Dec. 10, 2025, 2:12 p.m. ET
Broadway Hot & Honey Chicken, a locally owned chicken restaurant with three Momouth County locations and a fourth opening soon, is expanding to Ocean County.
The restaurant, founded by Michael Kelleher and Michael Falato of Manasquan, will open at 605 Long Beach Blvd. in Ship Bottom. It replaces Rare Co., a steak and seafood restaurant that closed in November.
The building, which is one block from the beach, is going to be completely overhauled, said Kelleher, who hopes to open by summer 2026.
“We are gutting the place: interior, exterior, complete renovation,” he said. “We want to make it a really cool vibe; we want it to fit the Nashville-style vibe we have in our other restaurants.”
The Broadway Hot & Honey Chicken restaurants, which play country music and are decorated with bright murals of musicians, serve sandwiches, chicken tenders with housemade sauces, wings, salads, wraps, fries and milkshakes. There are locations in Wall, Freehold Township, Middletown and Westfield, with others on the way at Oceanport’s RiverWalk Center at Fort Monmouth and in Lawrenceville.
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“We felt like the Manahawkin, LBI, Barnegat area is up and coming,” Kelleher said of the decision to expand to Ocean County. ” We have a lot of customers that drive up to Wall and are coming fom that area, and that alone let us know they want one of our locations down there.”
The Ship Bottom restaurant will feature a pick-up window, indoor and outdoor seating, and delivery on and off the island. It will be open year-round, and the menu will mirror that of the other restaurants.
“We want it to be a local spot for everyone, year-round,” Kelleher said.
The idea for the concept came to Kelleher following visits to Nashville, where he enjoyed the city’s famous hot sauce-dipped chicken.
“I’ve always loved their hot chicken down there and thought, ‘New Jersey’s missing out on this,’ ” Kelleher told The Asbury Park Press in 2023.
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, follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to her weekly newsletter.