Toms River mayor says he wants Jon Bon Jovi’s charitable restaurant gone
The mayor of one New Jersey town says the charitable efforts of rock star Jon Bon Jovi and his wife are creating problems
By Christine Sloan
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New Jersey (WCBS/WLNY) — The mayor of one New Jersey town says the charitable efforts of rock star Jon Bon Jovi and his wife are creating problems, but others in the area say they’re not to blame.
JBJ Soul Kitchen helps serve those in need Through the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, the couple established JBJ Soul Kitchen, a nonprofit community restaurant that serves those in need with locations in Red Bank, Toms River, Newark and Jersey City.
“Where those who are unable to pay volunteer their time. Those who can pay, pay for their meal and donate to pay it forward,” Dorothea Bon Jovi said in an Instagram video.
In February, the couple opened a temporary pop-up food kitchen inside the Ocean County Library in Toms River, and the following month, Bon Jovi and his wife celebrated the milestone 200,000th meal served at their restaurants.
One patron named Michael, who has fallen on hard times and is unsheltered, says it has been a blessing.
“It’s something that you feel from the heart where someone has done something for the community,” he said.
“It’s just a really nice place for us when we are hungry,” a patron named Devon said.
Restaurant is making Toms River a haven for homelessness, mayor says
But the pop-up restaurant could be “livin’ on a prayer” if Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick has his way.
“I definitely want it gone, and I want the county to stop dropping people off in Toms River,” he said.
Rodrick says Bon Jovi’s restaurant is making his township a haven for people experiencing homelessness, claiming nonprofits are gathering people from across the state and bringing them to the township.
“We certainly don’t think that the library is a good place. The issue was never Bon Jovi. It was Ocean County Board of Commissioners who engaged with these nonprofits,” he said. “It’s a real safety concern. These folks aren’t vetted.”
Ocean County Commissioner Robert Arace said the county isn’t busing anyone to Toms River and that Bon Jovi’s pop-up will be at the library until May.
“He’s saying that incidents have increased? We have data that they have not increased. It is not a soup kitchen,” Arace said.
The Bon Jovis released a joint statement last week, saying, “The JBJ Soul Foundation and JBJ Soul Kitchen are committed to ending homelessness through real solutions. We are not here to just move people around or force them into the shadows. Our foundation has built nearly a thousand units of affordable and supportive housing.”
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