Burgeoning Restaurant Empire at the Shore


There’s a burgeoning restaurant empire down the shore right now called Bread+Butter Restaurant Group. You may know of a few of their restaurants: Stone Harbor’s Quahog’s Seafood Shack, the attached Taco Shop and The Red Store in Cape May. What you might not have known, though, is that they now have their very own farm, Fincas del Mar (which Google translates to “marine farms”). Once full harvest has been reached at the farm, each restaurant location will purvey roughly 75% of their produce from the farm for their set seasonal menus, with the exception of exotic or non-local produce.

And besides the fact that Quahog’s has basically become a Stone Harbor staple, and their Taco Shop is such a perfect little addition to it, it’s The Red Store news that gets me all giddy.

The Red Store is a BYOB general store taken over by the husband and wife team, James Beard nominee Lucas Manteca (formerly of Stone Harbor’s Sea Salt) and Deanna Ebner. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner with a menu so ever-changing, that you’ll only get a sample of what one might look like off their website. Chef Manteca (of Argentinean heritage) focuses on seasonal cuisine with a South American touch, and Fincas del Mar supplies the produce. They have a regular dinner service (cash/reservation only), and then, come Fall, they’ll have what they call The Counter. The Counter is only six seats, and you’ll get six courses of whatever he’s making that night—no menu presented beforehand—sort of like a beach town, South American-flaired omakase.

The Red Store also offers a Gourmet Box—a really cool version of a CSA. Every week (follow them on Facebook to get the weekly updates), you get to place an order for a Gourmet Box before the day of pick-up. Then, you’ll head down to the farm on the day of pick-up and get lots of fresh produce, breads, jams, and more, depending on your order.

For example, here’s this week’s Gourmet Box (if you order by Friday 6/20, you’ll be able to pick it up on Saturday 6/21 between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.):

  • 3 ea.Head Lettuces
  • Collard Greens
  • Young Beet Tops
  • 1 bn Radish Mix
  • 1 bn Baby Fennel
  • 1 Broccoli Crown
  • 1 bn Herb Variety
  • 1 ea French Baguette (baked daily at The Red Store)
  • 1 Jalva Farms Beach Plum Jam

Gourmet Box for a family of 2 is $35
Gourmet Box for a family of 4 to 6 is $65

You can add all of this to it too:

  • El Cocinero Coffee Blend $13.49
  • Beach Plum Vinaigrette $8.50
  • Beach Plum Jam $8.00
  • Red Store Homemade Tomato Jam $8.00
  • Red Store Spicy Tomato Jam $8.00
  • Red Store BBQ Tomato Jam $8.00
  • Red Store Pickled Asparagus $8.00
  • Red Store French Baguette (Baked fresh daily at the Red Store) $3.5
  • Red Store Multigrain Bread Loaf (Baked fresh daily at the Red Store) $8.00

To place an order for a box, call or email Maja Brandenburg at 609-827-0994 or majafincas@gmail.com.

Pro Tip: They also have a referral program for all of our customers that would like to include their friends and family in the program. Make sure your friend/family member gives them your name and you will receive additional goodies from the farm.

Bread + Butter [Official]