Point Beach Restaurant ID'd As One America 'Can't Lose' In COVID

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — A Point Pleasant Beach restaurant recently landed on a list of “100 Restaurants America Can't Afford to Lose” amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Last week, a group of editors at Esquire released their list of eateries and The Shrimp Box in Point Pleasant Beach is among them. See the full list here.

"The Shrimp Box is so important to my family that on one crazy summer afternoon, when our twins were still newborns, my wife and I suddenly put the babies in the car and drove three hours on the Jersey Turnpike because I had determined, in my sleep-deprived fog, that I needed some fried seafood and the kids needed to be exposed to the Jersey Shore air in the beach town that my dad’s people had originally come from. This was a stupid thing to do. When we arrived at the Shrimp Box, there was a two-hour wait for a table, and we were stuck there, hours from home, holding two weary, smelly babies. .... When you’re a father, you do what you must," the publication said.

Esquire has identified 100 restaurants America can't afford to lose, and five of them are in New Jersey.

Here are the New Jersey restaurants that were featured, with a brief description from Esquire:

• Cowan's Public, 229 Centre Street, Nutley: a craft-beer, proper-drink, good-food Art Deco restaurant;
• Egan and Sons, 118 Walnut Street, Montclair: Remarkably good British/Irish pub food in a bright and open and airy set of rooms. At the center is a soccer bar;
• Nanina's in the Park, 540 Mill Street, Bellville: A banquet hall that has hosted generations of weddings, graduations, and first holy communions;
• The Shrimp Box, 75 Inlet Drive, Point Pleasant Beach: Must-have seafood complemented by the Jersey Shore air; and
• The Squan, 15 Broad Street, Manasquan: Described as the best Italian-American food at the Jersey Shore.

Indoor gatherings are currently limited to no more than 10 people in the Garden State. While outdoor dining remains an option, restaurant owners have expressed concern that the weather will keep potential diners away.

Businesses have asked for help as Gov. Phil Murphy announced this weekend that New Jersey once again had a record-high number of coronavirus cases on Saturday, reporting 6,435 new cases and 102 more deaths. The case number topped the record-high set just two days ago. Read more: COVID-19 Bills Signed Into Law As NJ Hits Highest Case Total Ever

But there is hope. New Jersey also announced on Saturday that the state is expanding the number of COVID-19 vaccination sites. Here's where you can get one now. Read more: NJ Lists 120 COVID Vaccine Sites, Plans To Expand: Here's Where

California had the most restaurants on the list at 16, followed by New York with 14. Louisiana had six, followed by New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts with five each. A total of 29 states were represented on the list.

The site also encourages readers to donate to Southern Smoke, the Lee Initiative and other organizations that are helping restaurant workers who are struggling through the coronavirus pandemic.