New Jersey
This amazing restaurant chain just opened another New Jersey location
It’s no secret that mom-and-pop family restaurants are fading away. Even diners are closing at an alarming rate. It’s harder and harder to be an individual operator of a restaurant here in our state.
The good news is that some of the national chains have come up with some pretty good menu ideas and very good food. One of those chains is growing on the East Coast and now boasts three New Jersey locations.
If you like Mediterranean food, you would love Mezeh. They have tons of locations in Virginia and Maryland and some in D.C., North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
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Dennis Malloy / Townsquare Media
They now have two locations in New Jersey with a third coming soon to Rockaway, Morris County. Over the weekend. I visited the Mount Laurel location. The food was very reasonably priced, fresh and delicious.
Dennis Malloy / Townsquare Media
They finally recently opened their Hamilton location on Marketplace Boulevard. Their long-awaited grand opening was earlier this month.
Mezeh is a word that can mean taste, flavor, nibble, relish, or even small plate in several different countries in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean.
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Dennis Malloy / Townsquare Media
The restaurant chain is the brainchild of Saleh Mohamadi, Steve Walker, and Tai Chiao, who wanted to provide customers with fresh, created-in-house daily, exceptionally crafted Mediterranean food at a great price in an environment that pushes the fast-casual envelope.
Dennis Malloy / Townsquare Media
You can choose from bowls, pitas or flatbread wraps. The menu comes with plenty of their concoctions, or you can build your own.
The best way to describe it is sort of a Chipotle, where you line up and choose your food as the server puts it together for you. The atmosphere is casual Mediterranean.
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Dennis Malloy / Townsquare Media
It would be unfair to call it fast food because it’s just so darn good! Service was friendly and efficient, and we will definitely be going back. It might not be a fine dining establishment, but the food and the service get an A+.
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Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.
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New Jersey
Garden State Equality director resigns amid child endangerment, assault charges
Christian Fuscarino resigned Tuesday as executive director of Garden State Equality amid charges of child endangerment and assault after an incident last month with a child in his Neptune City home.
“I resigned from Garden State Equality to ensure that the organization’s work is not impacted by a private family matter,” Fuscarino, a nationally recognized advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, said in a statement on social media.
“While my loved ones and I have been working through this moment together with care and love, the press has turned a deeply personal situation into a public headline,” Fuscarino said.
“Everyone involved is safe and navigating this situation responsibly,” he added.
Fuscarino asked that the matter “be seen for what it is: a private family moment, not a public spectacle.”
Fuscarino, 35, is charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child by a caretaker and two counts of simple assault, according to court documents.
An affidavit of probable cause alleges Fuscarino pulled the child from bed about 8 p.m. on Nov. 9 and struck the victim multiple times in the face with an open hand, pushing the child into a wall during the encounter.
The incident was captured on a home security video system, according to the affidavit.
The child was later taken to the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center in Freehold for a forensic interview. The child made no disclosure of physical abuse, the affidavit states.
However, another person living in the home told investigators they witnessed Fuscarino strike the child and intervened.
The state Division of Child Protection and Permanency obtained the video and notified the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office on Nov. 20.
A Neptune City police detective arrested Fuscarino on Nov. 21. The case has since been referred to the prosecutor’s office, court records show.
In a statement Tuesday, Garden State Equality said they had placed Fuscarino on leave after learning of the charges.
By Wednesday, Fuscarino’s bio on the Garden State Equality website had been removed.
“Garden State Equality takes allegations against our staff seriously and we oppose violence of any kind,” the agency said. “We respect the courts and will allow that process to be handled by them.”
Fuscarino had served since 2016 as the executive director of Garden State Equality, the largest LGBTQ+ organization in New Jersey, which is based in Asbury Park.
With 20 years of experience in LGBTQ+ advocacy, Fuscarino had been at the forefront of efforts to protect transgender rights, combat hate violence, and implement groundbreaking healthcare and education policies.
In a July 2018 story posted to NJ.com, Fuscarino said he wanted to dedicate his life to helping New Jersey’s LGBTQ+ community so that others would not have to suffer the indignities that he endured in adolescence.
New Jersey
10 hospitalized, including some students, after crash involving school bus in New Jersey
MOORESTOWN, N.J. (WPVI) — Ten people, including several students, were hospitalized Tuesday after a school bus crash in Burlington County, New Jersey.
The collision happened around 3 p.m. at Borton Landing and Hartford roads in Moorestown.
Township officials said in a Facebook post that a car and school bus collided at the intersection, injuring six students, the bus driver and three occupants of the passenger vehicle. All injuries appear to be minor, officials said.
“We have been made aware of a bus accident on one of our routes. There are no significant injuries for our students,” Moorestown Township Public Schools said in a statement.
The remaining students on the bus were taken to a nearby school, where they were picked up by family members.
School counselors will be available this week to provide additional support to students.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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New Jersey
Wrong-way driver charged in I-80 crash that injured N.J. State Police trooper
An alleged drunk, wrong-way driver was arrested following a crash on Interstate 80 in Warren County, officials said.
Robert Felegi was driving a pickup truck west in the eastbound lanes in Knowlton when he crashed head-on into a New Jersey State Trooper’s vehicle near milepost 1.4 around midnight Tuesday, State Police said.
The trooper had emergency lights and sirens activated while trying to alert motorists of a hazard ahead, authorities said.
The trooper suffered minor injuries, while Felegi was not hurt.
Felegi, 67, of Middleport, Pennsylvania, was charged with assault by auto and driving under the influence.
He was brought to the Warren County jail ahead of a detention hearing. An attorney for Felegi is not listed in court records.
investigation, and no additional information is available.
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