House Of Fries Expanding To Ortley Beach In 2023

TOMS RIVER, NJ — French fries in a paper bucket. It's one of those quintessential treats while strolling the boardwalk on a summer evening.

House of Fries, which opened in 2021 on the Seaside Heights boardwalk near the Ocean Club, takes those fries to a different level with heaps of toppings that go beyond just cheese fries.

Now owners Dave Capp and Kevin Stewart are looking to go even higher, bringing the fries off the boardwalk and adding new wrinkles as they open a second location in the Ortley Beach section of Toms River this summer.

"We're going on our third summer on the boardwalk," Capp said Monday. "People really seem to like it. We want to expand but it's tough in the boardwalk area because nothing changes hands."

They found a prime location in Ortley Beach, next to Kohr's in the shops across from Barnacle Bill's.

"We wanted to go in there last year," Capp said, but the landlord was under contract to rent to the owner of Vibe and Slurp, which operated there last summer. When the landlord called Capp in December to say that owner wasn't returning, they jumped at the chance.

House of Fries serves lunch and dinner on the boardwalk, with the fries being front and center, Capp said.

"We have an awesome burger and chicken sandwich, but when you come through our door we want you to try our fries," he said.

"We spend a lot of time and money on our potatoes," Capp said, with about 6 to 12 hours involved in the process. They cut and rinse the potatoes, soak them in a salt bath, drain them, cook them once, and then cook them a second time, he said.

They go through 3,500 to 4,000 pounds of potatoes a week, Capp said.

After they've been fried there's a range of toppings they offer. There are the classics — cheese fries, in their own cheese sauce, and disco fries, with brown gravy and mozzarella cheese. They have cheesesteak fries, with shaved ribeye, peppers and onions and cheese sauce, and buffalo fries, with tangy buffalo sauce and with or without chicken.

They also have short-term offerings on the menu. In the summer of 2022, they did smoked brisket fries topped with mozzarella and their zingy barbecue sauce, pepperoni pizza fries, and spicy chorizo fries with peppers and onions.

At the Ortley location, Capp said, they will be offering breakfast as well as lunch and dinner.

"Instead of homefries with the omelet, we'll serve French fries," he said, and there will be pork roll as a topping for the fries.

"We want to elevate them to another level," Capp said.