When Is that New Italian Restaurant Opening at the Shoppes at Hooper?

Jessica Woods

TOMS RIVER, NJ – The Shoppes at Hooper, a new retail plaza located at the northern border of Toms River between Brick Township and Toms River is filling out nicely, but it’s not done yet. In addition to a Buy Rite liquor store, Tacoholics, Salon Milon and a pizzeria, a new fine cuisine Italian restaurant is being added to the roster.

It’s not open yet, but L’Osteria is now hiring for servers, busboys and restaurant staff in anticipation of its opening in the near future.

According to the restaurant’s in-development website, the term “Osteria” derives from the old French (host, hostess) and from the Latin (hospite).

“At one time it indicated a public place, where people gathered to drink wine and eat hot dishes, in many cases the people passing by, as well as eating, could rest in special lodgings, which was why it had the function of hospitality,” L’Osteria said on its website. “They were located in main places, such as squares, markets, main streets, precisely because it had to be a meeting point where people could discuss and dialogue while enjoying good wine. The characteristic of the taverns of the past was that of storing hot dishes in large terracotta pots embedded in wall counters, some of these are still visible today thanks to the excavations of Pompeii. With the passage of time, the Taverns become a real meeting point also for famous people and intellectuals where they could discuss at length about citizens’ debates.”


The restaurant is hoping to break into a saturated market where local favorites are beloved and starting a new Italian restaurant could be a tough proposition. Luckily for L’Osteria, it’s location adjacent to Holiday City Silverton and Silverton could provide it with enough clientele to survive and thrive.

You appear to be using an ad blocker

Shore News Network is a free website that does not use paywalls or charge for access to original, breaking news content. In order to provide this free service, we rely on advertisements. Please support our journalism by disabling your ad blocker for this website.