Bahrs Timeline
Through the Years
Founder John ”Jack” Bahrs, the grandson of a tall ship captain, and his wife Florence had their beginning in the Dutch Neck section of Newark, where they owned and operated a small neck tie manufacturing business. The family was interested in Highlands, and after a robbery and their silk supply and finished neckties, they cemented their resolve to move to Highlands. They purchased a small boat rental business on Cedar Street that they operated in the summer and went back to work in Newark for the off-season. In 1917, they purchased the beached houseboat at this location, moved the rental boats over, and started cooking up chowder. The rest is history! Jack, Florence, and their four children, John(Bud), Al, Ken, and Ruth, worked hard together selling bait, renting rowboats, and cooking up dinners for fishing parties that would come down on the train Friday night and pay $2.50 for room and board. The two-story houseboat had a potbelly stove and operated just seasonally. The houseboat structure remains as the interior of the main dining room and reception area.
From the 1940s to the 1970s, Bud and his wife Peg successfully grew the business to a year-round destination entertaining seafood lovers visiting Monmouth Park, the Garden State Arts Center, and the beaches. Famous stars such as Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio, Ernest Borgnine, and many more enjoyed lobster dinners at Bahrs. In the early days, you could arrive by steamer or train when the Central Railroad of NJ came from Jersey City and stopped at Highland Station, just outside of Bahrs front door, on its way to Long Branch.
Bud & Peg officially retired in 1974. The Restaurant has been owned since by Ray Cosgrove and his son Jay, the fourth generation great-grandson of the founders. Together they have expanded the facility to include Mobys Outside Deck & Lobster pound as well as the original marina facility. Our family and experienced, dedicated staff have served over 12 million customers. Bahrs Landing is considered one of New Jersey’s famous landmarks as well as one of the country’s oldest family-run restaurants.
Bahrs Landing specializes in catering to large and small groups with friendly service, creating special memories for you and your family!
Our History Time Line
1917 Our History – Houseboat Beginnings
June 9, 1917
Founder John “Jack” Bahrs, born 1880, was the grandson of a ship captain. In 1910, he and his wife Florence(nee Crelin)lived on Walnut Street in the Dutch Neck section of Newark, N.J. with the Crelin family. John Bahrs and Brothers Necktie Factory was listed in the buyers guide of the New York Times in February of 1908 and was located at 313 Market Street. William K. Bahrs, born 1840, wrote that the business was “doing as good as could be expected in a year with a panic” referring to bank failures. However, in December of 1907 the necktie operation had been robbed of several bolts of silk and dozens of finished neckties. The robber, George “Humpty” Williams was caught and confessed to this and other area thefts. John tried to conduct the necktie business from home after the robbery. In 1913 Jack operated a boat rental business at the foot of Cedar Street in Highlands while his children played on the sandy banks of the Shrewsbury River and collected clams. There were bungalows with oil stoves at this site and the family lived in one of these during the summer while they rented out boats,…
Read more
The First Winter
December 19, 1917
As happens during cold snaps today, the first winter was not free from worry as ice sheets move through with the tides, threatening pilings in the marina. The old scow of the houseboat is visible and at this time the building probably lifted with very high tides. The south side of the building reads “Regular Bait for Regular Fishermen“. Behind and to the right is Creighton’s Dancing Pavilion, (later to be Kruse’s) which featured an outdoor pavilion with orchestras for dancing and amusement pier where the excursion boats of the old Patten Line docked. The photo may have been taken from the foot-bridge of the train trestle that led over to Sandlass Beach. The area was a hub of activity as the Highlands train station, newspaper stand, trolley stop and taxi’s were all located here. Up the hill on Highland Avenue were the Victoria Hotel, Martin Hotel and Monmouth Hotel. In 1914, River Avenue,…
Read more
Bahrs 1930’s
March 15, 1932
Footpath Across the Drawbridge to Highlands This undated photo(late 1920’s?) of Bahrs Landing has the $1 Dollar Shore Dinner advertised in paint on the side of the building. The building to the right is Highlands train station. The train tracks were only 30 feet from the restaurant door. The Central Railroad of NJ came from Jersey City and stopped, just outside of Bahrs, at Highlands station on its way to Long Branch. Prohibition came to and end nationally in 1933 and one of 25 retail liquor licenses in Highlands is issued to Jack Bahrs Sr. At this time son Buddy was 25 years old with blue eyes reported the registry of the crew of the vessel SS Manhattan. In the off-season Buddy served elegant meals on this luxury steamship that made her maiden voyage in…
Read more
Chowder History
January 10, 1940
Footpath Across the Drawbridge to Highlands This undated photo(late 1920’s?) of Bahrs Landing has the $1 Dollar Shore Dinner advertised in paint on the side of the building. The building to the right is Highlands train station. The train tracks were only 30 feet from the restaurant door. The Central Railroad of NJ came from Jersey City and stopped, just outside of Bahrs, at Highlands station on its way to Long Branch. Prohibition came to and end nationally in 1933 and one of 25 retail liquor licenses in Highlands is issued to Jack Bahrs Sr. At this time son Buddy was 25 years old with blue eyes reported the registry of the crew of the vessel SS Manhattan. In the off-season Buddy served elegant meals on this luxury steamship that made her maiden voyage in…
Read more
Party for Gertrude Ederle
August 4, 1956
Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926, was feted at Bahrs Restaurant on August 4th 1956. Trudy spent her summers in Highlands where she trained in the challenging currents beneath the Highlands bridge. She swam 35 miles from Cape Griz Nez, France, to the south coast of England in 14 hours and 31 minutes. The event celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Channel Swim and was covered in the society magazine Spotlight and in the local papers.
Read more
Bahrs In The 1960’s
June 1, 1961
The recipe for Bahr’s Special was published by the Ford Times (yep the car company) in May of 1966. This publication was distributed to about 5 million people and the edition that Bahrs Landing was in, was titled “Famous Recipes from Famous Restaurants,” reason being that if you had a car you needed to know where to eat when you got there. The art for the piece on Bahrs Landing is by Howard Connelly. He painted, to accompany the recipe, a beautiful rendition of the lounge and dining area including the red leatherette bar chairs, the carved King Neptune, ship wheel and ship model. Peter Doremus, Ford sales manager of Mount-English, Red Bank, presented the original watercolor to Bud and Peg. Bud was Mayor of Highlands at this time. The Garden State Arts Center and Monmouth Park attracted crowds and celebrities. Long time Courier News reporter Muriel Smith wrote on August 19th 1967 of a visit to Bahrs Restaurant by Ernest Borgnine, Academy Award winner, star of television’s “McHales Navy” and a star attraction in the cast of “The Dirty Dozen”, a World War II movie which premiered in New…
Read more
Bud & Peg Bahrs
August 19, 1969
Bud and Peg did a spot on the Joe Franklin Show in the early 1950’s. Joe Franklin had moved to television from radio. He was a pioneer in promoting products such as Hoffman beverages and Canada Dry ginger ale on the air. The writing on the photo reads “Thanks for sparkling on TV, Bud and Peggy. Loved honoring Bahrs for Canada Dry. Howdy Earl and Joe Franklin. P.S. See you in Highlands.” A large lobster is on the table behind the glass of ginger ale.
Read more
Bahrs During The 1980’s
June 1, 1980
Bud and Peg officially retired in 1974. The Restaurant has been owned by Ray Cosgrove with his son Jay, the 4th generation great grandson of the founders. Together they have expanded the facility to include Mobys Outside Deck & Lobster pound as well as the original marina facility. The family and experienced dedicated staff have served more than 12…
Read more
Restaurant acquires model ship collection
January 9, 2011
Bahrs Landing is home to ship model builder Henry Schaefer’s collection of 33 museum quality ship models. Schaefer ran a nautical antique business in Atlantic Highlands but had been making detailed models of ships since he was a young kid. When Schaefer was in his eighties, he wanted to find a place for his prized models to stay together and a place where they could be enjoyed; Bahrs was the perfect fit. Navesink Maritime Heritage Association has photographed and described the collection. Follow this link for the list and specifics of the ship models http://navesinkmaritime.org/ShipModels
Read more
Super Storm Sandy Photos
October 31, 2012
Bahrs Landing is home to ship model builder Henry Schaefer’s collection of 33 museum quality ship models. Schaefer ran a nautical antique business in Atlantic Highlands but had been making detailed models of ships since he was a young kid. When Schaefer was in his eighties, he wanted to find a place for his prized models to stay together and a place where they could be enjoyed; Bahrs was the perfect fit. Navesink Maritime Heritage Association has photographed and described the collection. Follow this link for the list and specifics of the ship models http://navesinkmaritime.org/ShipModels
Read more
Bahrs Landing Celebrating 100 Years
December 18, 2016
Bahrs Landing is home to ship model builder Henry Schaefer’s collection of 33 museum quality ship models. Schaefer ran a nautical antique business in Atlantic Highlands but had been making detailed models of ships since he was a young kid. When Schaefer was in his eighties, he wanted to find a place for his prized models to stay together and a place where they could be enjoyed; Bahrs was the perfect fit. Navesink Maritime Heritage Association has photographed and described the collection. Follow this link for the list and specifics of the ship models http://navesinkmaritime.org/ShipModels
Read more
JAKBAR and STARBOUND
January 19, 2017
In photo above, next to the JAKBAR, the famous 65′ sloop, “Starbound” was being framed, at Bahrs Pier 7 during the years of 1946 through 1948. Built for Nutley NJ engineer J. Kenneth Whitteker, who after becoming fascinated with sailing, began researching the Spray, Joshua Slocum’s famed sloop. Determined to have one just like her, William J. Deed, New York Naval architect was commissioned to draw the plans and the Bahrs boatyard at Pier 7 was to build her. The Newark Sunday News printed a large story on the event featuring ten large photos, eight of them taken of the construction at Bahrs Pier 7. The carpenters working on the Spray were some of the most skilled artisans in the business. Some of their names were George Fay, Karl Kristensen, John Kristensen, and Olaf Olsen. Ken…
Read more
Our Charities
Bahrs is proud to support local charities. We like to think that we are an “anchor” to the local community along with our more than 100 employees, Bahrs provides many avenues for raising money and awareness to a variety of local causes.
Sample of Local Non-Profits we support
Hops For Awareness
Henry Hudson HS Scholarships
Highlands Elementary
Clean Ocean Action
American Littoral Society
Sandy Hook Foundation
Habcore
Ronald McDonald House
Monmouth Conservation
Rainbow Foundation
Jason’s Dream For Kids
Wounded Warriors
Parker Family Clinic
St Barnabus Hospital
Holiday Express
Food Bank of NJ
Twinlights Historical Society
Highlands Historical Society
Highlands Arts Council
12 Bars of Christmas coat drive
Next time you are in for lunch or dinner, ask us how we can help your charity.
Donation Policy
Bahrs Landing is proud of being a good neighbor. We are happy to support local causes and we receive hundreds of donation requests annually. In order to review the many types of requests we have developed criteria and a procedure to help us best serve those most in need of our donation.
We are proud to support The Sandy Hook Foundation the friends group of the National Park Service at Sandy Hook. Throughout the years we have provided corporate sponsorship of the summer free beach concert program.
Twin Lights Historical
Henry Hudson High School Cash Scholarship awards. Since 1998, The Buddy Bahrs Grant has annually provided this cash grant to graduating students to pursue educational goals.
Bahrs Landing Giving Guidelines
Please review these guidelines which have been established to assist you with your request for a charitable donation from Bahrs Landing.
Bahrs will donate to non-profit (501-3C) charitable organizations that are located in the general Two Rivers/Bayshore/Sandy Hook area. Our gift cards appear in auction baskets at many fund-raising events. We are glad to have a presence at these events and are happy to support our customers’ fund raising goals.
A limited number of dining gift cards are available for select types of events. These requests may be made in writing, preferably on the organizations letterhead, 90 days prior to the date that the donation is needed. Please include the following information.
Contact Name and title at the organization
Exempt Organization Certificate (Form ST-5) – your tax ID number and the state where you are formally registered as a not-for-profit/tax-exempt.
Summary – a 200 word targeted summary about your organization, including what you do, who you help, and where you receive your primary funding.
Request – Your specific request(product or grant, the specific amount needed) and why the request is needed at this time.
Who will benefit – Who will your request help.
Your organization will be notified by phone within 30 days of the request if a donation is to be made. Please do not call the front desk to inquire.