Amy’s Somerdale “Daytime Place To Eat” restaurant opens Monday September 16th! I stopped in yesterday to get the full “Jersey Beach” brunch restaurant tour from Ted (Amy’s owner) and Erin (General Manager).
Customers will find many surprises at Amy’s Somerdale, which actually offers two distinct dining room experiences… both of which harken back to a simpler time of New Jersey life in earlier 1900s.
If you are unfamiliar with Amy’s “Omelette House”, it is a family owned and operated restaurant group now with four New Jersey locations, focused on amazing breakfast and lunch meals from a huge menu… and open until 2pm.
For the new Somerdale location, the main dining room has been completely rebuilt into a bright and beautiful classic Jersey Beach town restaurant! The equally large side room dining space carries a Prohibition Era style décor which Ted calls “The Speakeasy”.
Additionally, the kitchen has been fully rebuilt from the floor joists all the way up to new kitchen equipment being installed and all new exhaust hoods.
Needless to say, it’s been a big transformation effort for Ted and his family who own and operate the four Amy’s “Omelette House” restaurants (Cherry Hill, Burlington, Long Branch).
Previously the Somerdale restaurant building was home to the StarView Diner (Loupe’s Somerdale Diner before that). The StarView was a beloved diner with a very classic darker wood 1990s style to it, featuring a distinctive large counter.
I’ve learned a few things about Ted in my recent meetings with him…. not only is he a genuinely awesome guy with a true love for the restaurant business and New Jersey, he is also a very creative man.
In fact, when you look at the beautifully designed Amy’s menu with it’s multi-layered graphic design featuring attractive photos… well Ted created every aspect of that menu, designing it all himself in Photoshop!
So for the Somerdale building, while others walking into the former diner saw a nice restaurant with a style somewhat frozen in time from several decades ago, Ted had visions of the beach! “When I think of New Jersey, I think of the Jersey Shore where I grew up”, Ted says.
Earlier this year Ted and his team began the process to fully transform the interior of the diner located on the White Horse Pike, into a year-round Jersey Beach Town breakfast/lunch restaurant.
For customers visiting the first time, just those first few steps into the foyer area seeing the newly painted white walls and Jersey Beach town themed photos will likely get excited realizing “oh this is going to be something different…”
And as soon as you cross through the doors to the main dining area you’ll instantly get the sense of a brighter and more open space. Light blue walls with attractive graphics. A bright white ceiling. All new dining booths
Then you’ll notice the really significant change! There’s a big reason the dining space feels so much more “open”….
The large counter along the back wall is COMPLETELY GONE!
And when I say gone… I mean the entire counter is gone, the stools and the large back wall counter space used by the wait staff are all gone.
In its place is an open dining area which supports additional table seating. Along the newly exposed wall is a large postcard style graphic for Amy’s Somerdale.
To be clear there is still a significant amount of booths in the dining space, and in fact while the booths are all new, Ted placed them basically in the same position as before.
Removing that counter really did free up a lot of space and just makes things feel less confined. Erin points out that having the tables in the main dining room also allows seating options in the main beach themed room which previously didn’t exist “if you dine with us while in a wheelchair, you can sit in the main dining room space if you choose”
Ted’s creativity continues to shine through the entire space with many details that I think other restaurant owners may have skipped over… but the extra effort in those small touches really help carry the theme.
Well not all of the details are small. Also found along that back wall is “Somer”… Amy’s Somerdale Cow Mascot! The large strawberry cow statute is perfectly named, connecting the town to the restaurant’s summertime beach theme.
A carousel horse has found a home atop one of the dining booth dividers. Other dividers feature colorful postcard images; The Marlborough Blenheim Hotel in Atlantic City, Greetings From Seaside Heights, and even the Camden Riverfront.
Custom painted “Distance to Beach Town” signs are on the back wall (I didn’t realize Asbury Park was only 72 miles away!)
It really is an awesome transformation of the space which should bring guests back to the last time the entire family ate breakfast together in a cute cafe restaurant in Wildwood Crest, Ocean City, Seaside Heights or any Jersey beach town.
The Speakeasy at Amy’s Somerdale
For the second dining room space Ted says as soon as he walked into the room for the first time he immediately had the idea for the space… The Speakeasy.
The side dining room was already built out with a lot of darker wood details, and instead of clearing everything out and starting fresh, his vision was to utilize what was there and further enhance it with additional decor items, photos and fun little touches.
Yes the small bar is still located at the back of the dining area, but Amy’s Somerdale will be using it as a small counter dining space.
The booths are also new in the Speakeasy, as well as the tables and chairs.
It’s a very interesting upgrade because absolutely it still carries the former diner’s more classic wood aesthetic, but it absolutely feels like everything about the space was designed brand new to meet Ted’s Speakeasy theme.
Changes in lighting. Large photos from the era featuring scenes of New Jersey. An old time cash register and antique bottles at the former bar area… as well as whiskey barrels, one of which carries an extra special surprise.
Or how about a Camden Fire Insurance “Fire Mark” medallion, which signified the homeowners had paid for fire protection services!
It all just seems to fit the “speakeasy” theme so perfectly.
Even the fireplace has seen some upgrades with the Amy’s logo in place (black and white of course) but with the background in the photo showing stacked prohibition era whiskey barrels.
During my visit the Kitchen staff were in training and food wasn’t being prepared but I will be back very soon to try out the Amy’s Somerdale menu… which is famous for it’s extensive breakfast options!
And don’t forget to check the Amy’s Website for their Deals and Specials! You can sign up for their email deals, or take advantage of online promoted specials such as “Omelette of the Month” which is priced at 50% off! Morning Bird specials offer FREE coffee or juice with every meal, as well as discount coupons!
Links and Locations
Amy’s Somerdale – Opens Monday Sept 16.
9 S White Horse Pike
Somerdale, NJ 08083