By ED SALVAS
Jennifer Lampert says she is a true “Jersey Girl,” but her career has taken her from the Garden State to many places around the world before she settled in Asbury Park as the managing owner of the Asbury Festhalle and Biergarten.
Lampert will receive the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce Visionary Award at the annual Carousel Awards Gala May 11 for her work as the managing owner of the Lake Avenue establishment that opened in February of 2015. Formerly called Economic Development, the visionary name fits Lampert and her partners who have created one of the city’s most popular eating and drinking establishments.
Lampert said they wanted to bring the authentic biergarten experience to Asbury Park, although she said the concept is hardly a new idea.
“Festhalles and biergartens have been around in Europe for hundreds of years,” she explained and serve as the community gathering place in the town and that’s what they envisioned for Asbury Park. “We were drawn to Asbury Park because of the support everyone has for you.”
Lampert was introduced to Asbury Park by developer Carter Sackman, who owns the building and has been a friend for many years and sold her her first home. She also sold real estate for a time, working for Sackman. She first visited the city shortly after Sackman purchased the landmark Steinbach building and was immediately won over.
“I loved this town and knew I would wind up here,” she said.
The space was designed by former partner Andrej Ivanov and work began in 2012. There’s a 6,000 square foot festhalle and a 9,000 square foot rooftop biergarten where Lampert employs a staff of 57 that swells to 100 in the summer.
The career path that brought Jennifer Lampert to Asbury Park began at the Boston Conservatory and as an actress and musician she appeared on and off-Broadway and a stint working for the USO as a performer at Military installations. She was named “Miss USO” in 2001 and was called to sing in New York following the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. That led to working with veterans as a member of the organization “Voices of Valor,” helping vets to re-adjust to civilian life by writing music about their feelings.
“The Carousel awards are presented to those who have gone above and beyond in support of commerce, community and humanity,” according to Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Schulman, owner of Fortune Web Marketing.
The 2018 Carousel Awards will be presented at a May 11 Gala at the Asbury Park Convention Hall. This year’s theme focuses on the boardwalk and will pay homage to many well-known symbols of Asbury Park. For tickets contact the Chamber at 732-775-7676 or on line at www.asburyparkchamber.com.
