By Scott Cronick
Won’t you come see me, Queen Jane?
Bob Dylan
Michael Bray is one of the guys you have to immediately like. He’s handsome, smart, friendly … and his passion is contagious.
Passion being the key word, of course.
The owner of Passion Vines Wine & Spirit Company in Somers Point and Egg Harbor Township exudes personality. It feels like no matter what he chose for his life path, he would have succeeded from pure determination.
But, last summer, Bray admittedly had the most significant loss in his life: His mother Jayne Bray, an amazing woman who bravely navigated the challenges of Multiple Sclerosis for 32 years, died after health issues on top of her already debilitating condition.
So, while it would seem a no-brainer that he would aptly name his new cocktail lounge next to Passion Vines in Somers Point after his mom, Queen Jayne’s Lounge & Royal Drinkery, it was not as easy a decision as you would think.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say there was a certain weight around the name,” said Bray, whose new offering opens to the public on Saturday, May 20. “As much as I plan ahead, I didn’t really plan on a name. I wanted it to come organically. And then Queen Jayne’s is the name that kept coming up in my head. I went through a phase asking, ‘Is it the right thing?’ It felt such a heavy lift to bring it to life. I wondered if the space would turn to joy for me. The passing of someone so significant in your life … I never felt something like that. It definitely crossed my mind, ‘When will I stop feeling suffering and feel joy and gratitude and reflection?’”
That joy came about three weeks ago as the Queen Jayne’s logo was stenciled on the front window and the logo was illuminated on the entrance hallway floor where you enter.
“I finally turned the corner,” Bray said. “Now, I can look at it as an opportunity and joyful legacy as opposed to loss. But, man, it was tough.”
The Road to Passion
Those who are Somers Point experts know the Bray family was involved in the Somers Point Plaza for decades.
Michael’s parents owned the once very popular Point Pub Restaurant & Liquors in the ’80s and ’90s. When Kmart wanted an anchor position in the shopping center – now occupied by Target – the Brays were happy to negotiate moving to get Kmart in Somers Point.
“The Point Pub really wasn’t performing well as a restaurant anymore, but it was doing very well as a packaged goods store,” said Bray, who worked in the restaurant growing up. “So, a deal was made to shift and move the liquor license to where Passion Vines exists today. But I have some vivid memories of celebrating milestones in that restaurant. People still talk about the raisin bread we used to serve there with icing on top. My mom used to take it home and make french toast with it in the morning. I’ll never forget that.”
For years, Point Pub Liquors operated without Michael Bray, who was working in marketing with Somers Point entrepreneur Mark Benevento on all aspects of his business, from Greate Bay Country Club to Greate Bay Racquet and Fitness to his amusement and mini golf ventures from Avalon to Ocean City.
“I got the entrepreneurial bug working for Mark, and I came to Point Pub Liquors in 2004,” Bray remembered. I didn’t know anything about the business, but I knew I could smile and clean. So, for the first two years, we turned things around by just cleaning the place up and being friendly when people came to the register.”
Fate would eventually have Bray meet Jerry Johnson, the former manager of Downbeach Liquors in Margate, which was closing. They saw eye to eye with Bray’s vision to make his packaged goods store a haven for wine lovers.
“Jerry was a more esoteric wine guy, and for about a year and a half or two years, he was the coach and built a wine culture in Somers Point which the entire team learned from,” Bray said.
But that ultimately caused confusion. Most people who were used to grabbing 12 packs of Bud were now surrounded by wines they couldn’t pronounce and never heard of. Bray was faced with a dilemma: Re-brand Point Pub Liquors as a new kind of experience, or just change the name altogether.
“We went from burgers to burgundy, right?” Bray said. “We were still remembered for the raisin bread and French onion soup, and now we have this identity crisis. People still remembered our food even though we didn’t serve any. People were just totally confused by who we are and what we are and what we are doing. We could spend money on rebranding Point Pub or spend the same amount of money and come out with something brand new.”
In 2008, Passion Vines was born, eventually expanding to a second location in EHT two years later, providing a very unusual liquor store experience – moreso in Somers Point than EHT thanks to its bar – but with a movement to educate consumers and always do it with that contagious Bray smile.
“We never used the word boutique in Somers Point because then you have that perception we are not competitive,” Bray said. “But we always wanted an intimate experience while being competitive with others when it comes to wine, spirits and beer.”
Initially, when the Somers Point Passion Vines location was only open, people were even confused by that.
“Some thought we only sold wine because that was our marketing push at the time,” Bray said. “Some people would tell me they would buy their beer and spirits somewhere else but come here for wine. So, when we opened in EHT, we changed the name to Passion Vines Wine & Spirit Company to make it more encompassing.”
Since opening, both stores have served every trend in the industry. The Somers Point location features a bar with 16 craft beer taps – the most on the mainland at the time – and when whiskey became a hot topic, they opened 150 whiskeys to sample, one of the most aggressive selections in South Jersey.
A Son’s Tribute
If you didn’t know Jayne Bray, you probably heard about her incredible life.
Diagnosed with MS in 1990, her battle included raising awareness for MS and then some.
Since the diagnosis, Michael always made it his personal mission to give back to MS, whether it was riding his bike at the annual bike ride challenge to Ocean City or even through fundraisers he did when he was in college. When he worked for Benevento, he was inspired by what his boss did to raise money for MS, which also affected Mark’s father, Louis Benevento.
“At his golf course, he would have an area where people threw in pennies and quarters to make a wish, and all of that money was gathered up at the end of every summer to give to MS,” Bray said. “So, I figured I could follow that path.”
That path included Passion Vines tastings and wine dinners to benefit MS, but it was an Uncorked event at Mays Landing Country Club that morphed into the Right Notes, an event held every fall at Greate Bay Country Club to make a positive impact on the more than 400 people living with MS in Atlantic and Cape May counties. In eight years, it has raised more than $600,000.
“Yes, the mission was to raise money and awareness, but in equal part it was to do something with my mom, who was living alone with a full-time caretaker” Bray said. “The camaraderie and mother-son bonding was important to me. It’s one of the greatest things I have ever done … working with my mom. At one of the early Right Notes events, she spoke. And that was so meaningful to see in her in that light and to emanate pure gratitude. To show that level of grace … has been unmatched in my life.”
Now, back to the name.
Yes, it’s in homage to his mom, but it’s also in homage to Bray’s favorite entertainer of all time, Bob Dylan, and his song “Queen Jane Ultimately.”
“The name does come from a Bob Dylan song,” said Bray, who has an awesome photograph of Dylan on one of the walls in the new lounge. “My son Dylan is named after him, and he has always been a significant influence in my life. I would often call my mom Queen Jayne in reference to that song.”
Queen Jayne’s Arrives
Like any entrepreneur, Bray was looking for that next venture, and he knew what it would be.
“I had this vision to take what we do at Passion Vines and bring that to another level next door to us,” Bray said. “I thought how great it would be to transition from the bright lights of retail and transition to the hospitality of a cocktail lounge … execute some things you can’t do on the busy retail side in a more inviting setting.”
Bray’s problem was that neither space on each side of Passion Vines was available. That changed during COVID when longtime tenant Sojourn Travel decided to move its location, and Bray responded by quickly committing to rent the additional space, first because he needed more storage space for Passion Vines, and second because he would finally make his vision come to life.
“We seized the opportunity and began to work on what is now Queen Jayne’s,” Bray said.
When it opens on May 20, the public will get to see Bray’s passion – and the hard work and visionary thinking by his wife Kimberly and team – on full display.
The place is absolutely stunning.
Thanks to everyone’s visions, particularly Russell Snow, a successful home builder in Ocean City, the place exudes class from the plush furniture, quartz bartop with green accents, wood finishes that hold glass countertops – some featuring Jayne Bray’s signature, which was a surprise to Michael – a back bar featuring gold-painted wood and overall silver-ish color scheme with cool greens and wallpaper with gold trim that definitely contradicts most people’s opinions what a color scheme for a lounge should be.
“I always knew if we were going to do it, we were going to do it right,” Bray said. “It will always be warm and inviting. Imagine a hotel lobby meets lounge done in a way to inspire people.”
The menu will feature about eight signature cocktails, with two additional low-alcohol beverages and two others with no alcohol, along with three or four craft beers – currently Lawson’s Sip of Sunshine, Cape May Long Liner lager and Allagash White – two sparkling wines, two roses, six whites and six reds.
The standout cocktail at the soft opening, so far, is the Queen Jayne Cosmo ($14) with Albany Vodka, Cointreau, hibiscus and lime. Other faves have been the Somer’s Comin’ ($16) with Hendrick’s Gin, Chareau Aloe Liqueur, lime, cucumber and mint and the Scallywag ($20) with 12-year Flor de Cana, Appleton 8, Plantation Pineapple Rum, Cynar, pineapple syrup and tiki bitters served from a smoking treasure chest.
“For us, it was to take beverages we serve and do it with utmost integrity. Do wine and spirits and beer in a way that is unpretentious but upscale and first class. Have a great glass of wine served the right temperature in the right glass. Apply that same idea for what is new to us: mixology. Passion Vines’ principal bar focuses on beer and whiskey, and Queen Jayne’s is wine and mixology. From the wine perspective, we are departing from that traditional big book of wine where you have to turn page to page to page. We want to really focus on what we have by the glass and another 30 or 40 in bottles and know every product inside and out.”
Queen Jayne’s also has a small bites part of its menu, currently featuring a dynamite charcuterie ($14 serves one to two guests, $26 serves three to four) and snacks like Urbani truffle potato chips and assorted artisan chocolate.
“That’s where we will see the biggest expansion down the road, but it will take time,” Bray said. “We will eventually lean into small- and medium-sized plates. You won’t ever get chicken parm here, but something with more substance, like maybe from a panini press or a toaster oven or air fryer, all made with the freshest ingredients. And we will offer more desserts, as well.”
Queen Jayne’s rules
Now that Queen Jayne’s is nearly ready to roll out to the masses, Bray is coming to terms with the roller-coaster of emotions of opening a new business, especially naming it after his recently passed mother.
“I would say there was a tremendous amount of relief in executing our soft opening nights for friends and family,” he said. “I think whether you knew Jayne or not, you are in good company here. First, there is the reaction of we did it! And then there is the joy in the sense and reaffirmation that we made the right decision in a game that moves as you play. We are thrilled to have the great team we have who are professional and committed. But, most of all, I am excited for a new adventure and for something we really feel doesn’t exist around here. You see a lot of these in major cities, but not here. We want to be the place to come before dinner or for that drink before you see a play on Bay Avenue. And there is always that question of, ‘Do you wanna have one more?’ Well, you can come here for one more.”
Gladly.
(Queen Jayne’s Lounge & Royal Drinkery opens Saturday, May 20. Hours will be 4 to 10 p.m. Thursdays to Sundays, but it will be available for private events Mondays to Wednesdays. QueenJaynes.com will be launched in the near future. Until then go to PassionVines.com).
Photos courtesy of Nick Valinote
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.
