Almost Home at Red General to open in Atlantic Highlands this fall

Sarah Griesemer, Asbury Park Press
Updated ·3 min read

The landmark red building at Navesink and Monmouth avenues in Atlantic Highlands, once home to a decades-old general store, soon will become a new breakfast, lunch and coffee spot featuring Southern-style dishes in the morning and sandwiches and salads at lunch.

Almost Home at Red General will open this fall in the recently vacated Big Mike's Little Red Store, which in 2018 replaced long-running general store, The Red Store. Chef Mike Metzner closed Big Mike's earlier this month to prepare his new venture, Saltwater Social Bar and Kitchen in Highlands, for a fall opening.

The fifth location of Almost Home, a coffee shop serving breakfast and lunch, will open in the Atlantic Highlands space previously occupied by Big Mike's Little Red Store.
The fifth location of Almost Home, a coffee shop serving breakfast and lunch, will open in the Atlantic Highlands space previously occupied by Big Mike's Little Red Store.

In Atlantic Highlands, "the concept is going to be ... a Southern style, sit-down breakfast model," owner Robbie Doran said, mentioning that dishes like shrimp and grits, hush puppies, chicken and waffles, and fried chicken biscuit sandwiches will be available beginning at 7 a.m. "I want Southern flavors, I want that comfort style of breakfast."

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"After 11:30, we're going to shut down breakfast and go straight to a la carte sandwiches and salads," he said, adding that the kitchen will be led by Marshall Williams, who is currently the chef at the Lincroft restaurant. "On top of that, we’re going to be putting in full coffee program: espresso, matcha, espresso-based drinks."

Current lunch dishes in Lincroft include a fried chicken sandwich with housemade ranch and hot honey on brioche, a grains and greens bowl with green goddess dressing, and a brisket and short rib burger with bacon and Gorgonzola mousse.

The Atlantic Highlands location represents a bit of a homecoming for Doran, who as a child attended the now-closed St. Agnes School in the borough.

An orange mocha latte from Almost Home General, the fifth location of which will open in October in Atlantic Highlands.
An orange mocha latte from Almost Home General, the fifth location of which will open in October in Atlantic Highlands.

"I went to St. Agnes on Avenue D, and my mom would bring me to (The Red Store) to get candy," said Doran, 34, who now lives in the Lincroft section of Middletown.

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Parmesan grits with Cajun grilled shrimp, hot honey, andouille and a buttermilk biscuit from Almost Home General, the fifth location of which will open in October in Atlantic Highlands.
Parmesan grits with Cajun grilled shrimp, hot honey, andouille and a buttermilk biscuit from Almost Home General, the fifth location of which will open in October in Atlantic Highlands.

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"(The space is) built out and ready to go, but I want to modernize it a little and also add my décor, what makes us different," he said.

Doran is planning a short renovation and hopes to open the restaurant, which will have a small number of seats, in early October.

This will be the fifth location for Almost Home, which Doran opened with Andrew Datre in the Lincroft section of Middletown in 2021. Almost Home Coffee in Sea Bright followed in 2022, then Doran partnered with Braxton Berrios of the Miami Dolphins for the Almost Home Coffee Cart inside Jersey City's Hudson House Lofts earlier this year. On Aug. 21, Doran opened Almost Home Coffee at the Seastreak ferry terminal in the Belford section of Middletown.

Go: 101 Navesink Ave., Atlantic Highlands; almosthomegeneral.com. (The restaurant is physically in the Navesink section of Middletown, with an Atlantic Highlands mailing address).

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.

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This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Almost Home at Red General will serve breakfast, lunch and coffee