NJ icon’s restaurant mission pays off with major national recognition

Jersey music legend Jon Bon Jovi has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and four Billboard Awards and won one of each. He has two VMAs, two American Music Awards along with other industry recognition.

Read More: Is Bon Jovi biopic doomed for failure?

Bon Jovi and the James Beard Impact Award

So how does a once long-haired '80s rocker win one of the most prestigious awards usually reserved for chefs and restaurateurs?

Since Bon Jovi has done acting too, I’ll answer that with lines from the film “The Help.”

“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”

NJ.com reports the Sayreville star was given the James Beard Impact Award for his work operating JBJ Soul Kitchen, the famous pay‑it‑forward concept restaurant with locations in Red Bank and Toms River.

The James Beard Foundation said:

“Since 2006, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has worked to break the cycle of hunger, poverty, and homelessness. To date, the JBJ Soul Foundation has helped provide support for almost 1,000 units of affordable and supportive housing in 12 states for thousands of people, including youth and veterans. In 2011, Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, expanded their mission by founding JBJ Soul Kitchen, a nonprofit, pay-it-forward restaurant that has served over 234,000 healthy, three-course meals across its four New Jersey locations.”

New Jersey has been called a lot of bad things by much of the country. The JBJ Soul Foundation is one of those bright spots about the Garden State that cuts through the noise and shows who we really are. Good for him!