After NJ mayor blasted homeless people, Bon Jovi pop-up cafe stays open for frigid winter

❄️ JBJ Soul Kitchen pop-up will stay open through April after public outcry during NJ’s coldest winter in years.

📚 Ocean County Library Commission approved the extension, citing strong community advocacy.

⚖️ The decision follows criticism from Toms River’s mayor over homelessness.

TOMS RIVER — Jon Bon Jovi and his wife have thanked the Ocean County community after an outcry led to their pop-up, pay-it-forward cafe staying open for the rest of this severely cold winter.

On Wednesday, the Ocean County Library Commission approved an extension of the JBJ Soul Kitchen pop-up that has been open inside the Ocean County Library in downtown Toms River.

The eatery insists it is not a "soup kitchen." People who can't pay are provided a meal and provided with volunteering opportunities. Those who can are asked to donate and to "Pay it Forward."

JBJ Soul Kitchen pop-up extended through Code Blue season

This renewed approval lasts through April — which is also the remainder of “Code Blue” season in what has been New Jersey’s coldest stretch of winter in about a decade.

Despite serving more than 13,500 meals to those in need, Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick had criticized the initiative as a "soup kitchen" that attracted homeless individuals to the area. Rodrick has been such a lightning rod of controversy that it sparked an aborted recall effort that fell short of the required number of signatures by the deadline.

Read More: JBJ Soul Kitchen pop-up in Ocean County to close doors 

Community outcry follows planned shutdown

Earlier this month, the pop-up was set to shut down after its previous extension ended.

The JBJ Soul Kitchen Pop-Up, located at 101 Washington St., received its latest extension by the library commission following “strong advocacy” from library staff, community partners, and local residents.

News of the extended operation was met by applause from local residents, who commented on the pop-up site’s Facebook page.

“Keep doing the work! Politicians need to live unhoused and food insecure for a couple weeks and see how much it matters whether they are hanging out at the library or not,” one supporter said.

“I don't know how these politicians sleep at night with some of the inhumane decisions they make. They need a dose of reality,” another commenter said on the JBJ Soul Kitchen post.

"Librarians are truly special people who have so much love and compassion for all. Nobody should be freezing to death in 2026 in TR or anywhere," another commenter said of the extension.

Pop-up provides meals, shelter and long-term support

The Ocean County pop-up is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., giving those without homes a chance to seek shelter during freezing conditions.

The location has supported roughly 40 long-term unhoused individuals, providing “consistent, focused care” for a few hours a day when open.

Pop-up staff and volunteers have worked with other area non-profits to hand out more than 1,275 hygiene kits and help make 210 referrals to service providers, including 11 housing placements and 9 people securing employment.

Bon Jovi family emphasizes dignity-focused model

“I want to thank the community of downtown Toms River for embracing our Soul Kitchen model,” JBJ Soul Kitchen founder Dorothea Bongiovi said in a written statement. “The outpouring of encouragement and support has been incredibly humbling.”

“Together, we focused on building meaningful, lasting solutions rather than temporary fixes. And if, at the end of the day, we were able to treat our neighbors with a little more kindness, dignity, and respect, that in itself is powerful,” Bongiovi added.

The JBJ Soul Kitchen is not a pay-what-you-want or soup kitchen concept.
Instead, the “Pay It Forward model” invites paying customers to contribute toward feeding their neighbors.

“From the very beginning, this Pop-Up was about responding to a real and growing need in downtown Toms River,” Assistant General Manager Rob Wood said.

Bongiovi was inducted last year as an Unsung Hero into the New Jersey Hall of Fame for her devoted and tireless work to help those who need it.

JBJ Soul Kitchen’s roots and statewide expansion

The flagship JBJ Soul Kitchen location in Red Bank opened in 2011, with just 33 seats.

In 2016, JBJ Soul Kitchen expanded to include The B.E.A.T. Center in Toms River along Hooper Avenue. The resource hub offers a JBJ Soul Kitchen, choice food pantry in partnership with Fulfill, and a culinary training program.

The program has also expanded to locations at Rutgers University-Newark (starting in 2020) and New Jersey City University (since 2023), addressing food insecurity among students.

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