FROM THE BRIDGETON NEWS (Newhouse Newspapers)
Saturday, August 12, 2006
By SEAN C. McCULLEN
Staff Writer
BRIDGETON -- By all accounts, "Hometown Day" was quite a success.
The event, which was organized by the city's Main Street Association after it learned two weeks ago that Philadelphia classic rock station WMGK (102.9 FM) was to do a live remote from S.R. Riley's Musical Café 2 to 7 p.m. Friday, got started with the farmers market at 10 a.m.
Main Street's acting Executive Director Clarena Snyder reported larger-than-usual crowds at the market, which no doubt was helped out by the tremendous weather.
Snyder's noted a developing trend in recent weeks at the market, one that she, Main Street leaders, market vendors, downtown business owners and city officials hope will become the norm for years to come.
"I've noticed that people are starting to hang out," she said.
There certainly was a good crowd hanging out at S.R. Riley's on Friday.
The spirited and jovial WMGK host Andre Gardner had the place filled with good people and good vibes.
It was a "natural fit" to have Gardner, who hosts Sunday morning's "Breakfast with the Beatles" program from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., doing his "hometown" show from the downtown eatery, which is decked to the ceilings with Fab Four memorabilia, said Walt Pudelko.
S.R. Riley's owner Sandi Riley credited Pudelko, a West Commerce Street resident and avid Beatles fan, for getting the ball rolling on enticing Gardner to do his "hometown" show at the restaurant.
"I thought to myself, 'What a perfect match.' I mean, you've got the only Beatles restaurant around -- there may not even be one in Liverpool (the Beatles' hometown) -- right here in little old Bridgeton," Pudelko said. "I just thought this is a natural fit -- Andre Gardner and a Beatles restaurant."
Gardner, obviously a huge Beatles fan himself, felt right at home at S.R. Riley's.
"This is nirvana," he said. "There really is some unbelievable stuff in here."
When asked if he'd be coming back to Bridgeton's now regionally famous "Beatles restaurant," Gardner replied, "I certainly hope so. I would love to come back."
Gardner credited Riley and Main Street and city officials for the hospitality they showed him and the WMGK crew during their visit.
Gardner was greeted around 2 p.m. by Mayor Jim Begley, who read a proclamation on air at the beginning of the show declaring Friday the city's "Hometown Day."
The mayor was joined by Councilman Bill Spence, whose council colleagues Celeste Riley and Nick Salvatore also stopped in the East Commerce Street restaurant.
Salvatore joined Main Street President Ronald "Blue" Bowman, owner of Laurel Street haberdashery Blue's Spot, on air as Main Street presented Gardner with a gift basket filled with some of the city's finest products.
Riley couldn't have been happier to host WMGK.
"It's been wonderful," she said, looking out over the crowd. "And a lot of the people that were here, it was their first time. They all left happy and said they would be back again."
Pittsgrove Township resident Art Gottwald was among the first-timers to dine at S.R. Riley's. He, too, said he would be back.
"Eat some good food, listen to some good music and you've got Andre Gardner here. What more could you want?" Gottwald said.
Gottwald said before he came into S.R. Riley's for Gardner's WMGK show he wasn't aware it was extensively decorated with Beatles memorabilia, most of which Riley's late husband, Samuel, had collected.
"I think it's great," he said.
As part of its "Hometown Day promotion, Main Street had several of its member businesses stay open later and offer discounts.
To wrap up the day's festivities, and keeping with the music theme, the Herb Moore Jazz Trio performed at the library for the Friends of the Bridgeton Public Library's "Hot Night, Cool Jazz" fund-raiser.
Sixty-five to 70 jazz fans showed up to watch the Port Norris native and his bandmates perform, filling the library basement to capacity.
Head librarian Gail Robinson was pleased with how "Hometown Day" came together.
"It was a happy coincidence that all of these things happened on the same day," she said, "so we could celebrate and showcase some of the good things about Bridgeton."
Here's to many more days like Friday.