Tony’s new owners celebrate 1st anniversary with all-day party
Remember the old Tony’s? The one on the island filled with pub after pub? But this particular pub seemed to be the one that everyone would eventually gravitate to, at least a couple times a week. The one where you could sit at the bar and chat with your neighbors, where a group of teachers would come in at the end of a work week and order the left side of the menu, where a men’s softball team would gather after a game.
The Tony’s where you could take the family for dinner and not have to worry about inappropriate behavior, where you’d get homemade food served by someone who’d remember your name the next time you stopped by.
That was the Tony’s I knew, when The Wildwood Leader and Gazette staff – when we were still in our 12th and Atlantic building in North Wildwood -- would slip out on a Thursday afternoon to watch the entire first day of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and it felt like we were sitting in a friend’s living room – only with lots of TVs.
That was the Tony’s that friends remember, who called me a year ago on May 5 when Mike and Barbara (Flacco) Farrell took over ownership of the operation at 26th and Delaware, and immediately began to work on improving the menu, on the interior design, on the quality of staff and to bring back the Tony’s that they knew when they worked there years – Mike for 11 and Barbara for two – ago.
It was a place for anyone and everyone to spend 15 minutes and five bucks or 5 hours and 150 bucks
“Tony’s was a corner bar in North Wildwood that had great food and great prices where everybody went for whatever reason or no reason at all,” said Barbara. “It was just a comfortable spot for all ages, where you’d see grandparents and their kids and their kids, where there’d be 60-somethings at the bar and little ones running around the dining room. That’s exactly what we wanted to bring back.”
From top to bottom, the Farrells, now of Cape May Court House, worked to restore Tony’s to its good-old-days while the Wildwoods changed around them.
“We even went into the recipe books from the old Tony’s so we could reproduce the ribs, the clam chowder, the original wings…we wanted to preserve as much as we could to restore that old feeling,” Barbara said. “We did some cosmetic remodeling, we brought back the big oblong bar that people had known us for, we put dining tables back on the side of the bar, we added 11 TVs and we painted an island theme.”
But Mike and Barb are smart enough to know it can’t stop there. The people delivering the drinks and the food are as top-notch as the quality of the food.
“The food can be great – and it is -- but if it’s not a good, friendly, outgoing staff, most of the work we’ve done to improve everything won’t be good enough. People remember bad service,” Barbara said. “Our staff – and we have some people from the original Tony’s staff -- work like it’s their restaurant, and in a very important way, it is.”
The Farrells’
dedication to quality, in part, comes from their business
partner, Barbara’s father, Tony Flacco, who with his brother
owned and operated Flacco’s Market in Wildwood for decades.
“He brings the business sense to us, he helps us out with everything,” Barbara said. “When it comes down to the fact that we make everything here from scratch, from the salad dressing to the breading for the seafood to the Cheez Whiz we make ourselves with melted cheddar and American cheese and other ingredients, it comes from Michael’s family and mine. I mean, we couldn’t accept anything else. For my family, it’s an Italian thing. You don’t put someone else’s food on the table and hope they like it. It has to be homemade. We might not be the cheapest menu, and we’re certainly not the most expensive, but our focus was quality. We wanted to give people a quality product.”
The Farrells will celebrate the first anniversary of their ownership on Saturday – Cinco de Mayo no less – with a day-long party complete with special prices on food and drinks, a live radio broadcast, two live bands and prizes – everything from Phillies tickets to gift certificates -- that will be given out throughout the day.
“I’m excited about it, and I feel blessed. We must have done something right,” Barbara said. “This party is to say thank you to everyone who helped make this a success.”
ON THE MENU
Tony’s Island Café and
Grill
26th and Delaware, North Wildwood
522-1821
www.tonysnw.com
Open daily from 11:30
a.m. to 2 a.m.
Dinners served daily from 5 to 11 p.m. The rest of the
menu is available daily until 11 p.m. Happy hour from 4
to 7 p.m.
Customers favorites are
“above and beyond the wings ($6.95), the Islander
sandwich (grilled or fried grouper, $7.50) and a new
addition to the menu that was offered daily as a special
until now is the Caribbean cheesesteak with pepperjack
cheese and Caribbean sauce with fries ($5),” said
Barbara Farrell. “The crab cake sandwich ($7.95) sells
very well also. Other signature sandwiches include
Mike’s Mahi Mahi Burger, which Mike grinds here, mixes
it with spices and then grills it and tops it with
grilled pineapple and homemade slaw on a Portuguese
bun. And the Flacco Pork Sandwich ($7.25) served with
broccoli rabe, roasted peppers and provolone named for
my father, Tony Flacco.”
Capacity is 150 people.
Visa and MasterCard accepted.
Rob Seitzinger can be e-mailed
at seitz[at]catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by
calling 624-8900, ext. 250.
Check out his Cape Cuisine food blog