Ex-Newark Cop And Wife Open Restaurant, Revive Closed Storefront

NEWARK, NJ — The spirit of Newark was captured with the slice of a ribbon on Monday when a husband and wife team of restauranteurs – one a former city police officer - breathed new life into a closed storefront.

Newark entrepreneurs Sam and Liz Siino cut the ribbon to open the new Suite 304 Restaurant on Monday morning at 304 University Avenue in the city's Central Ward. The location had been closed for two years prior to the renovation, city officials stated.

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According to city officials, Liz Siino has more than 25 years of experience in restaurants and corporate dining in New York City.

Her husband, Sam Siino, is a Central Ward native who served as a Newark police officer for 33 years and opened the Newark-based Roman Security Agency.

The pair will have a veteran chef at the helm, Michael Logan, who has owned his own Italian restaurant in Manalapan and has worked in Newark's Radisson Hotel.

"We’re excited to be a part of the revitalization happening in Newark and look forward to seeing what the future holds," Sam Siino said.

“The Siino family has great experience in restaurants and entrepreneurship,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said during the ribbon cutting, which was also attended by Central Ward Council Member Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins and Newark Community Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Aisha Glover.

“Sam Siino is a native Newarker who protected and served our residents for decades as a police officer and will now serve them as a restaurant owner,” Baraka said.

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Photos: City of Newark Press Office, Flickr