NJ's OLDEST restaurant has new life!

Black Horse Tavern reopens while Jockey Hollow Bar & Grill shutters its doors

Author

Matt
January 10, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Hello Morristown! This is Morristown Scoop, your local newsletter helping connect everyone in our surrounding community!

Most of the news this week surrounded some iconic restaurants in our area all while we dealt with freezing 🥶 temperatures and tons of wind! It was so cold yesterday that I almost had these insane heated thermal underwear Primed to me same day 😆 Don’t worry, we overcame that urge.

Today’s Scoop 🍦: 

  • The Roundup (the things you gotta know!)

  • The Spotlight (black horses are BACK!)

  • What’s Going On? (lots to do this weekend)

🏀 Morristown High School Boys Basketball took it to Parsippany this week wining 77-51. Chase Bright had 12 points and 11 rebounds 🥇 leading Morristown while Nick Vico scored 18 points in a losing effort for Parsippany

“The coldest winter I ever spent was waiting for Spring in Morristown”

Unknown - 1855

The Weather Report

The last few days have been brutally cold with the wind chill. We’ll get some reprieve from that starting on Friday night.

Friday: 🍃 🌤️ 😰 — Hi 37, Lo 26

Saturday: 😁 ❄️ — Hi 36, Lo 28

Sunday: 🙂 🌤️ — Hi 40, 24

The Roundup

KPMG comes in 2nd to Deloitte 🥈 

Well, as they say, one door closes, another one opens. That’s what happened over at Headquarters plaza recently as Riker Danzig, longtime tenant in Morristown, announced they would be leaving the town in favor of Giralda Farms over in Madison. I guess KPMG couldn’t resist the opening in the budding and vibrantly refreshed downtown HQ plaza. KPMG will be moving about 1,000 workers from their Short Hills location to the Morristown location, and it represents a significant expansion on square footage for the BIG 4 consulting firm’s office space (20%).

Deloitte moved into the M Station building a few months ago, and I was honestly a bit surprised when the KPMG announcement didn’t mirror the announcement that they were moving into the brand spanking new space. I guess they got a great deal 🫢 

At the end of the day, more businesses wanting to join the Morristown community is a great thing for all of us. These companies bring high paying jobs to our local workforce. But at the same time, it’s imperative to balance growth with history, culture, and the needs of the citizens who are already living and working in Morristown.

Sick of those Christmas Gifts already? 🎁 Here’s your answer.

I stumbled across this event happening on Sunday January 12th at 12PM. It’s free and sounds pretty fun! While I’ll probably be frequenting one of the downtown bars to enjoy some NFL football 🏈 …Double Tap Brewing in Whippany will be hosting a ‘Re-Gift Swap’! Here’s how they describe it:

“Love the person who gave you a holiday gift but don’t love the gift? Bring it to Double Tap to re-gift for free! Swap unwanted gifts to ensure they go to a good home instead of a landfill'“

This is kind of a cool concept! I’m sure we all have received a gift this year that maybe we just won’t be using. A great way to engage with our community!

Good night sweet Jockey Hollow 💤 

It was a sad day last week when the owners of Jockey Hollow Bar & Grill abruptly shuttered their doors surprising patrons, workers, and the community. Coming to light was the fact that a buyer for the business fell through at the last minute, and the current owner had no choice but to shut down as the lease was expiring.

The cynic in me feels there’s something else going on here, but I presume we’ll never know. What I do know is that there will be someone who fills this void for our community in this iconic building. It is a great spot for cocktails, events, or a weeknight date night.

Some community members expressed concerns about gift cards being purchased over the holidays which are now presumed to be useless. More to come on that front to see if the owners do the right thing, but for the love of God, please do not bring those gift cards to the Re-Gift Swap at Double Tap Brewing this weekend…..

The Spotlight 🔦 

Black Horse Returns! 🎠 

Since 1742, The Blackhorse Tavern & Pub has operated as a restaurant in Mendham, NJ. It’s literally the oldest restaurant in the state. Many of us have enjoyed a fine dining experience here over the years, and is coming out of a 10 month construction hiatus that started in March 2024.

They will reopen their doors on January 13th, 2025. Reservations are going to be hard to come by, I can guarantee you that. As you can imagine, the tavern has changed ownership hands a few times over it’s 250+ year history. 40North Restaurant group currently owns it along with other Morristown staples such as The Office, NOM, and Town bar & kitchen.

What to do, What to do 😮 

Upcoming Local Events

🎷 LIVE MUSIC - Vinnie Caruana - Saturday 1/11/25 @ 7:00PM 📍Twin Elephants Brewing

Re-Gift Swap - Sunday 1/12 @ 12PM 📍 Double Tap Brewing - Whippany, NJ

Winter Farmer’s Market - Sunday 1/12 @ 9:30AM 📍 Convent Train Station

Event Countdowns

Thank you!

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