It's been over two months since Espo's restaurant in Raritan Borough was forced to close due to a grill fire on July 26.

When it happened they promised a quick comeback and on Tuesday, Sept 27 they will make good on their word as Espo's reopens!

Espo's, a staple in Somerset County since 1974 and located at 10 Second St. in Raritan, announced it will reopen its doors Tuesday at 4:30. That means the return of their great vodka rigatoni, white and red sauces, and of course "Pork Chop Murphy."

Hotsy Topsy Shrimp/ Photo Courtesy of Espo's
Hotsy Topsy Shrimp/ Photo Courtesy of Espo's
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What's that you ask? Espo's owner Nick Zamora tells my New Jersey 101.5 audience:

"That is two grilled reserve cut pork chops, fried potatoes, and sautéed sweet Italian sausage, mushrooms, and hot cherry peppers. We also do a Chicken Murphy with roasted chicken on the bone."

Pork Chop Murphy. Photo via Espo's
Pork Chop Murphy. Photo via Espo's
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So how was Espo's able to open so quickly? Zamora tells our own Dan Alexander by phone:

"I'll be honest with you. We kind of just made that happen, that was a maximum time frame in which we wanted to open, if I had my way, I wanted to do it in a month. But, you know, some things are impossible, but now, we just had it happen, and kind of just kept on the project with that goal in mind. And, you know, here we are today."

Fortunately, Espo's was able to bring back their whole staff.

"Every single person is coming back," says Zamora. "We have the best staff in the world. And, you know, for everybody to come back is a blessing. And it's just really exciting. I think once the door is open tomorrow, it's going to feel like we never really skipped a beat. And that's the goal."

Espo's will also be introducing a brunch.

"Something exciting we're gonna start doing Sunday brunch. It's been a goal of mine to kind of add some type of day shift, we do have Friday lunch, and it's been super successful. And, you know, to piggyback on that, we're going to start Sunday brunch," says Zamora.

"So right in time for football season, we're going to open up at 11 o'clock, it'll be a combination of some brunch items, some dinner items. And then like your typical breakfast, brunch items, egg sandwiches, omelets, eggs in purgatory, which is an old-school Italian dish that my grandmother used to make for me as a kid. And it's just going to be a lot of fun."

"Sundays, I would say are probably our most regular base day. So Sundays, we have a line out the door at four o'clock, and the bar fills up instantly. And it's the day that we see motion all of our regulars in one singular day. It's a really great day. And I think that brunch is just going to expand that."

Welcome back Espo!

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise only. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

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