Stony's restaurant, which had its grand opening on Oct. 27, is a new hidden gem in South Orange.
Stony's owner, Jeffrey Stonewall Johnson, aka "Stony," opened the restaurant with one goal in mind: to have a place where college students can sit down and eat in a relaxing, intimate environment.
"All our ingredients are delivered fresh every morning from the local bakery and butcher shops and made fresh when ordered," said Johnson.
Stony's looks simple from the outside and can be easily missed if you are not paying attention, but the inside of the restaurant is a very different story. It has a warm, intimate feel, which allows customers to relax and listen to great music, such as The Grateful Dead and Bob Marley, while waiting for their food. Overall, the restaurant has a college town vibe and makes customers feel welcomed even if it is their first time there.
Johnson admitted that Stony's got off to a slow start with Seton Hall students when the restaurant first opened. Now, however, he said that there are at least 30 students coming to Stony's to eat their specialty Fighter Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries almost every day.
"It doesn't taste like a diner burger," said sophomore Kevin Ertel. "It tastes like I had a burger from a barbecue."
Sophomore Matt Ashare agrees.
"It was the best burger I've ever had in South Orange," he said.
Sophomore Matt Cajuste first saw Stony's coming off the train in South Orange.
"At first I was a little hesitant to try it because it's a small place and I really didn't know anything about it," said Cajuste. "But I wasn't disappointed at all. The food was cooked to order and you can make it your own with all the choices they give you."
Stony's has many plans to try to be more involved in Seton Hall students' lives and how to make it easier for them to enjoy the food. Last month the restaurant began accepting Pirate's Gold. Additionally, Stony's will be delivering until 9 p.m. to the Seton Hall campus for students who cannot make the trip down to the restaurant.
Johnson's goal for Stony's was to create good food in a relaxing setting for the local college students and in a few months the restaurant has accomplished just that. While the menu might seem small at first glance, their quality cooking and the ability for customers to customize their own meal gives Stony's a whole meaning to the phrase "college-town restaurant."
Stony's is located on 10 Sloan St. right across the street from the Starbucks and the South Orange Train Station.
Nicolaos Diakos can be reached at nicolaos.diakos@student.shu.edu.
