GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP – Brothers James and John Cicarelli of W.L. Goodfellows and Co. were born into the food business.
Their great-grandfather Nicholas Forte co-founded the San Giorgio Macaroni Company, which remained in relatives’ hands through the mid-1960s. Their father, John Cicarelli Sr., opened a deli in the Atlantic City Inlet in 1958 and then started a restaurant, Chick’s, in Brigantine in 1962.
“For the next 22 summers he successfully operated Chick's,” John Cicarelli said. “Over those years he also created many delicious dishes, but the one he became well-known for was his creation of the French-fried lobster tail.”
It remains a signature dish at W.L. Goodfellows and Co. on the White Horse Pike, according to his brother.
“You see them on a lot of menus now,” James Cicarelli said. “I’m proud of that. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Our dad definitely had it first.”
Goodfellows opened in January 1985, founded by the brothers and their father, John Cicarelli Sr. James Cicarelli described the menu as diverse with an Italian influence.
He said he and his brother learned the trade as youngsters working at Chick’s, at restaurants while in college, and then in positions at casino restaurants in Atlantic City.
He said the family is serious about making sure that patrons have fun.
One of the ways they do that is by calling appetizers “happy-tizers” and offering most of them at half-price during happy hour three times a day most days of the week: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 4 to 8 p.m. and, except Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 p.m. to midnight. House drinks are also half-price during those hours. Happy-hour specials are available at the bar only.
“We’re serious about what we do here,” James Cicarelli said Friday, Dec. 7. “We care about what we’re doing. Our father was in the business. That’s what we know. That’s what we enjoy.”
In addition to conducting a successful bar business, Cicarelli said Goodfellows is a complete family restaurant.
“We have a children’s menu. We cater to children,” he said. “In many cases our children dictate where we will eat. We have coloring pads and crayons for the kids ... candy canes on the Christmas tree.”
The main bar and restaurant area features a tall Christmas tree, eight plasma-screen TVs and two large-screen televisions.
“We have 210 dining seats plus 140 at the bar. A full menu is available at the bar,” he said. “All our Italian specialties are house-made. People rave over our ribs. All of our burgers are very popular. We have a phenomenal microbrew beer selection.”
He said the local market in Galloway Township is strong and getting stronger.
“There are offices around the neighborhood now – places besides restaurants,” he said. “The hospital is booming and expanding.”
The establishment’s name was made up to go with its original theme as an old English pub.
“Goodfellow was an old English name for a spirit,” Cicarelli said. “When someone died, they’d say ‘don’t worry about him – the goodfellows will come to take him away.’ That’s from our distant past. We’ve evolved into a bistro atmosphere.”
There were very few neighbors when Goodfellows was built on the White Horse Pike, close to the Garden State Parkway.
“We were here 10 or 15 years before anyone else came in,” James Cicarelli said. “They use this as a landmark now when giving directions. That’s how long we’ve been here.”