New Owner to Transform Broadway Grill

The Broadway Grill will have its final curtain call at the end of the month.

While Jerry Rotunno took over the Springfield Avenue restaurant three months ago and has been running it as-is ever since, it is about to undergo a transformation.

As he sits in the back of the dining room sampling French fries (coated and not coated), he explains why the Broadway Grill has to fade into Summit's history and why he's so eager to make the restaurant his own.

"This wasn't the picture-perfect Broadway Grill," Rotunno said. "This wasn't a good representation of what the Broadway Grill is."

The previous owners maintained three locations: Red Bank, Mannasquan and Summit. But Rotunno said for whatever reason the Summit location has begun to go downhill.

"It wasn't what it was in its prime," he said.

So now Rotunno, who grew up in Roselle Park and in nearby Westfield, is bringing his culinary dreams to life and, hopefully, he says bringing a staple back to the Summit community.

The new restaurant, the name of which Rotunno is guarding secretively, will be "similar but better" than the Broadway Grill, Rotunno said.

The cheeseburger will still be the shining star of the menu. In fact, Rotunno and his team have spent the last few months sampling chop meat and buns trying to create the perfect burger.

The winners: Balthazar Bakery in Englewood for the buns (brioche sesame seed) and Pat LaFrieda Wholesale Meat Purveyors in New York (a slow-ground blend).

The burgers will be served in West Coast style, Rotunno says, with two thinner patties on top of each other for a better "melt in your mouth" experience. The buns he describes as "heavenly."

Rotunno, who has been working in the food service industry since he was a kid helping his mother and grandmother in the catering business, is also designing a barista bar for the new restaurant so he can cater to the morning commuter crowd. He has selected Allann Bros. Coffee of Oregon to supply his coffee beans and is working on menu items that make brunch an experience.

Rotunno also plans to offer takeout, online and call-ahead ordering and with the exclusive parking behind the restaurant, hopes to redesign the layout to get customers in and out as fast as possible.

Other menu items in the works: lobster grilled cheese with fontina cheese, a "wedge burger" with blue cheese, iceberg lettuce, crumbled bacon and thin-sliced onions, French toast on brioche bread, a nacho burger and lobster mac'n'cheese.

"It's fun and modern," Rotunno said. "We're trying to bring a little taste of the city to Summit."

Check back for the exact closing date and further updates on the Broadway Grill's transformation!