Mix Lounge In Long Branch Abruptly Closes After 25 Years

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Mix Lounge abruptly closed this April after 25 years in business in Long Branch, and that's because one of the owners is battling a recurrence of head and neck cancer.

That's according to one of the bar's employees, who started a GoFundMe.

Mix Lounge was a mainstay of Long Branch's West End neighborhood, a lively part of town that's bustling with small businesses. That's the area where Bruce Springsteen stayed when he was a broke, unheard-of songwriter in his early 20s; he rented a tiny cottage in Long Branch's West End ( 7½ West End Court), and that's where he wrote his "Born to Run" album.

The employee said head and neck cancer came back for co-owner Sam "Chef Sammy" Nativo, who owned and ran Mix Lounge with his business/life partner Michael Bienz.

This GoFundMe will raise funds for the couple as they battle the cancer's return. The couple also closed the upstairs Second Floor Supper Club, which they also owned. Money raised from that page will also go to fund the Lobster Pit's opening for the summer 2026 season, which they hope to do May 1, the page said.

"As you may know, Chef Sammy has been fighting a brave battle with head and neck cancer for the last 20 years, winning the battle each and every time," he wrote. "Unfortunately, we recently received news that the cancer has returned. This next fight is going to be even tougher and will require both Sammy and Michael to step away from the restaurants and focus on intensive therapy and recovery."