The beloved Anthony’s Restaurant and Catering on Sunday February 5th at 12:31 am was forced to close due to a kitchen fire that also caused a temporary evacuation of residents in apartments above the restaurant. The Bernardsville Fire Company reported on its Facebook page that responders reached the scene in minutes and “the fire was quickly controlled and prevented from spreading”. The fire was contained to the pizzeria however the adjoining business Mino’s Cafe and the apartments living above the business had smoke get into them. Residents in the apartments were evacuated and evaluated by Bernardsville EMS crews and all areas of the building were searched. However there were no structural damages to the buildings, mostly damages to appliances.
On Thursday, February 9th, Bernardsville Fire Chief Chuck Ferrante said firefighters were on the scene within four minutes of being called. “We had water on the fire within 10 minutes of dispatch,” he said. “We had the fire under control at 12:50.”New Jersey Hill reports that Fire Chief Chuck Ferrante had said “the fire was initially called in by occupants who saw flames coming from a roof vent. They then went around and saw through the window that the fire was in the area of the oven.”
The fire caused “fairly extensive” damage to Anthony’s according to the owners who said their plans of reopening and moving forward are up in the air. In a tweet they posted they said “The damage is fairly extensive and my plans moving forward remain a question at this time. Hoping this is just temporary but my gut tells me that maybe it’s time to move on to another location. I’ll keep you posted as decisions are made. In the meantime, thanks for your support over the last several years.”
Charlie Gonella ‘24 was working earlier that day and said nothing seemed off earlier that day that could have pointed to this happening. Currently he does not know what their plan of action is or if his job still remains. He hasn’t been informed if any repairs are going to be made.
Formerly Marianna’s Pizza cafe Anthony’s was opened at the site under new ownership in 2014. Steven Prince, the current owner, had previously worked as a general manager at the Ridge Tavern. Anthony’s was well known in Bernardsville for its friendly service and good food at reasonable prices. Dozens of residents expressed support for the business on its Facebook page upon learning about the fire.
“So sorry, we are hoping things will resolve quickly for you, look forward to a reopening, regardless of location we will be there!” one woman posted
Fellow BHS students have expressed their devastation of Anthony’s burning down. Taejin Beckerman ‘23 expressed that “When [he] heard about Anthony’s burning down [he] was devastated”
Mark Tamke ‘23 who currently works there said “Anthony’s burning down came as a shock to me and I am very devastated because especially now because my main source of income is gone”
