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LINCOLN PARK - New restaurant takes off at boro airport
(by Stephen Janoski - Staff Writer - July 23, 2008)
LINCOLN PARK - In their first restaurant venture to date, Sunset Pub and Grill owners Carl Nielson and Bob Egan have tried to establish the feel of an early 20th century resort, where diners can view the sunset over the New Jersey hills as they enjoy their meals.
Located at Lincoln Park Airport, 425 Beaver Brook Road, the restaurant has been completely remodeled, with the new interior erasing nearly all signs of restaurants past.
“It’s not the same look as the restaurants that were here before,” said General Manager Frank Skek, a 20-year veteran of the restaurant business, referring to former inhabitants of the building. “Some of the original structure was kept, but we wanted that beat-up look, that old, weathered look.
“We invested a few dollars in order to give it that outside, old-time resort feel, where people can dine outside and watch the runways. We wanted a very masculine feel — brick walls, dark wood, and a stained concrete floor. We created a pub atmosphere, going back to a time when drinking was frowned upon, as if it was a speakeasy. Though there’s tons of windows in the dining area, there are no windows in the bar. It looks like a place where one could tell secrets,” Skek said.
Between the initial planning and the official opening, the remodeling has taken about two years. A complete remodeling was done to the main building. The control tower was taken down due to issues with structural integrity, but another was designed and built off the same footprint; diners can now eat on either floor of the tower, surrounded by a view of the airport.
Skek said, “We did so many feasibility studies on what we wanted and also what we didn’t want, and that’s how we came up with this old style. We wanted the stone, the hardy planks — like a 19th-century building.”
However, there are things that reflect the modernity of the place at the same time, such as the flat screen TVs in every room.
Surrounding the Sunset Pub is extensive outdoor dining, with tables, umbrellas and a bar all ready to serve patrons in a fresh-air atmosphere replete with TV and music entertainment.
“It’s the big thing now — especially when it’s nice out. Everyone wants to eat outside. We also want to get people involved; we ring a bell when the sun is setting every day, and everyone sends it on its way,” Skek said.
The July 12 opening, he said, went “unbelievably.”
“We had bagpipers walk up the runways on Friday night and some of our pilots did a flyby (as best you can without jets). Saturday we set up a stage and had bands all day… a good time was had by all,” he said.
The restaurant’s kitchen also received a $150,000 overhaul. Sunset Pub serves classic American cuisine, boasting nine different varieties of the half-pound burger. Other entrees, from steaks to salads to pizza wraps, are also available, along with what Skek called Sunset’s signature dinner, the Lobster Macaroni and Cheese.
“We have not been able to keep that in house. It’s gone sometimes by 8 or 9 p.m.,” he said.
Although Sunset Pub currently serves only lunch and dinner, plans are made to begin serving breakfast in the near future.
However, the best part of Sunset Pub, said Skek, is the associates.
“There’s local people from Pequannock and also people from Western Massachusetts and Central Jersey,” he said. “We hired people who knew how to take care of other people. A restaurant can look absolutely beautiful, but if the service is bad, it won’t work. The service is everything.”
Lincoln Park Airport owner Peter DeRosa was equally impressed with the renovations.
“It benefits everybody. (Egan and Nielson) are two super guys. They really did a first-class job here. There were no corners cut. They fit in here,” he said.
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