Jon Bon Jovi recently mingled with guests at the opening of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation Soul Kitchen — a community-based endeavor meant to empower and inspire — on Monmouth Street in Red Bank. ERIC SUCAR staff I t all started at a party a few years ago. Rock star Jon Bon Jovi pointed across the room at former Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna and motioned to him to come over. “We need to talk. I have an idea.”
At the Oct. 19 opening ceremony of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation Soul Kitchen, McKenna recalled that evening as the beginning step in turning a dream into a reality for the Red Bank community.
Soul Kitchen, located at 207 Monmouth St., was inspired by the adage “… teach a man to fish … ” and hopes to empower all of the patrons who come in for a nutritious meal.
“We are not a soup kitchen. Here, we look to empower individuals who just need a hand up and enable someone who just needs to lend a hand,” said Bon Jovi.
The self-sustaining concept is a unique one. Patrons who can afford to pay are expected to leave a minimum donation of $10, though the foundation hopes for more.
“If the general populous wants to come and participate and see effective change, leave a $20 bill in the envelope. That’s helping us with overhead or taking care of the person sitting next to you [who might not be able to afford it],” he explained.
If a person needs a meal but cannot afford it, they can volunteer their time helping in the kitchen washing dishes, waiting tables or any other tasks that will keep the restaurant running efficiently.
“If you don’t want to volunteer at our restaurant, not a problem. We’ll take you down to Lunch Break and you can help out in the soup kitchen. They’ll provide you with a gift certificate to the restaurant,” said Bon Jovi. Lunch Break, a Red Bank organization of employees, trustees and volunteers dedicated to serving the community, was one of two locations that piloted the program over the past two years. The JBJ Soul Foundation served Sunday suppers there and continued to revise its model at St. Anthony of Padua Church, where people were also served a meal once a week.
Now the Soul Kitchen has found a permanent home in a renovated auto body shop just west of the train station. The 1,100-squarefoot space features an intimate setting with high ceilings, a wall of windows and seating for 25-30 patrons.
“We stand here today near the tracks but also on the right track,” Bon Jovi said.
“At a timewhen one in five households are living at or below the poverty level, and at a time when one in six Americans are food-insecure, we believe this is a time for our restaurant. This is a place based and built on community, by and for the community.”
Executive Chef Zeet Peabody can be found serving up some goodness in the kitchen, which prides itself on using fresh ingredients, some of which are taken from the herb garden in front of the restaurant.
“Freshness is the absolute first thing that we do. Out of all the equipment in here, my freezer is the smallest thing we have. We try to get deliveries on a daily basis and we try to work with local vendors. We do basically everything from scratch as a traditional kitchen should,” he explained.
In addition to making the soup bases, the chefs use the grill as a starting point for many of their meals.
“If someone came in and said, ‘I just want a grilled piece of fish or chicken and grilled vegetables,’ you could have that,” he said before spouting off a list of other options available to patrons, which feature grilled salmon with barbecue sauce, sweet potato puree or Garden State gumbo. “But the menu itself is set up as American regional with Southern overtones,” he explained.
Peabody was just one of many people and numerous organizations that contributed their time and made tremendous efforts to see this project through its completion.
“This is a time where our slogan, ‘The power of we,’ means what it says,” he said.
However, it was hard to find the woman behind the Soul Kitchen vision, even harder to get a word from her during the Oct. 19 opening ceremony and the days thereafter.
According to the many speakers at the press conference, including Jon, it was his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, who was the driving force behind it all.
Dr. Eugene Cheslock, president of the Parker Family Health Center, a free health care facility for Monmouth County residents who do not have medical insurance, spoke about the intangibles the Soul Kitchen provides for the community.
“Today is about more than the transformation of a building from an empty shell into a beautiful structure. It’s about more than what goes on there. What today is more about is the imagination, the vision and the determination of a woman to bring a dream to reality,” he said.
The Soul Kitchen is one of the first of its kind in the country, and the hope of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation is that many more will follow in its footprint.
Bon Jovi, who grew up in the area, said, “This isAnyTown, USA. This isAmerica. We can fix these problems. This is your community restaurant. Come be a part of the change you want to see.”
The Soul Kitchen is open 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Reservations are encouraged by calling 732-842-0900.