Point Pleasant Beach, NJ – You can have your $42 pizza at Joey Tomato’s on the Point Pleasant Boardwalk, but you don’t get to eat your cake. That is the decision coming from the business days after remaining silent about a viral video that has since tanked their reputation.
Joey Tomato’s has built a reputation as one of the Jersey Shore’s busiest boardwalk pizza destinations, drawing long lines despite charging roughly $42 to $45 for a large pizza and offering a popular pizza-and-pitcher special that has become part of the summer experience in Point Pleasant Beach.
Joey Tomato’s has issued its first public response following a viral social media video that sparked widespread criticism of the longtime Jersey Shore boardwalk restaurant, saying the clip failed to capture the full interaction and misrepresented the business.
@vintage.newjersey We were celebrating a birthday at Joey Tomatoes in Point Pleasant Beach (my 5 year old nephew) Mind you we bought 4 large pies (different toppings) and 10 large drinks. It cost around $250. We called them ahead of time and ask if it was ok to bring a cake. The person on the phone said it was ok. After eating we asked for a knife to cut the cake (we offered to pay any additional fees) and this was the owners reaction. I took the video mid argument. I hate to be that guy, but I just had to take a video of this because this was the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced. . . #pointpleasantbeach #newjersey #jerseyshore #boardwalk #pointpleasant ♬ Carefree Days – Peaceful Reveries
In a statement released Wednesday, the family-owned restaurant thanked supporters while defending its handling of the incident and reaffirming its policies. The business, which has operated on the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk for more than 30 years, said the online reaction was based on only a brief portion of the encounter.
Restaurant says viral clip lacked context
“For a few days now, the internet has decided it knows everything about our restaurant based on thirty seconds of footage that started after the real conversation was already underway,” the statement reads. “No context. No beginning. Just a clip, built for outrage, and a comment section full of opinions.”
The restaurant thanked customers who stood by the business throughout the controversy and said it wanted to clarify its position following days of intense attention on social media.
Owners defend policies, reject calls for change
Joey Tomato’s described itself as a pizza restaurant rather than a party venue or rental hall, saying its policies are designed to protect customers, employees and the business during busy summer operations on the boardwalk.
“Every restaurant on this boardwalk has policies that exist for real reasons — food safety, liability, order in a kitchen running full speed on a summer night,” the statement said. “Those policies aren’t up for a public vote just because one moment of enforcing them got recorded.”
The restaurant also highlighted its longstanding ties to the community, noting that generations of families have visited over the past three decades.
Business says it isn’t changing course
The statement concludes by saying the restaurant has weathered challenges before and does not plan to change because of the recent controversy.
“We have persevered, one pie at a time, long before this video and long after it’s forgotten. That’s not going to change,” the statement says. “Although we are considering a new tagline: We don’t do cake. We do pizza.”
While they charge high amounts to tourists on the boardwalk, one tourist didn’t get buy into the hype. One Bite Pizza’s Dave Portnoy gave the pizzeria a ‘boardwalk pizza’ score of 6.9 while visiting in 2024.
Now the restaurant is at the center of a social media firestorm after a video showing a confrontation between the owner and a family celebrating a 5-year-old’s birthday spread online. Days after the video began circulating, Joey Tomato’s has not publicly addressed the incident, a strategy that could allow the controversy to fade—or leave unanswered questions for customers wondering what happened.
The restaurant’s silence comes just a few years after Dave Portnoy featured Joey Tomato’s
s on his wildly popular One Bite Pizza Reviews, where he awarded the pizza a 6.9 (adjusted for his ‘boardwalk pizza scale’) score while acknowledging it serves a very specific purpose on the Jersey Shore, drunken pizza you eat at 2 am after a night out at the TikiBar.
Portnoy called it classic late-night boardwalk pizza
During his visit, Portnoy admitted he wasn’t expecting gourmet pizza when ordering from a boardwalk pizzeria.
“I think when you do boardwalk pizza, people say beach pizza, boardwalk pizza, get the boardwalk, Jersey Shore, the heart of it,” Portnoy said before taking his first bite.
After sampling the pizza, he said it was “exactly what I think boardwalk pizza would be.”
Rather than comparing it with artisan pizzerias, Portnoy evaluated it through the lens of what customers are looking for after spending the day—or night—on the boardwalk.
“Are they open till 2 a.m.? If it’s open late, it ain’t great—that’s like the number one slogan for it,” Portnoy joked.
He described Joey Tomato’s as “drunk pizza” and “grease pizza,” suggesting it serves its purpose best after a late night along the Jersey Shore rather than during the middle of the afternoon.
“I still think it’s better than you expect,” Portnoy said before awarding the pizza a 6.9.
He later added, “I actually thought it was going to be worse… it’s open till 2 a.m. That’s not that bad.”
For many boardwalk pizza shops, a 6.9 from Portnoy is considered a respectable score, particularly for establishments catering to beach crowds rather than traditional pizzeria enthusiasts.
Premium prices and Portnoy’s review haven’t slowed business, but cakegate might
Despite Portnoy’s description of the pizza as quintessential late-night boardwalk fare, Joey Tomato’s continues attracting large crowds throughout the summer season.
Large specialty pizzas regularly approach the mid-$40 range, placing the restaurant among the more expensive pizza options on the Jersey Shore.
Supporters argue customers aren’t simply paying for pizza but for a meal on one of New Jersey’s busiest boardwalks, where seasonal demand, oceanfront rents and heavy foot traffic often translate into higher menu prices.
The restaurant’s location has helped make it a destination for beachgoers looking for a sit-down meal after spending the day along the boardwalk.
Birthday celebration turns into viral confrontation
The latest controversy began after the Vintage Jersey Facebook page shared a video showing an argument between a family and the restaurant’s owner.
According to the person who submitted the video, the family purchased four large pizzas with assorted toppings and five large beverages, spending approximately $250 while celebrating a 5-year-old nephew’s birthday.
The family claims they called Joey Tomatoes before arriving and were told bringing a birthday cake would be permitted.
After finishing their meal, they said they asked for a knife to cut the cake and even offered to pay an additional cake-cutting fee.
According to the post, the owner’s reaction prompted them to begin recording what they described as “the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Because the recording begins after the disagreement had already started, it does not capture what was said before cameras were turned on.
Owner disputes family’s account
In the video, the restaurant owner tells the family they failed to make proper arrangements before bringing the cake into the restaurant.
“You didn’t call, you didn’t make arrangements, you just can’t walk into a restaurant, do whatever you want,” the owner says. “It’s inappropriate… We’ve been here since 1990. Nobody’s ever done that. It’s inappropriate. It’s a restaurant.”
A member of the family responds, “It’s a 5-year-old birthday party. It’s a 5-year-old birthday party. We just want to cut the cake.”
The owner continues defending the restaurant’s position.
“How about if I just come to your house with a cake and do whatever I want?… These customers have been here for 20 years. No one embarrassed in anything. You’re embarrassed.”
The customer replies, “You should be apologizing to us.”
Social media sharply divided
The video has generated thousands of views and hundreds of comments, with viewers split over who was responsible for the confrontation.
Some commenters criticized the owner’s handling of the situation.
“Sorry ma’am you just lost a lot of customers,” one commenter wrote.
Another added, “Imagine being this mad over a cake?”
Others defended the restaurant, noting that many establishments prohibit outside food or require advance notice and charge cake-cutting fees.
“There is a rule that if you bring a cake to the restaurant you have them cut it and serve it for a fee. This isn’t out of the ordinary,” one commenter wrote.
Others cautioned viewers against rushing to judgment because the recording begins after the dispute had already escalated.
“If there is one thing the internet has taught me, it’s to never trust a video that was started halfway into an argument,” another commenter wrote.
That missing context has become one of the central points in the debate. While the family maintains they received permission before arriving, the owner states on camera that no such arrangements were made.
