The New and Improved Stockton Inn

The exterior of the newly renovated inn at dusk

Teresa Giudice isn’t the only New Jersey resident to have gotten a massive facelift. The 305 year old Stockton Inn is being reborn after a serious renovation and a revamping of the menu.

The menu, which consists of “colonial inspired American fare,” comes courtesy of the Inn’s new head chef Alan Heckman. You can check out the whole menu here, but some highlights include braised octopus carpaccio and a chateaubriand for two that requires a minimum two day advance reservation. For you history buffs, the renovations also included a restoration of the Dog & Deer Tavern–one of the first taverns in New Jersey, which got its operating license in 1796.

Not historical enough for you? Then how ’bout this:

For most of the 20th century the property was operated by the Colligan family as Colligan’s Stockton Inn — a restaurant and hotel. During Prohibition, the Inn operated as a speakeasy. It was immortalized when its wishing well by the main entrance became the centerpiece of the song, “There’s a Small Hotel,” written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and later featured on Broadway in 1936. According to local legend, Margaret Mitchell wrote sections of “Gone with the Wind” at a table in one of the restaurant’s dining rooms over the course of several days during the early 1930s. The Inn became a mecca for writers, artists, and thespians during the Golden Age of America and many other luminaries, including the summer home to New York’s Algonquin Round Table.

New owner Mitch Millett has spent years turning this former banquet-and-events space into a serious, fine dining restaurant, and now it’s ready for the public. The 20-table restaurant will be serving dinner Wednesdays through Sundays, and will be opening the patio just as soon as the weather decides to cooperate.

You can make reservations online or by calling 609-397-1250.

Stockton Inn [Official]