, opening space at the original location for Carey to do even more baking than she already does.
“It’s the main reason we are expanding,” said Hettmannspeger, noting that the original Essl’s is not closing. “We want to be able to take on more catering jobs, and we just outgrew the original location for that. This way we can take on more catering jobs, which we routinely turn down. The original Essl’s was always Carey’s baby from the start, and it will continue to be. My first love has always been a deli, and I thought the community needed something like they have in other towns. There was a void to fill, and the location is just incredible.”
Before locals see the new Italian market, you will see Essl’s expand into the AtlantiCare LifeCenter on Delilah Road in Egg Harbor Township. Similar to a Starbucks, Essl’s at AtlantiCare will feature gourmet coffees, fresh-squeezed juices, small portion desserts, grab-and-go-drinks, protein shakes, fresh salads and pressed sandwiches for the center’s patients and 2,500 employees. It is expected to open in the next two weeks and will be open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays to Fridays.
And wait, there’s more!
I will keep you posted right here in this column as Essl’s will once again expand into Galloway Township on Route 9 in the former JoJo’s Oceanville Tavern location overlooking Galloway National Golf Club in the spring.
The former bar – a noticeable turquoise building – will be renovated into a breakfast spot open 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. A nearby building will offer soft-serve ice cream, and Hettmannsperger will smoke classic Texas-style BBQ in between the two buildings served at picnic tables.
“When you have good help and support from your family and friends and employees, you can do amazing things,” Hettmannsperger said. “And I have a great partner in my wife.”
By the way, if you can come up with a catchy name for Essl’s Italian market, email Bobby at bobessls@icloud.com, and I am sure your first meal will be on Bobby at the new spot.
Keep music alive in Tuckerton
If you are a music fan and have never been to the Lizzie Rose Music Room in Tuckerton, you are missing out on one of South Jersey’s best-kept secrets.
The intimate, 70-seat, former Victorian-era mansion is about a 30-minute ride from the mainland, a very reasonable distance to witness some of the best jazz, blues and independent acts that come to the shore and perform on a quaint stage in front of stained-glass windows. It’s like going to Preservation Hall in New Orleans without the drawl.
Since 2014, Lizzie Rose operates as a nonprofit, meaning they don’t make a dime on the venture. There is no bar or restaurant to make profits on. They rely solely on ticket sales to stay alive. Founder Lou Reichert and his fellow volunteers operate Lizzie Rose out of a true passion for music, and now, as the Beatles said, they need “a little help from our friends.”
Like many music venues across the nation, Lizzie Rose closed its doors for two years because of COVID, operating at the Pavilion in the Pines Atlantic Shores Campground, a 100-seat outdoor venue that helped Lizzie Rose survive and keep the music playing. To move the operations back inside, Lizzie Rose needs to raise about $8,000 through a Go Fund Me campaign.
“Right now, we are working hard to be able to fund some essential updates. After not being in the room for so long, we are basically starting from scratch and have to build a new stage and sound booth, rewire the electrical system, update our sound equipment to digital, and other important improvements we want to be able to provide,” Reichert said. “The goal is to re-open for live music to start by the third week of October, and we have shows scheduled into December.We’re not here to make a profit. We’re here to champion live music in our community, and we need the support now. We were very happy to have been able to continue our concerts over the past two years outdoors. We had some excellent artists, and now we are looking forward to a grand re-opening of sorts at our original location.”
Upcoming shows include a grand reopening with the Hot Club of Cowtown on Oct. 23, the Eric Clapton tribute Bell Bottom Blues on Oct. 28, blues great Vanessa Collier on Nov. 6, Professor Louie and the Woodstock Horns on Nov. 12, Blues legend Poppa Chubby on Dec. 3, the Tom Petty tribute Damn the Torpedoes on Dec. 17, and many more.
“Our mission at The Lizzie Rose Music Room has always been to give our audiences and artists an up close and personal music experience they can’t get anywhere else,” Reichert says. “Every seat is the best seat in the house.”
Please go to LizzieRoseMusic.com and find the Go Fund Me link to make a donation, and then do yourself a favor and head to a show at Lizzie Rose, located at 217 E. Main St., Tuckerton. It is truly an artistic gem at the shore.
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
