Slightly over a year ago, Bayonne residents were shocked when the doors to Constanine’s Restaurant on Broadway closed.
Many feared the end of what has been an icon of Broadway for years.
While a paper sign posted in the window said the store would reopen, many feared it would not.
Two brothers, Joe and Eddy Armanious, had purchased Constantine’s because they still believed the central shopping district was a sound investment.
“We’ve been in the food business for more than 20 years,” Joe said, recently celebrating the first anniversary since Constantine’s reopening in late 2005.
In 2004, the Armanious brothers purchased Scutter’s Sea Food store on Avenue C, rescuing another Bayonne food institution.
Joe said he hoped to use the two food establishments in conjunction.
“We thought the fish store was a good investment and wanted to keep it open,” he said.
While the store still offers fresh fish, Joe and his brother expanded the operations to include on site dining for the first time.
“Everything is the same otherwise, except that we’ve lowered the prices a little,” he said.
By combining the resources of Scutter’s, the brothers hoped to broaden the menu of Constantine’s to providing fresh fish.
Scutter’s already sells fish to the public and supplies several hotels in New Jersey, so it seemed a natural fit for the brothers to include fresh fish items on the Constantine’s menu – which they said was always something more than what you might expect to find in a diner.
“All our food is made fresh,” he said. “We do not serve typical diner food. Everything we make here is made from scratch every day.”
What is consistent with other diners is the price: Constantine’s, Joe said, offers quality food at diner prices.
For the brothers, the challenge was to keep the original flavor of both stores and yet be innovative and receptive to a changing population that may soon come into town.
“We’re trying to keep the same themes, but adding more positive things to what we already have,” he said.
After two decades of working in the food industry, the brothers are looking to use some of their experience to explore some ideas they had while employed at other quality food establishments in the Metro area.
Joe worked for several years at hotels and restaurants, and said he has a good range of experiences to bring to Constantine’s and Scutter’s.
He said people should take advantage of the connection by ordering fish.
“If we don’t have it, we can get it,” he said. “If you know you want something, call ahead. We’ll have it there.”
Constantines, located at 482 Broadway, is open year-round and on all the holidays.