Bill Spadea: Meet up at the Squan!

Every week on the show we spend time promoting New Jersey's small business community. Bars, restaurants, dry cleaners, retail, cobblers, you name it, New Jersey has it all!

Hundreds of thousands of small businesses around the state employing nearly 2 million New Jersyans — that's half of all the people employed in the Garden State.

In addition to "Small Business Monday," we're taking the "Common Ground" podcast on the road to a neighborhood spot near you. Before our next episode, which will be live from Monmouth Executive Airport on Monday, Aug. 12, we'll be meeting up with friends and listeners at the Squan Tavern in Manasquan, also in beautiful Monmouth County.

Our friends Ace Gallagher, mayor of Hanover Township, and Mark Taylor, mayor of Florham Park, got together a plan to meet up at the Squan. Owner Joe is happy to have us, and a few dozen friends to enjoy some pizza and beer on what is shaping up to be a perfect weather Saturday.

We'll be there between 2 and 4 p.m. We're going Dutch — bring your own payment — as it's not an event but a chance to relax for a couple hours and enjoy the company and what I understand are some of the best bar pies in the region. Full report coming on Small Business Monday!