By JOANNE L. PAPAIANNI
The dining room tables in Giamano’s Ristorante in Bradley Beach were pushed together and piled high with all the things needed to run a successful restaurant: dishes, soup bowls, pots, pans, glasses and flatware.
Except these items were not waiting for the next group of diners seeking a good meal, they were numbered in lots and waiting to be sold to the highest bidder at the auction Jan. 17.
After more than 30 years in Bradley Beach the Manno family decided to close the doors of the restaurant on Main Street. Everything in the restaurant, including the liquor license, was for sale. Steffan Manno said the highest bid for the license was $375,000 which he decided not to accept.
“There is no rush to sell,” he said, adding that the family may use it at another location or sell it later on.
The auction got off to a fast start as buyers began perusing the goods when the doors opened at 10 a.m.
Soon the auctioneer, who appeared to be right out of central casting, was speaking loudly at a super pace as he began taking bids.
The first on the long list of items to be auctioned were lots of plates starting at $10 each. Several piles of dishes went quickly, with many buyers upping the price to $15 or $20.
The auctioneer then moved around to the back of the bar to start the bidding for the beer taps and keg coolers.
When he wanted to start the bidding for the first keg cooler at $500 buyers balked, so he asked, “What price do you want to pay?’
One buyer said $200 and the auctioneer promptly lowered the starting bid to $200.
That didn’t last long as several buyers began bidding upwards with the final bid taking the cooler for $450.
Tom Adcock, director of the Neptune City Recreation Center, was there looking for items for his sideline business in restaurant services.
“It’s so close to home and it’s a landmark place too,” Adcock said of Giamano’s and why he decided to attend.
Elizabeth McAllister, owner of the Buttered Biscuit, stopped by with her brother Chris saying she was looking at possibly taking home some dishes.
“We’re looking at some of the plates. And I wanted to see Rhonda (Manno) She’s been here so long,” she said.
Giamano’s Ristorante, owned by Steffan Manno and the Manno family has been a fixture on Main Street in Bradley Beach for over 30 years.
The restaurant regularly closed for the month of January, but this year they announced they would not be reopening.
Manno and several partners had plans approved last year to build retail and residential units on the site. He has indicated he would like to open another restaurant in the borough , one serving locally grown and organic food.
