Restaurants & Bars
Opening Update For Stone Tavern Coming To Former Bridgewater Houlihan's Location
Owner Steve Desiderio provided an opening update for his upscale restaurant on Route 22, which is located at the former Houlihan's location.
BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Stone Tavern, a new upscale restaurant opening in the former Houlihan's location, will open before the end of the year, said Owner Steve Desiderio.
Desiderio told Patch he is "hoping to be open in eight weeks."
The new Bridgewater location at 1288 Route 22 East had initially been set to open sometime in the Fall of 2023. However, construction delays pushed it back.
Find out what's happening in Bridgewaterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Desiderio previously told Patch, "It was a total gutjob. We demoed everything and everything will be totally different."
Currently, Desiderio has a location in Phillipsburg and plans to continue expanding to open five locations including the Bridgewater restaurant.
Find out what's happening in Bridgewaterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Food has always been a part of Desiderio's life, who grew up in Bernardsville.
"I grew up in an Italian family," said Desiderio. "My mom taught me a lot when I was little."
From there Desiderio said food and cooking came pretty naturally to him. What followed was 30 years in the restaurant business.
Before opening Stone Tavern, Desiderio owned Desi's Brick Oven Pizza and Cafe in Hillsborough in 2010.
In 2019, he opened a smaller version of Stone Tavern in Washington before moving to Philipsburg in 2022.
From there the community response took off prompting Desiderio to expand to open another location in Bridgewater.
"I kind of have been in the area my whole life. Opportunities came up when Houlihans closed," said Desiderio. "It's a strong location for Central New Jersey."
For the Bridgewater location, the restaurant will have 35 to 40 seats at the bar with TVs.
"It's not a sports bar but it will fit the need for the sports junkies," said Desiderio. "But it will be away from the dining room. There will be no TVs in the dining room."
There will also be a private room for parties and meetings.
The restaurant's menu will be similar to its Philipsburg location offering wood-fired steaks, seafood, burgers, pizza, and more.
For more information visit stonetavernnj.com or facebook.com/StoneTavernNJ, or instagram.com/stonetavern.
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