Business Booms For Joe's Bagel And Grill As 2nd Toms River Store Opens

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Operating a restaurant business during the coronavirus pandemic was a risky proposition for many companies.

For Joe's Bagel and Grill, however, breakfast and lunch demand continued, and the company, which has shops in Ocean and Monmouth counties, flourished during the pandemic.

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That success was all it took to convince the founder, Russell Grabow, to agree to a second franchise in Toms River, supplementing one on Fischer Boulevard. That second shop, at 1338 Hooper Ave., opened April 1.

"The demand was definitely there, especially in that shopping center," said Samantha Grabow, franchise development and marketing director for Joe's Bagel, about opening on Hooper Avenue. The Fischer Boulevard store had done well during the pandemic — "Door Dash was a big hit," Grabow said, and the grab-and-go nature of breakfast sustained them.

Joe's Bagel and Grill was established in 2016 in West Long Branch; the Hooper Avenue shop is its 11th site.

"We took an approach like a mom-and-pop store," Samantha Grabow said. "We hand-roll, boil and bake our bagels fresh every day."

The shop doesn't stop with breakfast sandwiches and omelets, however.

"We have a big lunch menu, with smoothies, paninis, salads, and wraps," she said, and it draws people. They also offer catering.

The Hooper Avenue store is owned by Dawn, Kim and Jim Schaffer, and it is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Their Facebook page has an announcement that they are hiring.

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