'Nothing gold can stay': Beloved Fiddleheads bistro in Jamesburg to serve final meal

A longtime restaurant in Jamesburg known for its eclectic food and friendly staff is closing its doors.

Fiddleheads Restaurant, New American Bistro at 27 East Railroad Ave. will close at the end of business on Sunday June 18, the co-owners, General Manager Brian Blatz and Executive Chef Dan Davis, announced.  

“It's exactly 19 years since we took it over, and 31 years since its initial opening by the Colluras,” they wrote in an email to staff last week, adding “it’s a deeply sad moment.”

Recent challenges have been too great to continue running the 60-seat, BYOB restaurant, they wrote.

“Even with the support of all of you reading this, we just cannot muster enough to remain in business in this environment,” the email said, adding serious illnesses to Davis have taken a huge toll on the business. … “It was everything to us and we met so many fine people along the way.”

Blatz was working in publishing and Davis in IT when their jobs came to an end in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Davis suggested the New Brunswick residents get into the restaurant business.

“Dan had a background in restaurant management and at the time cooked at home for our house parties, which we often had," Blatz said. “The business just happened to be for sale at the time.”

Blatz, a novice in the business, realized immediately that customer engagement was very important.

"It came natural to me," he said. "You follow protocols on how to do certain things, but the rest in terms of food and how you engage with customers, we had to create that, and we did."

Being in the restaurant business is not “all peaches and cream,” Blatz said, but the pros far outweighed the cons.

“It comes in waves,” he said. “You really don’t anticipate this when you’re opening up a business. You just roll with it, and we rolled with it for as long as we could. We felt if we’re going in this together, we’re going to marry it and we embraced that."

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The restaurant was able to navigate COVID, thanks to some neighborly help.

When outdoor dining was permitted during the pandemic, a next-door business, Archer Law Office, which had a wraparound porch, offered to let them use it.

“They came to our rescue," Blatz said. “Every time Carl (Archer) came into the restaurant we would point him out and say he is our hero. It became known as Carl’s porch. Carl remains a very good friend of ours. There were other people like Carl, who didn’t want to see us go. They wanted to help. We told them to just come in, let us practice our craft and we’ll be OK, and it all worked out.”

What Blatz said they’ll miss most is their customers and employees.

“We’re sad that we’re closing, but we are glad that we have had this wonderful opportunity and have met all these wonderful people,” he said.

The restaurant had a loyal following, Blatz said. Many were repeat customers, who celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions, and some have even become their close friends, he said.

"It’s not a fancy place, but it did become a special place for a lot of people," he said. "So many people referred to it as their home restaurant. They didn’t say let’s go to Fiddleheads. They would say let’s go to Brian and Dan’s. That’s the kind of stuff that I’ll miss."

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Blatz said the restaurant has been packed since last week’s announcement. He and Davis have no specific plans for the future.

“Thanks for all the joy and the memories, and for sticking with us all these years,” the two wrote in their email. “Nothing gold can stay, but it can remain golden in your heart.”

A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help support Davis and Blatz who are struggling with significant medical expenses in addition to the restaurant closing.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Fiddleheads Restaurant in Jamesburg NJ closing