People and Places
“We thought we could be the new
neighborhood spot; where you can
be outside and not feel like you’re
sitting in a dingy bar.”
Rebecca Tarantino
32
MAY 2016 (201) GOLD COAST
“We want to make sure these guys are
making money,” Conway says. “They
are making a significant investment
by coming here and don’t need
competition.”
Conway says even before the food and
entertainment were discussed, alcohol
was the first implemented piece of the
puzzle to lure patrons. Craft beer reigns
supreme at the bar while non-beer
drinkers can choose between wine,
champagne, homemade sangrias and
frozen cocktails, including piña coladas,
strawberry daiquiris and margaritas –
perfect for the summer.
“The beverages are our forte,”
Tarantino says. “We thought we could
be the new neighborhood spot; where
you can be outside and not feel like your
sitting in a dingy bar.”
With the food and drink tackled, their
creative juices started flowing on the
other amenities. The marina was refurbished with a brand-new dock, opening
the door for a boating club, Thursday
night boat socials, and dinner cruises.
Conway wants to implement a dockand-dine experience where slips can
be rented by the hour to accommodate
boaters from both sides of the river.
“We don’t want to become stale,”
says Conway, of the ever-evolving
amenities at the pier.
With the inception of Pier 13, Conway
and Tarantino formed their own hospitality firm, RWay Group, and they already
have a commanding list of new ventures.
They’ll soon be opening Gringo’s
Taqueria in Jersey City.
Tarantino says it was only natural to
entrust Conway as a long-term business
partner. “I’m the yin to his yang,” she
says. “He’s very creative, but sometimes
I’ll be the stick in the mud. I’ll tell him
we may have to scale this back a bit.
But, we usually find common ground.” ◆
What’s
Happening
at Pier 13
EAT UP
More than 40 food trucks rotating
throughout the week offering
cuisine ranging from pizza and fat
sandwiches to Thai and Mexican.
TAKE A SIP
The bar at Pier 13 carries an array of
craft beer, more than 15 on tap, and
for non-beer drinkers, there’s champagne, wine, homemade sangria,
punches and assorted frozen drinks.
ON THE WATER
Want to get off the pier and onto
the water? Right at the pier, you can
rent a jet ski to take a tour of the
New York and New Jersey waterways, a paddleboard for a leisurely
workout or a kayak to explore the
nooks and crannies of the waterfront.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
On the pier, there’s something going
on every day – Mini Golf Mondays,
Movie Night Tuesdays, Slash the
Price Wednesdays, Groupie Band
Night Thursdays and it’s business as
usual Friday and Saturday, where
you can expect the unexpected.
For a full list of events going on
at Pier 13 this season, check in
regularly on Facebook at
facebook.com/Pier13Hoboken
or visit pier13hoboken.com.
ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
Conway and Tarantino envisioned a
crab shack, but spoilage concerns and
the cost of seafood and installing a
kitchen made it infeasible. So Conway
thought about bringing the food to the
pier.
“Food trucks were just becoming hot
in New York City,” Conway says. “We
started contacting them and told them to
leave the corner on a Friday or Saturday
and come over here. Most came back
with, ‘This won’t be for me.’”
A few signed on, including popular
trucks Luke’s Lobster and Pizza Vita, and
in its opening year in 2012, people started coming for cocktails (available via a
pier bar) and food at the trucks. By year
two, things started taking off with more
trucks and more foot traffic.
Now, on any given day, food is endless at the pier. Food trucks from near
and far converge on Pier 13, lining up to
create a clear alley of aromatic bliss from
cuisines all over the world. You’ll find
Mexican from Mexi-Flip Taco Truck and
Empanada Guy, Cajun and Creole from
The French Quarter, Thai from Thai
Elephant, and Pizza Vita can fire up an
amazing pie in a matter of minutes.
Other trucks that regularly make their
way to Pier 13 serve up everything from
burgers and fat sandwiches to seafood
and myriad desserts. This year,
there will be 42 rotating at the pier.
“It’s a real symbiotic relationship,”
says Tarantino, of the food trucks. “It
took a little while to get here. There’s
a lot of moving parts.”
To earn a spot, new trucks are given
a trial run where everything from sales,
cuisine and guest feedback is analyzed.
If they pass the pressure test and ear