The New Jersey native who continues to give back to his most die hard fans, has now converted an old auto-body shop into a community restaurant.
I’ve always been amazed by what pride and loyalty New Jersey natives have for their home state. When New Jerseyans aren’t getting the state’s outline tattooed to their body they’re usually bragging about James Gandolfini’s acting chops, and according to Death and Taxes’ NJ resident Matt Kiebus, Giants and Jets games are often preceded by drunken Springsteen-singing tailgate parties which start hours before kick-off.
Admittedly, for a fairly small, oft-ridiculed state, the Garden State has produced a huge number of successful people—Michael Douglas and Jon Bon Jovi for example, still claim the hearts of middle-aged women who experienced the 80′s, both in and out of New Jersey. If you ignore the cast of the “Jersey Shore,” New Jersey has arguably made more valuable cultural contributions per capita than any other northeastern state.
But of all the home-state heroes, Jon Bon Jovi has consistently given the most back to his childhood home. Last week, the “Livin’ on a Prayer” singer opened a community restaurant in Red Bank that will serve mostly organic, local food such as “cornmeal crusted catfish with red beans and rice, grilled chicken breast with homemade basil mayo and rice pilaf, and grilled salmon with soul seasonings, sweet potato mash and sauteed greens.”
But unlike most celebrity restaurants, the food at The Soul Kitchen comes without a price tag. The Kitchen asks a $10 suggested minimum for a three-course meal, but if customers can’t swing $10 they’re asked to pay by volunteering at the restaurant or somewhere else in the community.
“When I learned that one in six people in this country goes to bed hungry, I thought this was the next phase of the Foundation’s work,” JBJ told the AP, referring to his organization, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which recently built 260 homes for low-income residents.
“This is not a soup kitchen,” said JBJ, who President Barack Obama appointed to the White House Council for Community Solutions in 2010. “You can come here with the dignity of linens and silver, and you’re served a healthy, nutritious meal. This is not burgers and fries.”
Quite an evolution for a guy who made his career with an album called “Slippery When Wet.”
Maybe there’s more to this Jersey pride thing than meets the eye.
October 24, 2011 at 5:30 pm, Seriously? said:
“New Jersey has arguably made more valuable cultural contributions per capita than any other northeastern state.”
Arguably the sun appears to move around the earth.
New Jersey gets a bad rap for sure, but arguing it has made more contributions to the culture of the U.S is pushing it dangerously. There is no doubt that New Jersey is a rising star in terms of cultural prominence in the last thirty years, but it’s got a lot to catch up to its bigger brothers who started defining what it was to be American over 230 years ago.
October 24, 2011 at 8:13 pm, Sugarcube20 said:
Is that all you picked up from this????
October 25, 2011 at 1:54 pm, William Paterson's Raging Id said:
Wait, what? Is that you, Captain Sillypants?
October 25, 2011 at 5:45 pm, joseph said:
The post may have a point but on what is posted alone, there’s not much substance without describing what these other big brothers are and some of what they have done.
October 25, 2011 at 7:01 pm, Carla said:
The substance of the article IS the point…seriously! Jon rocks!
October 25, 2011 at 1:44 pm, Maria said:
Good for you Jon! High fives all the way…. you rock!!
October 25, 2011 at 6:56 pm, Mirabel said:
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! Love you Jon, and thanks for the article D&T!
October 26, 2011 at 12:23 am, Araxie said:
I think Bon Jovi’s joined my list of celebrities whose art doesn’t interest me, but whom I like very much as people. If you ask me, there are more cases now of celebrities using their status and money for good than there ever has been before, which to me is very encouraging indeed.
October 26, 2011 at 1:00 am, ELo said:
Awesome. It’s not the first of it’s kind though. We’ve had one in Salt Lake City for years: http://www.oneworldeverybodyeatsfoundation.org/
October 15, 2012 at 4:36 am, Link tag Tuesday #54 – Exploded flowers, a famous plumber and a look at the new super-power, Google said:
[...] a big fan of Bon Jovi, so I was pleased to hear the news that Jon Bon Jovi has opened a community restaurant in New Jersey (not Jersey as the title suggests, although that would be cool and a bit closer for [...]