South River to flaunt eateries

By MICHAEL NUNES
Staff Writer

SOUTH RIVER – The South River Economic Development Commission wants to cash in on the borough’s wealth of nationally recognized restaurants to draw out-oftown visitors.

“South River is a Mecca of amazing food,” said South River Economic Development Commission President Nicole Sansone.

On July 19, the borough will kick off its first South River Restaurant Week.

Several restaurants around the borough will be serving some of their specialty dishes at discounted prices to attract new customers. Restaurant Week, which runs through July 23, is geared toward getting foodies to take notice of the local cuisine that the restaurants have to offer.

“We have some of the best restaurants in New Jersey. You can go down onto Main Street and you have multiple New York Times-reviewed restaurants. We want to let everyone know about them,” said John Costello, a member of the EDC.

Family-run restaurants such as Krakowiak Restaurant and Ria-Mar Restaurant and Bar have both been featured in the New York Times.

From Polish to Thai, officials are seeking to showcase the eclectic array of ethic restaurants to make the borough a destination for food lovers from all over the county and from other parts of the state.

According to the two commission members, South River has two of the best Portuguese restaurants in the country.

“I’ve gotten comments that anywhere south of here you can’t get good Portuguese food. With restaurants like Portuguese Fishermen and Ria-Mar we are the place that people want to go to,” said Sansone.

For the borough, this event is also about showing how the community has rebuilt after superstorm Sandy.

After the storm hit, restaurants like the Portuguese Fisherman had to be re-built.

“We want to show that we have recovered from the storm and have kept some of the best restaurants in the country,” said Costello.

If successful, borough officials have stated that their aim is to turn Restaurant Week into an annual event. Currently four restaurants have signed on and the commission is seeking to recruit up to eight to take part in the event.. For more information, contact the commission at [email protected].