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Restaurant Owner Opens New Location in Waretown

The second Spiaggia e Luna will serve up deli specialties and homemade bread and pasta as well as pizza

 

Barnegat restaurateur Jon Serpico had a busy Thanksgiving.

While others were getting ready to host a houseful of family, he was overseeing dinner for hundreds, as customers flocked to his brand new Spiaggia e Luna location in Waretown's Lighthouse Plaza on Route 9, which had held its grand opening the Saturday before.

Serpico said the success of his first venture, a pizza and fine dining restaurant by the same name that he opened in downtown Barnegat more than two years ago, inspired him to expand. He’d had his eye on the spot for some time, he said, and when Joey’s Pizza and Pasta left the location, he jumped at the chance.

The restaurant got a makeover that went beyond a new paint job for the walls. The building was originally outfitted to be a bakery, Serpico said, and came with a high-quality bread oven. That inspired him to bring on a specialty chef, who will make fresh breads and homemade pastas.

The bright, sunlit restaurant will also be a full-service deli, with Boar’s Head cold cuts, prepared foods and Italian specialties offered at very low prices, he said. Preparations for “Spiaggia II” also included tweaking the restaurant’s special crust recipe, made with a blend of imported flours, so that pizzas baked up just right in the new ovens.

There’s always a little nervousness about things going smoothly at first, he said, but he’s got experience behind him.

“After two years with Spiaggia, I feel like I’ve been in the restaurant business my whole life,” Serpico said. “Now, it’s like, ‘Hurry up! I want it all done!’”

Everything came together for the grand opening – just in time for the pre-Thanksgiving rush, always one of the busiest times of the year for pizza restaurants, he said.

Serpico said the same common-sense philosophy that made his first restaurant a success will guide him at the new location: great food for low prices, and a keen eye on what works and what doesn’t.

“Restaurants are like kids,” he said. “You’ve got to nurture them to get them to grow up to what you want them to be.”

And he’s happy to see his restaurant family growing. He’s able to offer more hours to his large team of employees, and the restaurant can now deliver to a wider area. Before, he said, he’d have to turn down requests for deliveries to Lacey Township. Now, they have Manahawkin to Forked River covered. And he doesn’t plan to stop there.

“We’re already scouting for our third location,” said Serpico.

Related Topics: Businesses

ray dietrich

1:09 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Had the Pizza twice in Barnegat average at best. Imported flours from Shop rite. Who writes this garbage

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Eric Thomas

6:30 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The byline says Graelyn Brashear.

Pat Pipi

1:20 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Congratulations Jon,
When the Mirage softball program picked Spiaggia's as our sponsor we knew we associated ourselves with a winner. Your second location with an eye on a third proves it. The quality of your food and service are second to none.
Pat,,, Captain of the Spiaggia Bombers.

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mike

5:43 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011

ok..Waretown location..im gonna give it 1 more chance...went in the other day for pizza...was ok but it was cold...went in today for what they proclaim to be a "philly cheesesteak" which also was cold and they used mozzerella cheese...its not a pizza..its a cheesesteak...wrong cheese....and a side of garlic knots...that once again were ICE cold...and when you bite into them oil squirts 4 feet in every direction...all that said ...i will try the pizza 1 more time...if i ts cold..im done

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Eric Thomas

6:32 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Pizza is on par with other Barnegat pizzerias. So far as the menu entrees, the veal I ordered was also average.

Best of luck to the proprietor, hate to see a small business lose money.

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JON SERPICO

6:58 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011

ok mike first,we fix the mix-up about the cheese the new cook try it with mozz we are now back to American cheese if you would like a different cheese we can make it .. second we fix the garlic knot problem they will not sit in the oil we will drizzle them when they are ready to be served as far as it being cold I well that's just unacceptable if ever your food is cold please just call the restaurant weather it's barnegat or waretown and ask for me,they'll get me! thank you for your feed back it has always bin important to us that our costumer is happy

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Eric Thomas

6:49 am on Thursday, December 1, 2011

A responsive owner. Quite commendable. Guess I know where I'm dining over the weekend.

Jo C

8:15 am on Thursday, December 1, 2011

Fits right in with the type of restaurant you have come to expect in this area. I have been to the Barnegat location for Valentines Day. The atmosphere was okay. No comment on the food. Cupid missed with his arrow.

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Peter Cannon

8:42 am on Thursday, December 1, 2011

Best of success in your new venture. Once they taste your Seafood Fra Diavlo, they will be hooked. Just another example of shared services with Waretown :)

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B Smith

9:48 am on Thursday, December 1, 2011

Tried Waretown, the Pizza was cold and just average. I placed the order with the
cashier, waited 10 minutes, then asked where my two slices of Pizza were( since they
just needed to be heated) and found that the cashier never placed the order. When they were put in the oven and subsequently removed the pie was cold.

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JON SERPICO

11:37 am on Thursday, December 1, 2011

i don't know what the problem is with heating two slices but i will get to the bottem of it and it will be corrected

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andy rizzo

11:56 am on Thursday, December 1, 2011

are you related to the brooklyn serpico;s who had a waste materials business on foster avenue near kings highway. i played softball with ralph serpico in the farragut pool softball league. ralph was an excellent shortstop. his relative joe tellilli who was joey giardello's brother also played there.joey giardello was middleweight champion of the world. nice memories. sid gordon of new york giants baseball fame also played.

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JON SERPICO

2:20 pm on Thursday, December 1, 2011

yes,my family has a scrap yard in canarsie,i have a few ralph serpico's in the family and i think i know the ralph your talking about .SMALL WORLD!

BeyondReality

4:49 pm on Thursday, December 1, 2011

Love the food here... Their Chicken Parm pizza is the best.

And for the record I have never had anything come out cold and I eat there all the time.

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