By Scott Cronick
When you look at Drew Huggard’s resume, it’s pretty impressive … to say the least.
The entrepreneur, restaurateur, chef and family man certainly has come a long way since he started working as a bus boy and delivery person for Rick Romanelli’s various restaurants throughout South Jersey.
The Holy Spirit High School grad went to culinary school — both the Academy of Culinary Arts in Mays Landing and Fairleigh Dickinson University’s acclaimed Hospitality and Tourism Management school — after being mesmerized by the late, great chef Willie Lewis, who helmed the kitchen at Romanelli’s Garden Café in Galloway. He worked for the Marriott corporation for a few years, served as a beverage manager at the former Revel casino in Atlantic City, enjoyed his time as general manager for both Grotto Italian restaurant and Vic & Anthony’s steakhouse at Golden Nugget Atlantic City, and then eventually managed and bought the Galloway restaurant he once got his start in.
Now, more than a decade after Huggard walked through Romanelli’s doors and nearly eight years since he bought Romanell’s Garden Café, Huggard’s evolution continues.
Last weekend, Huggard debuted 279 Social Kitchen & Craft Bar, shedding the name of his longtime mentor to carve a path and name for himself while ensuring the future of his investment with a more modern, pub-centric approach that focuses less on egg salad and early-bird specials and more on the stunning bar, delicious pizza and awesome pub food.
“Romanelli’s was such a strong brand, but as we evolved, we realized that the brand was something that people were used to, so it was difficult changing things,” Huggard said. “It’s like getting a McDonald’s cheeseburger … you can’t change that. Romanelli’s is known as a breakfast and lunch spot, and one of the biggest hurdles was that people will always relate us to the mothership in Linwood, which has been there for like 30 years. You can’t compete against your own brand. And we wanted people to realize that this is a beautiful bar we built here that should be the centerpiece of the overall experience.”
The conversion
Shedding that Romanelli’s name and converting from a place that had a four-page, diner-like menu to a one-page lunch and dinner menu with brunch on weekends was a decision that Huggard didn’t make easily.
But it was a decision he felt he had to make to ensure the future of the establishment.
“We talked about it pre-pandemic, and then as we came out of it, we realized it was time to strike,” Huggard said. “It was time to rebrand and start from scratch as we continue to evolve.”
Everything from eliminating breakfast Mondays to Thursdays to building a small addition in the front of the restaurant to accommodate a wood-fired pizza oven were difficult decisions. Even picking the name was a tough task.
“You would find it hilarious as far as how many names we had,” Huggard said. “If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. We didn’t like the flow or the name didn’t speak to what we are doing there, so we fell on 279 Social Kitchen & Craft Bar because it was a mix of our address and spoke to us being the place where it’s always a social hour. You don’t have to have a rhyme or reason to stop in. You can come in and have dinner, brunch, lunch, or maybe just come in and have a cocktail or listen to music. That’s the idea behind it. We want to be the place people think of to gather no matter what time of day it is.”
Pizza, pizza
One of the biggest changes to the former Romanelli’s Garden Cafe is the addition of the wood-fired pizza oven, which not only bakes some awesome Neapolitan-style pizza with about a dozen varieties of special pies, but is used for many other items on the menu.
The gorgeous, tiled oven with an open front certainly adds some ambience, but it’s the dishes — and pizza — that come out of it that will make culinary memories.
“The world is an ever-changing place, but pizza is always a staple in New Jersey, or everywhere for that matter,” Huggard said. “Also, in a world where costs are constantly spiraling out of control, making pizza always remains cost-effective. And we wanted to be in that world. We want to be able to keep things reasonable so people can go out two or three times a week to eat and not break the bank. We want them to come in here and not worry they are overspending. We ultimately decided on the wood-fired oven because there is such a difference in flavor when you burn cherrywood in there. It just adds so much flavor.”
While you can get a simple margherita or top the pizza with staples like pepperoni and buffalo chicken, some of the standout pizzas ($12 to $18) include The Big Wave, a white pizza topped with shrimp, scallops, crab, spinach and tomato served with a side of scampi dipping sauce; the Burrata Pesto Pie, a traditional pizza topped with burrata, tomato, arugula and pesto; the Border to Border with Canadian bacon, jalapeno peppers and spicy chorizo; and the Chicken Ala Vodka with house-made vodka sauce, mozzarella, basil and grilled chicken.
But 279 Social Kitchen uses that oven for much more than pizza. In fact, it’s responsible for producing some of the restaurant’s new signature items, including the Maple Bacon Bone-In Pork Chop ($27) served over polenta and finished with a maple glaze; the Flame Grilled Chimichurri Flank, a steak with chimichurri sauce and pomme frites; and even appetizers like the 279 wings tossed in a variety of sauces (buffalo, root beer, honey BBQ and Limoncello).
“That oven gives us so much versatility,” Huggard said. “It’s really a centerpiece of the new restaurant.”
Lunch, dinner and drinks
Although the menu is about a quarter of the size of its previous incarnation, 279 Social Kitchen & Craft Bar’s one-sheeter is lean and mean.
“Yeah, it’s significantly smaller,” Huggard explained. “But it gets to the nitty gritty of what we do best. It was just too large of a menu before. We wanted to focus on quality and consistency. Every item is delicate and made the right way, made to the right temperature and gives us more leeway to make it functional so that the food comes out much quicker, which is really important for someone who might be on a limited time schedule for lunch.”
Everything looks and sounds awesome, so you will have a hard time choosing what to order, so let’s assist.
Start with the Anything But Traditional Egg Rolls ($12), homemade, fried egg rolls in three awesome styles: Philly cheesesteak, which Huggard offered previously and was a top seller; the Reuben with the ends of the corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and a Thousand Island dipping sauce; and the Badda-Bing with roast pork, broccoli rabe and sharp provolone. The Pub-Chuterie ($14) is an Instagram-worthy dish featuring a soft pretzel baked in the wood-fired oven with its gaps stuffed with charcuterie, cheeses and fruits. And the arancini ($10) are fried rice balls stuffed with fontina cheese and served over a bed of Calabrian chili rosa sauce.
279 consistently pays homage to Romanelli’s revered Italian cuisine. Aside from the arancini, the restaurant brought back Parm Your Way ($25), parmesan-style dishes featuring chicken, eggplant, shrimp or veal ($4 extra) that are hand breaded, pan-fried and baked with parmesan over spaghetti marinara; Seafood Pescatore ($34) features clams, mussels, shrimp, crab and lobster over spaghetti in a red or Fra Diavolo sauce; the Rib and Ribbon Pasta ($26) offers pappardelle with tender short rib in a fontina cream sauce; the Short Rib Osso Bucco ($36) is slowly braised and served over creamy rosemary polenta and root veggies; and the Rigatoni Ala Vodka ($19) boasts a spicy vodka sauce and Calabrian chiles topped with crispy pancetta.
“The short rib osso bucco is just a killer dish,” Huggard said. “It’s just a beautiful, big shank wrapped around the bone that sits on that creamy, rosemary polenta. It’s picturesque, but it tastes just as good.”
The Italian offerings can even be found in the Handhelds section of the menu with a Vodka Parm Panini ($16) and the Badda Bing ($16), the sub version of the pizza with the same name.
“We want you to be able to come in and get a sandwich or a bowl of pasta or a pizza at noon or late at night,” Huggard said. “We had to keep some of the more popular items because people would have been really upset, but we also wanted to keep them because we think they are some of the best things that should continue to be offered.”
On the more casual side, make sure you grab a smashburger ($16), two 4-ounce patties smashed on the griddle and caramelized on the edges that are topped with American cheese, lettuce, onion, tomatoes and served on a perfect brioche roll and served with house-made chips; the Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich ($14) made with a tender, juicy chicken thigh that is Southern fried and topped with bacon, pickles and chipotle sauce on that same roll; the 279 Cheesesteak ($15) with thinly sliced ribeye, Cooper Sharp cheese and fried onions on a sub roll; and The Waldorf ($12) with their legendary chicken salad with crisp apples, craisins, grape and walnuts in a wrap.
“The smash burger is taking the world by storm, so we joined the party,” Huggard said. “We didn’t mess around. We are making our own blend in house with three different types of beef. It’s pretty awesome. And the chicken sandwich has been a No. 1 seller since we put it on the menu a long time ago. We put the chicken in a pickle brine, so the pickle flavor stands out in every bite.”
There’s also a variety of soups and salads, including The Goat Beet Salad ($14) with candied pecans, arugula salad mix and raspberry vinaigrette; and tomato basil, French Onion and other soups of the day.
Start your day!
Huggard didn’t take eliminating breakfast Mondays to Thursdays lightly. But the tough decision had to be made to give him and his staff some sanity, especially since they plan to be open later now that the focus has been pushed to the pub side of things.
To fit into that scheme, 279 Social Kitchen & Craft Bar doubles down on its brunch menu — and don’t worry! — the $1 mimosas (after buying your first for $8) remain intact!!
“The mimosas are a huge part of what we do and a big part of what we are known for, so we weren’t messing with that,” Huggard said. “We sell so many mimosas that we have champagne on tap. Having it on tap keeps it nice and cold and crisp and bubbly. It makes a significant difference from the bottle. We have like eight different flavors, and they are all pretty popular. But I would say the most popular is the Bay Breeze with pineapple and cranberry. People love it. It’s insane.”
Offered 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays to Sundays, 279 Social Kitchen will be the brunch spot to be seen at in Galloway.
“We have already seen a lot of the dishes become immediate favorites after just one week,” Huggard said. “We are known for our Benedicts, and I think we have a real hit with our Surf & Turf Benedict ($18), which is like a traditional Benedict with Canadian bacon and Hollandaise, but has jumbo lump crab meat.”
The skillets ($14 to $18) are also a holdover from Romanelli’s. Served in a cast-iron skillet in a variety of styles, the new offering is the Huevos Rancheros Skillet with pico de gallo, spicy chorizo, black beans, pepper Jack cheese, avocado and two eggs served any style topped with a crispy corn tortilla.
Other brunch attractions include the French toast skewers ($13) with egg-battered, fried brioche slices skewered with strawberries, bananas and blueberries drizzled with cream cheese icing and powdered sugar; a variety of omelets including the signature 279 with roasted red peppers, portobello mushrooms, spinach and mozzarella; traditional creamed chipped beef ($14); chicken and waffles ($15) with house-made, Southern-fried chicken over a large Belgian waffle; and the Grilled Cinnabun ($15) with mixed berries and cream cheese icing.
Cocktails, anyone?
Huggard’s goal is to be the hottest — yet classiest — bar scene in the Galloway area. And you can’t do that without top-notch booze.
With 10 beers on tap, including some rotating crafts, about a dozen more in cans and bottles plus seltzers and more than a dozen wines and sparklings by the glass, there’s something for everyone.
But the main attraction is the cocktail list. Check out the Blazing Sunset, a spicy blood orange margarita with Don Fulano tequila, coconut cream Rumchata, jalapenos and agave; and the Italian 75 with No. 3 gin and Limoncello finished with prosecco.
Happy hour discounts all appetizers and handhelds, plus well spirits, beer and wine will also be specially priced.
Evolving forever
While Huggard may have lived a lot of life in his 34 years, he has a long way to go. So, what does that mean for this ambitious entrepreneur, who also operates the kitchen inside the Brigantine Elks Lodge?
“I never thought I would be where I am at now, so who knows?” asks Huggard with a laugh. “In the short term, I know we want to be able to expand to outside and offer a beautiful outdoor patio and experience. We have our food truck, and we really want our catering business to grow. As for long term, I think you will see more. What I can say is this past week has been super humbling. So many people — friends, family, longtime and new customers — have really come out to support us. And I think that overall support of the community is just so special and overwhelming to me. And it makes me want to work harder and make sure we offer a place people can always come, gather and be social.”
(279 Social Kitchen & Craft Bar is located at 279 S. New York Road, Galloway Towship. Call 609-652-0179 or go to 279social.com)
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 He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
