Steakhouse planned for ex-Murphy Grill site

SUE M. MORGAN The former Murphy Style Grill, Route 516, will become the Old New York steakhouse.

OLD BRIDGE — Hungry patrons craving a full-course steak dinner at 1:30 a.m. on weekend nights will soon be able to get one at Old New York.

Not the Big Apple, but a soon-to-open steak house on the site of the former Murphy Style Grill on Route 516 in the Browntown section.

Township resident Frank Stella, the owner of the restaurant/lounge, is now overseeing the ongoing renovations inside the familiar white stucco building with the green-and-white-striped awning.

By mid-September, Stella hopes to open Old New York, a combination Manhattan-style steakhouse, sports bar and lounge, similar to its predecessor but with a few extras.

"Our menu will be more extensive than Murphy’s," Stella said.

A full-course steak dinner will include salad or soup, vegetable, potato and bread, said Stella, who plans to do some of the cooking himself.

A children’s menu also will be available to patrons with youngsters, he added.

"Kids are welcome," he said.

A sports bar/lounge will hold 25 large, flat-screen televisions, and patrons will be able to participate in karaoke on Wednesday nights, Stella said.

Disc jockeys will spin compact discs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Also, live bands will play on Friday nights.

"On Friday nights we’ll have an ’80s dance party," Stella said. "There will be dancing right after the dinner hour."

New Power Soul, a 10-piece rock and soul band, will kick off the Friday night dance parties on Oct. 3. Upcoming acts include Daddy Pop on Oct. 10 and Drop Dead Sexy on Oct. 17.

As the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive played on a nearby portable radio, Stella promised that the popular ’70s disco cover band, Saturday Night Fever, will play a gig on Nov. 21.

"There might be a cover charge on Friday nights depending on the band," he said. "On Saturdays, they’ll be no cover charges for the ladies."

Generally, the lounge is seeking a "late 20s and up" clientele, Stella said.

"We’ll request proper attire for the nighttime," he said. "You can be casual, but neat."

Because Old New York will remain open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, in keeping with township ordinances, the kitchen will remain open until 2 a.m., Stella said.

"If you come in at 1:30 in the morning and want a steak dinner, we’ll serve you," he said.

Township officials, including the code enforcement office and the police department, have been extremely supportive of the new venture, Stella said.

On Aug. 11, the Township Council voted unanimously to transfer the liquor license formerly held by Murphy Style Grill Inc. to Stella’s business, Old New York Inc.

"Everybody has been great," Stella said. "The police and township officials have been great. They’ve all said, ‘Do what you have to do.’"

Stella has retained most of Murphy’s former staff, but is still looking to hire more bartenders, wait staff, cooks and disc jockeys.

Once opened, business hours will run from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, and from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays.

On Saturdays, the restaurant/
lounge will be open from noon to 3 a.m., and on Sundays from noon to 2 a.m.

Old New York, a reference to the song New York, New York by Frank Sinatra, was simply the moniker that Stella had long imagined for his venture. For many years, he dreamed of opening a Manhattan-style steakhouse where patrons could get that type of dinner without going to the city.

"Old New York was just a name I had in my head for years," he said.

Stella, who recently moved to the township from Union, also owns the Sports Section Cafe in that city. He has worked in the restaurant business since he was a teenager, starting out as a dishwasher at a restaurant in Harrison, Hudson County.

Another local Murphy Style Grill restaurant, located in Red Bank, Monmouth County, is not associated with Old New York Inc. and will continue to operate under its present ownership, Stella said.

— Sue M. Morgan