By JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent
SOUTH AMBOY — Visitors to Broadway over the past two months may have noticed that there is a new restaurant where The Landmark stood for decades.
However, co-owner Kevin Attix of Sayreville stresses that Raise the Bar is not just a reboot of its predecessor.
“You kind of get pigeonholed in people’s minds,” he said. “We’re vastly new and improved.”
So what is Raise the Bar?
“The name Raise the Bar is a name and a concept,” Attix said, adding that the intent is to be more of a specialty destination than a neighborhood bar.
Everything is made fresh, he said, adding that it was important to invest in the extra expense to create a better product. The venue is a bar and restaurant by day, and a bar and special event space by night.
The concept, he said, is paying off.
“Business is going great,” he said.
Attix said co-owner Rob Filloramo is known in the area as managing higher-end establishments and wanted to start something of his own. Attix’s experience is in running bars in New York City.
So he and brothers Rob and John Filloramo checked out locations in Sayreville, South Amboy and Woodbridge for their concept and decided on the former Landmark.
“When we came into this place, it was in rough shape,” he said. “We had to redo the electric, all the plumbing.”
He said the trio paid close attention to detail in setting up Raise the Bar. They installed a penny-top bar, something Attix said he had seen in pictures and always wanted to do. It took 18 people and 200 hours of labor laying down the individual pennies.
“It came out very nice,” he said.
Attix said setting up shop in South Amboy was far different than his experiences in New York.
“New York is a fight; everything is a fight,” he said. But South Amboy, he said, has welcomed the trio with open arms.
“It’s been a great relationship. The town has been great to us.”
In fact, the owners publicly thanked the council for its ongoing support at a City Council meeting earlier this year.
Now two months in, the bar/restaurant is quickly becoming known for its entertainment and special events, such as Texas Hold ’Em, musical acts and more, and there are already regulars, Attix said. However, Rob Filloramo said many patrons for the late-night activities are actually from out of the area, but are familiar with his style of event planning. He said some recent events have taken the venue to capacity.
In spite of the popularity, Attix said he has not heard any complaints about parking, a common refrain from business owners on Broadway. He said the bar’s proximity at 117 North Broadway to the South Amboy train station parking lot is a benefit.
Those interested in learning more about Raise the Bar can follow the venue on its Facebook page.