Fair Haven has a new place to buy fish. Sandy Hook Seafood is open at 615 River Road, Unit 1, run by the teams behind two Two River restaurants: 2nd Jetty Seafood in Sea Bright and One Willow in Highlands. It sells fresh fish and shellfish, sushi and chef-prepared dishes to take home, and it is now where 2nd Jetty's catering business lives.

Who is behind it

Both restaurants have spent years buying seafood for their own dining rooms. The market grew out of that buying: the idea, as the owners describe it on the market's own site, was to put the same fish they cook with in front of neighbors who want to cook it themselves, alongside prepared food from the restaurant kitchens. Sandy Hook Seafood calls itself a chef-inspired market, combining 2nd Jetty's cooking with One Willow's front-of-house hospitality.

2nd Jetty has announced on its own site that its catering is moving to the new market, so party trays and event orders that used to run through the Sea Bright restaurant now come out of River Road. The restaurant itself stays in Sea Bright.

What is in the case

The market says it buys from trusted purveyors and from local fishermen, and it names a few local catches specifically: bluefin tuna caught off the coast, New Jersey scallops and whatever seasonal fish are coming out of nearby waters. For species that do not swim off the Shore, it draws on long-standing relationships with the Fulton Fish Market, the wholesale market in the Bronx that supplies much of the region's restaurant trade.

Beyond raw fish, the counter carries sushi and chef-prepared dishes, pitched at three kinds of customer: someone grabbing lunch, someone picking up dinner on the way home, and someone feeding a group. The website takes takeout orders and catering orders online.

A market with a restaurant kitchen behind it

2nd Jetty describes its own cooking as premium seafood built on dishes its chefs discovered through surf travel, and the market's prepared food comes from that same culinary team. One Willow, in Highlands, brings the hospitality side. Customers buying a fillet are buying from the same supply chain the two restaurants cook from every night.

It also keeps the restaurant's catering under one roof with the fish it is made from. Customers who have ordered party platters or event catering from 2nd Jetty in the past now place those orders with Sandy Hook Seafood.

Hours and how to order

Sandy Hook Seafood's posted hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The address is 615 River Road, Unit 1, Fair Haven, and the phone number is 732-704-9982. Takeout and catering orders can be placed through the market's website, sandyhookseafood.com, and the market takes questions by email at sandyhookseafood@gmail.com.

River Road runs straight through Fair Haven between Red Bank and Rumson, so the market sits on the main route connecting all three towns.

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