Restaurant news: Popular Flagler Beach restaurant to open new Ormond Beach location

This Flagler Beach restaurant is expanding its oceanfront offerings to a new Ormond Beach location.

Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill, a community-wide staple for the last 13 years, is opening a second location — a project that has been in the works for nearly three years. The new Ormond Beach eatery, which will replace what was formerly Betty’s A1A Café, was a natural next step, fueled by a desire to do more, owner Johnny Lulgjuraj tells me.

The family-owned restaurant’s original location was formerly Manny’s Pizza, owned by Lulgjuraj’s father, until it was sold in 2005. Lulgjuraj, alongside his brother, Tony, took over several years later, re-opening the popular spot in 2011 as the now Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill.

When a near-identical, beachfront property went up for grabs down the road, Lulgjuraj knew he had to jump on it. However, what he didn’t anticipate was the time it would take to get the new restaurant up and running.

“We saw Betty's go up for sale, and we’re like ‘Oh man, that could be a real-deal competitor,’ and we get a lot of people from Ormond already that drive over here,” Lulgjuraj said. “We kind of looked at it as, it was a good opportunity, but we definitely didn’t understand the amount of work that was going to have to go into it.”

According to Lulgjuraj, various, ongoing delays with the city, as well as the unexpected need for full remodeling, describes only a fraction of what has hindered the restaurant’s long-awaited opening — one he confidently says will be well worth the wait.

“We always want to continue to elevate and reinvest into ourselves,” Lulgjuraj said.

“By us actually being able to be that property owner, it makes sense to continue to reinvest into the property and, more importantly, it’s where me and my family eat every single day. So, every day, I want that top-notch, that top-quality food and cleanliness.”

What is Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill?

A safe place, a no-brainer.

This, Lulgjuraj tells me, is what the restaurant hopes to be for the community — a staple that family and friends frequent, no matter the occasion, a spot with “oceans of flavor, oceans of fun, something for everyone.”

“We wanted to be that go-to spot where hey, if you have a date night, you can come and bring your girl, but you can also bring the kids, bring the family, 'cause that’s how we always grew up,” he said. “We always grew up in really big families, and I love that.”

Grab a bite at Oceanside

Known for its seven-days-a-week breakfast, lunch and dinner service, the beloved Flagler restaurant’s menu varies from comfort food staples to sweet, savory and made-fresh selections — not to mention a plethora of beer, wine and cocktail temptations.

“I have a full prep team that’s here all day long — breakfast, lunch and dinner — and we pride ourselves on never frozen meats,” Lulgjuraj said.

“Any of my beef products, my chicken products — we eat here every day, so I want to buy never-frozen. So, when we get stuff in, we prep it, we put it in marinades, you know? So, everything is pretty much made fresh daily.”

With a touch of culinary inspiration from across the globe, the eatery offers a plethora of breakfast selections and handhelds, ranging  from the Greek Gyro, the Sunrise Empanadas — bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, American cheese, black bean and corn salsa, kielbasa — and the Irish Benedict — toasted brioche bread, corned beef, over-easy eggs, and hollandaise sauce — to the cracker grouper sandwich, the Biker Burger, and the Corned Beef Slammer — sliced corned beef, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and coleslaw on toasted brioche bread.

Oceanside’s menu also offers a variety of pasta, steak and seafood plates, including George’s 12-ounce New York strip, Italian grilled chicken, tropical island salmon, shrimp 'n' grits, and Mama’s Lasagna.

“All our sauces, my marinara, all the stuff that we make in-house is old school recipes from my parents,” Lulgjuraj said.

“Like our grits … our grits stem from a 40-year-old recipe ... . Like I said, we eat here every day, so we want everything to be the best of the best.“

According to the restaurateur, the eatery’s menu is a thoughtfully curated combination of community-requested favorites and decades-old family recipes that have stood the test of time. Much like the original Oceanside, the restaurant’s second location will offer rotating weekly features to gauge what customers are craving.

“We always start with what we know, what our core is,” Lulgjuraj said.

“Like any menu, over time things get stale, so that’s why we have an executive chef — so every week or two weeks, you’ll see a new half-a-dozen items were trying out … . Over time, we'll develop a menu that really suits the locals.”

What to expect at Oceanside's new location

In alliance with the original Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill, Lulgjuraj says the new eatery’s customer service, cleanliness and quality is of the upmost importance, as well its transparency with the community — a necessity he says ensures the best possible dining experience for customers.

“Our goal is, you know, we make food how we like it served, and we hope that you love it,” Lulgjuraj explained.

“We genuinely care about what you say … . If you like something seasoned really well or you like this or that, it’s better to just be a little more upfront with the servers. And our servers genuinely like that, our kitchen staff — they genuinely like that … because when you come through our doors, we want to treat you like family.”

Oceanside's Ormond eatery, a 13-minute drive down the road from the original, will offer the same stunning beachfront views that customers know and love in Flagler, Lulgjuraj says, while also allowing more flexibility for hosting special events at either space.

Lulgjuraj expressed his gratitude toward the kindness and understanding of Oceanside’s customers — an expansive group of loyal followers whose patience has persisted — and eagerly awaits welcoming them to the brand-new location.

“We’re not just in the food business, were in the people business,” he said.

“People come to restaurants usually to get away from their problems and get away from stress, and we’re here to serve them.”

Oceanside’s Ormond Beach location is currently hiring all positions. Those interested can apply online at 386jobs.com.

Oceanside Beach Bar and Grill is located at 1848 S. Ocean Shore Blvd. in Flagler Beach and is open 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily. Oceanside’s second restaurant plans to soft open by February and will be located at 1900 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach. For information, call 386-439-6345 or visit oceansideflagler.com.

Helena Perray is the restaurant and dining writer for The Daytona Beach News-Journal. A New Jersey native and passionate storyteller, she can be contacted at hperray@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook. Support local journalism by subscribing

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill to open new Ormond Beach restaurant