NJ Rock Star's Controversial Library Café Gets Extension In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The JBJ Soul Kitchen Pop-up café at the Ocean County Library has received an extension, just days before its lease was to end.

The extension, through April 30, was approved Wednesday at a meeting of the Ocean County Library Commission, which decides what entities can use the small space attached to the library's main branch on Washington Street in Toms River.

The commission's vote to approve the extension was unanimous, according to several people who attended the meeting.

"The JBJ Soul Kitchen Pop-Up was established at the invitation of the Ocean County Library to expand JBJ Soul Kitchen’s presence into another area of the Toms River community, where the unhoused population in the downtown area has continued to grow," the foundation said in a statement announcing the lease extension.

"The timing of the Pop-Up closely aligned with Code Blue season, a period from November through March when freezing temperatures create life-threatening conditions for individuals without shelter," the foundation said.

The lease had been set to expire on Friday, in the middle of the Code Blue season and in the midst of a deep cold snap that is expected to continue into next week.

The extension came as residents and local groups advocated for the cafe to remain in place because of the growing community need.

The library staff spoke out as well, walking out of the library in protest on Jan. 21, according to multiple reports including Toms River Online.

"I want to thank the community of downtown Toms River for embracing our Soul Kitchen model," said Dorothea Bongiovi, founder of JBJ Soul Kitchen. "The outpouring of encouragement and support has been incredibly humbling."

The café, which is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., served more than 13,500 meals since it opened Feb. 11, 2025, with 78 percent of those meals going to people in need, the foundation said.

In addition, the café has community partners whose volunteers work with people in need who come in for meals, the foundation said. Over the last 11 months, they have assisted roughly 40 people who have been without housing long-term. There have been 210 referrals to service providers facilitated, with in 11 people successfully placed in housing and nine people securing employment. They also distributed more than 1,275 hygiene kits, the foundation said.

The café has been at the center of a dispute between Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick and the Ocean County Board of Commissioners, with Rodrick accusing the county of dumping homeless people in the downtown area last spring. He called the café a "soup kitchen," but the cafe operates on a different model, with paying customers who "pay it forward" and cover meals for those in need, while those in need volunteer in exchange for their food.

At one point Rodrick threatened legal action against nonprofits that were assisting those in need.

"From the very beginning, this Pop-Up was about responding to a real and growing need in downtown Toms River," said Rob Wood, the assistant general manager of the café. "The library staff, our partners, and community members showed up and advocated for our guests. This extension is a direct result of that collective effort, and we are incredibly grateful."

"I am also grateful for the opportunity to work with so many dedicated nonprofits," Bongiovi said. "Your commitment and tenacity, coupled with compassion, are an inspiration. Together, we focused on building meaningful, lasting solutions rather than temporary fixes."

"And if, at the end of the day, we were able to treat our neighbors with a little more kindness, dignity, and respect, that in itself is powerful," she said.