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Ross Brewing's Oystout, brewed with oysters, supports the American Littoral Society's oyster restoration. No, it doesn't taste like oysters.

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — In John Ross Coccozza's world, water is central to much of what he does. He and his family live on the Shrewsbury River and love to spend time swimming, boating and sailing.

Water also is critical to his hobby-turned-business of brewing beer, as the main ingredient needed to produce each brew. So it only seemed natural for his company, Ross Brewing, to collaborate with the American Littoral Society to support Operation Oyster, the society's efforts to rebuild oyster reefs in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers.

The idea arose at an event at Sandy Hook, when he mentioned to a couple of Littoral Society staff members that he was planning to open a brewery.

"We like craft beer," they told him. As they talked about the oyster restoration project, he realized he wanted to be involved.

"These oysters clean the water," Coccozza said. "We all should be doing everything we can to support this."

And what better way, he said, than brewing a beer using oysters.

While the thought of making beer with oysters may give some people pause, Oystout does not taste the way you might think it would. It's an oatmeal chocolate roasted stout with a touch of saltiness, like sea salt, with less sweetness and lower alcohol by volume, at 6 percent, than is typical for a stout.

"We wanted to bring it (the alcohol content) down because we didn't want it to be overly boozy," Coccozza said. "We wanted people to be able to drink more than one."

The salinity from the oysters provides that sea salt taste, but it does not taste like oysters. It is a pleasant, smooth beer to enjoy with dinner or after. (And yes, I tried it and enjoyed it.)

Ross Brewing is donating a portion of the proceeds from the sales of the beer to the Littoral Society's oyster rebuilding efforts.

"We’re very excited about the partnership," said Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society. "It's very cool to have a beer developed to support our environmental work. It's unique."

Having it be the support of a local business is even more meaningful, he said.

"A lot of our work is at the community level," Dillingham said. "This project is iconic in that sense; it symbolizes a lot of what we are trying to do."

The combination of the donations from the beer's sales along with the awareness it will raise are important, Dillingham said, because the project's costs are not small: The initial phases of Operation Oyster in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers are estimated to cost $50,000 to $100,000.

"The fact that he is going to donate some of the proceeds is tremendous," Dillingham said. "It’s great to have a steady partner who’s in it with us for the long haul."

Coccozza's foray into the oyster stout isn't a huge leap for Ross Brewing, as its signature beers are named for New Jersey rivers: Raritan Rye, Shrewsbury Lager, Navesink IPA, Manasquan Witbier and Passaic Porter — a reminder of how much he loves the water.

The brewery, which is not open yet, is on Compton Creek off Sandy Hook Bay. It occupies the former Shoal Harbor Lobster Company building next to the Belford Seafood Co-op, where he sources the oysters for the Oystout. Ross Brewing has received its certificate of occupancy for the building, but he is waiting for the state to approve the microbrewery license.

While he waits to brew in his own facility, Coccozza said Ross Brewing produces its beers through contract brewing, where they pay other breweries to take their ingredients and recipe and produce the beer for them.

"If they have empty tanks that aren't being used, it gives them income," Coccozza said, adding it's a common practice in the microbrew community. That community has been a huge help to him as he has launched the brand and the brewery, from giving him insight into the costs of raw materials to advice on quality control as they scale up the volume of beer they are producing.

He works in corporate finance, just recently taking a position at Orveon, a cosmetics company.

"I've always maintained a connection to entrepreneurship," he said. He was homebrewing beer in college, and in 2009 owned a pair of pubs that served only craft beers. But when he turned 40, he decided to pursue opening the brewery. Ross Brewing launched in December 2019, after receiving its license in New York. In New Jersey, Ross Brewing beers are distributed in Monmouth and Ocean counties, and he said distribution is set to expand to the Philadelphia area in the near future.

"My wife was happy to get all of the equipment out of the garage," Coccozza said with a laugh.

The collaboration with the Littoral Society isn't a one-off; Ross Brewing is working to collaborate with other nonprofits and community groups that could use a boost, because he believes building the brand happens as it becomes entwined in the community.

"A lot of times craft brewing will go into an undeveloped area," he said, noting that as people become more familiar with it, the area will grow in response. "That happens faster when we're engaged with the community around us."

Coccozza said posts on the brewery's Instagram page seeking contacts from organizations that would like to collaborate drew a tremendous response, giving them a lot of possibilities of groups they can help.

Once the taproom opens they will have one tap per week dedicated to a nonprofit chosen by the brewery's staff, with the profits from that draft line going to the nonprofit of choice, he said.

"Craft beer has grown to more than 10 percent of the (beer) market," Coccozza said. "There’s more attention, more shelf space devoted to them now."

That creates an opportunity to use that space and access to highlight organizations that are doing good in the community.

"We don’t want to be separate," he said. "We want to be a part of it to help our community thrive."

Oystout received a public promotion at the Littoral Society's Lobster Run 5K on the boardwalk in Asbury Park on April 29, to help bring awareness to the oyster project.

A second brew using oysters, called Oyster Gose, is in the works, he said. It's a German beer style that is light in alcohol, and has a salty flavor. He hopes it will help continue the efforts to highlight Operation Oyster.

"Two million people on the planet are going to bed thirsty," Coccozza said, adding "those of us on the water see the effects of pollution and declines in water quality."

"Anything we can do to bring awareness to this cause is good for all of us," he said.

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For a place that was only around for 15 years, it might as well have been 50 for the way people loved it.

The Chatterbox in Sussex County had an iconic feel the way the Circus Drive-In did in Wall. I wrote about this place last year when it was announced the owner was shutting down. A place like that didn't lend itself to take-out only in the middle of the pandemic.

It was a '50s-themed place with a classic car right in the middle of the circular throwback restaurant. Old movie posters were on the walls and a model train chugged overhead on a suspended railroad that kids loved. Thursday nights brought in bikers. It even drew in a celebrity here and there, like when Henry "The Fonz" Winkler would show up.

It all came crashing down, literally, in March of this year. It was demolished and hauled away. As I told you last year, a Wawa was taking its place. That day is here.

At 1 Route 15 in the Augusta section of Frankford Township a groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday morning. The construction of the new Wawa will finally be underway. It's expected the store will open for business in the summer of 2022.

Turns out this is the very first Wawa to ever open in Sussex County. Which makes sense considering how historically Wawa was a South Jersey thing and Sussex is our northernmost county.

“We look forward to opening our first store in Sussex County and can’t wait to connect with new neighbors and have a reunion with friends who are part of the newest and most northern New Jersey communities we serve,” Jason Read, Wawa’s director of store operations, told NJ.com.

Get this. The competition is right across the street. A QuickChek opened just a few days before the Chatterbox closed down. So they had well over a year's headstart. Where the rumbling engines of classic cars and motorcycles used to compete for looks now chain convenience stores will compete for business.

Hey, at least it's not condominiums.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now:

FRANKFORD -- So long Fonzie, hello Wawa.

The Chatterbox Drive-in, a 1950s/60s-themed restaurant, has reached a sale agreement with the Pennsylvania-based convenience retail store chain, restaurant co-owner Don Hall said.

The deal hinges on the township's Land Use Board approving Wawa's building plan, an outcome that would end the restaurant's 14-year run.

"Everybody's sorry to hear. I guess if everybody was happy to hear about it, I'd be in a different predicament," Hall said on Sunday.

Hall estimated that the restaurant will remain open for at least another year, as the board has yet to hold a hearing.

The Chatterbox is known for bike nights on Thursdays, classic car shows on Saturdays and celebrity appearances by favorites such as the Fonz, aka actor Henry Winkler, from TV's 'Happy Days.' His visit in 2013 drew a couple of thousand fans.

The 6,000-square-foot restaurant features a rotating series of vintage vehicles in the middle of the dining area. Model trains run on a track above the tables and dozens of movie posters and other memorabilia adorn the walls.

"We're a burger, shakes and fries place. It's 'Happy Days,' 'American Graffiti' and 'Back to the Future' all rolled into one," Hall said.

Wawa is a chain of more than 750 retail stores in six states offering fresh foods such as cheesesteak hoagies, breakfast sandwiches, soups, sides and snacks, in addition to coffee and other beverages. About two-thirds of its stores sell gasoline, according to the company's website.

Asked about the Chatterbox sale, Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce said the company does not discuss new store locations until all permits are approved and construction is scheduled.

"At this point, Wawa is not directly involved in the land development process, but we are certain that the developer working on the project will work with the town and location officials to protect the shared interests of the community and the township as the project is considered," Bruce said.

The 10.87-acre tract housing the Chatterbox was valued at $1,352,400 as of 2016, according to state records.

It previously was home to another restaurant, known as Sonny's, and was purchased in 2003 for $1.45 million.

Wawa is expanding in New Jersey and will open stores in South Toms River, South Brunswick and Somserset by year's end, Bruce said.

In August, Wawa debuted a store in Ewing, in Mercer County.

If the proposal wins approval in Frankford, Wawa will gain a foothold in one of Sussex County's most visible locations.

The Chatterbox is in the half-mile region known as Ross' Corner, where Routes 15 and 206 intersect with Route 565. The annual Sussex County fair, the region's biggest draw, is nearby, along with a 4,200-seat baseball stadium housing the Sussex County Miners.

Hall said that Wawa reached out to him some time ago asking if he would be interesting in selling.

"The timing was getting right," said Hall, adding that his primary motive in buying the site in 2003 was as a real estate investment.

Before opening the restaurant, Hall, 63, worked as a food services distributor for Sysco.

The Chatterbox had a burst of national attention in 2014, when it was featured on the pilot episode of 'Junk Food Flip.'

The hosts modified the restaurant's Big Bad John sandwich by substituting leaner pork for pulled BBQ pork, and spaghetti squash for mac 'n cheese.

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Mayor Carol Bianchi presented Ridge High School senior Melissa Johnson with this year's Mayor's Arts Award for a student.

Bernards resident Ann Cade said this is the second year she has contributed artwork to the Bernards Township Community Art Show.

Photography by James Furst at the Bernards Township Community Art Show, on display at the EEC in Basking Ridge.

"Acorns," by Basking Ridge artist Meeta Garg, is one of the pieces that will be displayed at the Bernards Twp. Community Art Show through April 20 at the Environmental Education Center.

Brooks Betz, a trustee of the Historical Society of the Somerset Hills, with a coloring book on local history that was illustrated by Linda Arnold (rear, left).

A crowd gathered Saturday for the Mayor's Arts Awards and also for the opening of the Community Art Show that will remain open at the EEC through April 20.

Linda Arnold of Liberty Corner by two of her own pieces of art. She has volunteered for many arts programs and illustrated a Somerset Hills history coloring book.

BERNARDS TWP., NJ _ This year's recipients of the Mayor's Arts Awards, honored at the opening of the month-long Community Arts Show at the Environmental Education Center in Basking Ridge, not only brought visual and musical arts to the community, but also generously volunteered their talents to enrich the lives of children and adults.

The presentation of the awards by Mayor Carol Bianchi last weekend coincided with the opening of the annual the nonjuried show of art pieces by township residents -- many of them inspired by nature -- which will remain on display at the EEC daily through April 20. The county-owned EEC is located at 190 Lord Stirling Road in Basking Ridge.

Linda Arnold of Liberty Corner, one of two individuals and a local organization named in the fifth annual round of the mayor's awards, has long shown her own paintings around town. But along with concentrating on her own work, she has also volunteered with the township Parks and Recreation Department for 15 years to be instrumental in bringing about several department-sponsored programs and events, Bianchi said before presented Arnold with her award.

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A recent project of Arnold's was to provide the illustrations of historic sites and moments in the Historical Society of Somerset Hills History coloring book, with a portrayal of Basking Ridge's ancient white oak tree on the cover. So far, more than 400 of the coloring books displaying Arnold's drawings have been sold, and the books have been provided to every third grade child in Bernards Township, according to the awards information.

"It was a pleasure working with everyone in this room," Arnold said after receiving the award.

The Friends of Boudinot-Southard Ross and the Ross Farm in Basking Ridge were nominated and chosen for this year's award going to a local organization that has fostered the arts.

Although the group of "dedicated volunteers" from Basking Ridge have brought to life much of the history that played itself out at the Somerset County-owned historic site, the group also has presented music and other cultural events at the Ross Farm in the past decade or so.

'Friends' combined music and history and the arts

"We combined the musical and history and the arts," said David Becker, president of the Friends group. He noted that when the organization began its support of the estate and farm in 2007, some of their first efforts involved putting arts on the walls of the estate and bringing live harpsichord music to welcome visitors.

"The arts are integrated in what we do," Becker said. He added the group believes the arts are a way for people to connect.

In 2012, the group hosted their first concert which quickly became an annual event and eventually a concert series at the property, located at 135 N. Maple Ave.

"The Friends have continued each year to expand cultural arts offerings at the Ross Farm, which have included ARTSee Exhibits, pottery demonstrations, a photo and uniform display as part of Military History Day, and a Colonial Day for [the township's] fourth grade curriculum complete with colonial games and crafts," Bianchi said prior to presenting the award to Becker on behalf of the organization.

This year's student award went to Ridge senior Melissa Johnson

This year's Mayor's Arts Award for a student went to Ridge High School senior Melissa Johnson, who also combined dedication to the arts with volunteerism that has impacted the lives of hundreds of children.

"Melissa's love of music has led her to participation in several local theater productions and choir groups, including Plays in the Park, Trilogy Repertory's Children Participation Theater and the Ridge High School a capella choir," Bianchi said before presenting the Ridge student with her award.

Along with performing herself, Melissa has pitched in with such backstage activities as preparing rehearsal materials, set building and making up cast sheets, along with "anything else that needs doing. She is a great role model for the other cast members."

"Hundreds of children have benefited from Melissa's positive music instruction through her work with In Tune and Vacation Bible School at Bishop Janes United Methodist Church, and her Girl Scout Silver Award Project "Camp Superstar," a summer drama camp for children of all abilities hosted at the Bernards Township Library.

The Ridge student also is a volunteer member for the local group, Parents for Exceptional Children, and the Saturdays in Motion program at the Somerset Hills YMCA, as well as being a member of such student clubs as Ridge Against Alcohol and Drugs, the Ridge Drama Club, and the Ridge American Sign Language Club.

After receiving the award, Melissa said, "Thank you."

The Community Art Show is sponsored by the Bernards Township Parks and Recreation Department. The exhibit will be open every day between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, it will be closed on Good Friday, April 19, and after the final day will not reopen on Easter, April 21.

New Jersey Herald

The hamlet of Papakating (later renamed Armstrong) is located in Frankford Township and was first settled in 1793 by Thomas Armstrong. The hamlet was situated at the intersection of Armstrong Road and Ross’ Corner-Sussex Road (County Route 565). Papakating has the Papakating Creek flowing through it, providing the needed water power for the gristmill around which this small hamlet grew.

On Aug. 26, 1851, the U.S. Post Office Department opened a facility in what was then referred to as Pepokating, and appointed Robert V. Armstrong as the first postmaster. Samuel Dennis, Zachariah H. Price and George N. Armstrong served in that capacity until Aug. 29, 1862 when the spelling of the name was altered to Papakating and Stephen J. Pellet was sworn in as the postmaster. Eight more postmasters served this office including Lester C. Brands who took over the post office on March 12, 1919. Four years later, on May 5, 1923, Brands was no longer postmaster as the Papakating Post Office was closed down and the area was thereafter serviced by the post office in Augusta.

In 1860, the hamlet boasted a gristmill, a blacksmith shop, one store with a post office, a school, and seven houses.

In 1870, 30 families were residing in the area in and around the hamlet, including the families of G. N. Armstrong, John B. Armstrong, and Robert V. Armstrong. During the last quarter of that century, the Lehigh and New England Railroad built a rail line in the eastern portion of the township and erected a small station there, making it one of five such stations on this railroad in Frankford Township.

In his 1887 Pocket Gazetteer of New Jersey, Frank Killenberger noted that Papakating was a post hamlet in Frankford, was two miles from the Augusta station on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, seven miles from Newton and had a population of 100.

The first time there was printed confirmation of a change in the name of the hamlet appeared in 1948, when the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders issued a new and updated county road map. The name Papakating has now been replaced with the name Armstrong.

The New Jersey Herald noted that early in December 1896, the firm of Dewitt and Sutton were awarded a contract to construct the creamery in Papakating for the Lehigh and New England Railroad Company. The newspaper published a notice in late February 1897 that construction on the creamery had proceeded so fast that the facility would be open and in full operation by April 1.

The May 31, 1912 issue of the Sussex Independent noted that on May 29 the Bordens Condensed Milk Company purchased and took possession of the Roe creamery at Papakating. Bordens had plans to immediately begin a significant expansion of the milk processing plant. At the time of the acquisition, Grant Denison was employed as the individual responsible for keeping the boiler room functioning.

In the middle of January 1903, the Bordens Condensed Milk Company acquired a parcel of land adjacent to the creamery from R. W. Pellet. Apparently, this additional land was needed to accommodate the plant expansion that the company wanted to undertake.

An unfortunate accident was reported by the New Jersey Herald on April 12, 1903. The framework for the creamery expansion was blown down during a major storm. Obviously, this set the timetable for opening the expanded plant back dramatically.

The Herald noted in January 1905 that the icehouse for the creamery had already received the first cutting of ice from the adjacent pond.

In July 1907, the Sussex County Dairymen’s League was organized. This organization provided the county dairy farmers a united voice in trying to get an increase in what they were getting paid for the raw milk they delivered to the creameries they were associated with. As a result of their efforts, the 2 ¾ cents per quart of milk they had been getting paid was raised by a quarter of a cent to 3 cents per quart delivered.

The Herald ran a major headline about the fact that the Bordens creameries at Branchvillle and Papakating, and the large creamery at Augusta owned by T.O. Smith & Sons, took in 25,000 cans of milk for the month of December 1911. That number of cans equates to slightly more than one million quarts of milk being processed and shipped in a single month.

The Papakating creamery welcomed a new state milk inspector to its facility when Fred Clayton arrived in November 1912. These inspectors were responsible to inspecting and certifying that the sanitary conditions of the creamery complied with state standards, that the actual processing of the raw milk was being handled appropriately.

In 1914, the Bureau of Creamery and Dairy Inspections of the State Board of Health listed 30 creameries being registered in Sussex County. This list identified the Papakating creamery as being designated a “receiving station” for raw milk from local dairy farmers.

It should be mentioned that 1914 was the first time since 1897 that the state legislature passed a law that significantly strengthened the ability of the inspectors from the Bureau of Creamery and Dairy Inspections to enforce sanitary standards on both dairy farmers and creameries. Particularly, the law established minimal standards for cow milking stalls in terms of the amount of natural light required per stall, cleanliness of each stall and sanitizing processes for the equipment used in milking each cow. This new law also required each dairy farmer to provide the bureau a certification from a New Jersey licensed veterinarian as to the health of each individual cow in the dairy herd on an annual basis.

In terms of the creameries the 1914 law required the state inspectors to conduct numerous and on-going inspections of these facilities throughout the year. The inspectors had the authority to shut down a creamery if they found out that there was a significant deficiency in maintaining sanitary conditions in the handling and processing of the raw milk received. Additionally, the inspectors would routinely check the equipment used to sanitize the large steel milk cans or glass bottles used to ship the processed milk.

In late February 1918, the newspapers were reporting that the milk being delivered to the Papakating creamery was being shipped directly to New York City in large milk cans. This effectively eliminated the actual processing of the milk at the local level, relying on the large facilities in the city to handle to actual processing and pasteurization of the milk. In switching over to this method of handling the milk, it effectively eliminated from 15 to 20 jobs, leaving only three employees to operate the plant. This caused a lot of hard feelings on the part of the employees as they had been previously told that they would be working throughout the winter.

In May of that year, there was yet another major concern for the employees when Bordens announced that it planned on closing 50 of its creameries in May and June. Fortunately for Sussex County, the only creamery they closed down was in Allamuchy in Warren County.

In January 1919 there was another milk strike in Sussex County. The problems began when Bordens, Sheffield Farms and Horton & Lewis cut the prices they were paying for milk. The dairymen in the county called for a strike on the delivery of their milk to creameries. In turn, a total of 26 creameries in the county had to close down for lack of milk to process. At that time, there were about 20,000 milk cows in Sussex County that produced roughly 11,200 40-quart cans of milk each day. Not a trifling amount of milk production.

By the end of January the strike had ended and the dairy farmers won the price they had demanded for their milk.

In 1920, Dolson Ayers was employed at the creamery and was responsible for operating the pasteurizing machinery. Ayers would have had direct contact with any of the inspectors from the State Bureau of Creamery and Dairy Inspections who visited the Papakating plant.

One part of the operation of a creamery that had to take place by the end of February was to make sure that the icehouse had been filled to capacity for the upcoming year. Quite often, a creamery would have an ice pond on their property so that they would be able to easily obtain the requisite amount of ice needed for the ensuing 12 months of operations. Papakating was such a facility. With a large pond located immediately west of the creamery buildings.

Good news for the creamery arrived in April 1926, when management of the plant had successfully induced more of the local dairy farmers to bring their milk to the plant. The dairymen had been taking this raw milk elsewhere but also realized that the trip to creameries further away from their farms was taking a toll on their trucks and other transportation equipment.

For the next 14 years, operations at the Papakating creamery continued without any great deal of variation until late 1940. It was at this point that the newspapers noted that milk that would normally be processed at this creamery was now being delivered over to the new creamery at Branchville for processing. This would indicate that operations at the Papakating plant had effectively come to an end.

The closing of the creamery in this small hamlet in Frankford was yet another harbinger of hard times that the traditional dairy industry was experiencing. The fact that milk was shipped in bulk by both the railroads and long distance trucking to very large processing plants in cities essentially brought to an end the relationship local dairy farmers had with the individuals and local companies that bought their product and processed it right here in Sussex County.

Sussex County Historical Society President Wayne T. McCabe is the history columnist for the New Jersey Herald and may be contacted at [email protected]