UPPER FREEHOLD — When summer arrives, the third generation of the Westendorf family will begin managing the historic Happy Apple Inn in the Imlaystown section of Upper Freehold Township.
“My dad, Horace Westendorf, opened this restaurant in 1972,” said second-generation owner Buddy Westendorf, 54. “He purchased [the building] from the Golden family, which had bought it in the 1960s and used it as a home for their whole family.”
Westendorf said he began working at the Happy Apple Inn when he was 12. He left in 1983 at the age of 22 to open the Chicken Kitchen in Shrewsbury.
“I came back in 1993 and my dad wanted out of the business, so I bought it from him,” Westendorf said.
Now, Westendorf said, he is ready to hand over the keys to the Happy Apple Inn to his son, Kyle, 21.
“Kyle has been working here his entire life and really came up through the ranks of the restaurant,” Westendorf said. “He started off as a dishwasher, worked in the kitchen under a few chefs, and now he is the bar manager and has been for the last six months.”
After mopping the floors and beginning preparations for the evening’s service, Kyle Westendorf sat down to talk about taking over the restaurant.
“I have been working here since I was 12, just like my dad, and I am excited to take over the restaurant,” he said. “I know that if tomorrow came and I was told I was going to be in control from then on, I could do it.”
Kyle said some changes may be in store for the Happy Apple Inn.
“I have been starting off with just the bar. I switched out a lot of taps, added two new beers and now I am getting on to the wine. I have not made it that far into the project yet, but wine and scotch are my next project,” he said.
The young man said the most important thing to him as the manager in waiting will be to get the restaurant’s kitchen in top shape.
“I want the food to come out the way [patrons] want it, and I want everyone to be happy with the experience of being here,” he said. “That is where your head has to be most of the time, in the kitchen. Once you focus on that and you get that to where you want it to be, then you are good.”
Kyle said that at some point in the future he might like to add a back patio or a secondfloor patio that overlooks the lake in back of the restaurant.
Buddy said the historic aspect of the Happy Apple Inn is a draw for local residents and visitors.
On a tour of the building, he pointed out features on some doors that date back to when the building was constructed in the 1700s, as well as some of the custom lighting fixtures his father installed when the Happy Apple Inn opened.
Behind the bar is a large mantlepiece, which Buddy said came out of a 1930s-era speakeasy in Hoboken. A guestbook that dates back to the mid- 1800s contains many interesting signatures, including one of the first Ford dealers in Princeton.
“We still have people going through the guestbook to figure out the names,” he said. “It is amazing.”
Buddy said the Happy Apple Inn has become a destination for people over the years, mainly due to word of mouth.
“We are known for our prime rib, steak and fresh seafood,” he said. “Everything is made here and we try to cater to whatever people want. We had a [patron] last week who wanted a king salmon, so we went out and got one for him the next time he came in. It is fun to look at it like we want to please the customer however we can. That is important to me and Kyle.”
Buddy said he is looking forward to the day when his son will take over the restaurant.
Contact Greg Kennelty at [email protected].