'You just have to care:' Brothers bring coffee, pizza shops to New Jersey hotel

ASBURY PARK, N.J. – Most people would take one look at what Albie and Chris Manzo are planning for Asbury Park's Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel and walk away. 

They have taken on quite a job: Revamp the dining scene at the hotel, an iconic city building built nearly 100 years ago, without erasing its history.

But the brothers are all in, and their newest additions – Cenzo, a coffee shop, and Rewind Pizzarama, a pizzeria, opened Friday. These follow the quiet fall opening of Bang Bang, an Asian-inspired gastropub, and a pop-up from Patsy's Italian Restaurant in New York City, and precede the introduction of Johnny and June, a lounge and event space dedicated to Johnny Cash, who once invested in what was then known as The Berkeley Carteret Oceanfront Hotel.

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"It's a lot to take on at once," 34-year-old Albie said on a recent weekday while walking the hotel, which looks out over Ocean Avenue and the waterfront. "It's an easy place to get swept up in and addicted to. You really have to have the attitude to do what it takes to get it done.

"We're going to do it the best we can," he said. "You just have to care."

He and Chris are calling on a lifetime in the hospitality industry – their family owns The Brownstone in Paterson, New Jersey – and on television (their mother is Caroline Manzo of "Real Housewives of New Jersey," and both brothers appeared on the show), to bring their vision to life. 

"Being on TV and in catering taught us to be creative," Albie said. "Going into a place and seeing what we can do with it – it's like Christmas. The new aspects of this place ... are exciting. What can we make this? What can we make that?

"We're really tailor-made for it," he said. "If we do our job right here, it's the kind of place people are excited to come to."

The Manzos' partnership with the historic hotel began in summer 2020. Both brothers relocated from North Jersey to be close to the project.

"I moved here to become part of the community," said Chris, 31. "We don't know how to operate without involving the community."

"We really try to immerse ourselves in a culture, no matter where we are," Albie said. "There's a sense of obligation to do this thing, but also to make everybody proud."

The new additions

To experience what the Manzos and their team – including chef Pete Fischbach and manager Urbano Steriti – have done, wind your way through the lobby and pause in the forthcoming Museum Cafe. Here, they plan to display historical photos and hotel memorabilia.

Keep walking and arrive at Cenzo, a coffee bar and breakfast, dessert and grab-and-go spot, which shares space with Rewind Pizzarama where Fischbach is making 12-inch Roman flatbreads called pinsas. 

Next is Bang Bang, where "we took a pub menu and applied different (Asian cuisines) and just made fun, funky food," Fischbach said. Think wings with sambal aioli and pickled carrots, bahn mi and beef bulgogi burgers, sweet and sour mushroom tacos, and Kobe strip steak with yuzu butter.

They designed Bang Bang to feel both intimate and roomy, with socially distanced dining nooks leaving plenty of room to spread out.

"We wanted to create a space for people who haven't gone out in a year, where they would feel comfortable," Steriti said. 

They made more room for Bang Bang by accident, after opening a door off the dining room and finding a storage area. 

"We're trying to make use of every space," Albie said, adding that the team has spent a lot of time digging through closets, unearthing artwork, and moving furniture around the hotel. "We're not afraid to get our hands dirty."

Aside from dining, the brothers handle the hotel's events and envision concierge services that show guests all the city has to offer. 

"A hotel itself should be a hub for everything that's going on, if you want a surfing lesson, if you want a music lesson, from where to get a snow cone to where to get a haircut," Albie said.

"We're trying to make it perfect for what Asbury needs, for what our guests need," Chris said. 

Henry Vaccaro of Neptune, who purchased and restored The Berkeley Carteret Hotel in the 1980s, shared his thoughts on the brothers' plans in a July 2020 letter to the editor in the Asbury Park Press, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.   

"I was curious as to what was planned, so I reached out to Albie and Chris Manzo and met with them and their family and was blown away by the total commitment in carrying on that tradition," Vaccaro wrote. "For me, this is the first time in over 25 years that I can say I'm proud to return to The Berkeley."

It is comments like this that keep Albie going. 

"I'm insanely proud when someone comes in and says, 'I hear what you're doing,' " he said. "This place really does mean a lot, and we want it to be this place that you come that's transformative.

"It's a challenge," he said of the journey, but "it's really something we're embracing."

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com.