BY SUE MORGAN
Staff Writer

Above, Scott and Amy Kelly, proprietors of Sea Bright’s Mad Hatter Pub and Pizzeria, say business has been brisk since they took ownership of the East Ocean Avenue eatery last month. Inset, pizza maker Antonio Cruz tops off one of the eatery’s renowned pizzas. SEA BRIGHT –– The new owners of the Mad Hatter Pub and Pizzeria are keeping the same recipe for the eatery’s renowned thin crust pizza.

That being said, Scott and Amy Kelly, who took ownership of the East Ocean Avenue restaurant and bar last month, are trying to get to know all of their customers by name.

As longtime regulars of the Mad Hatter themselves, the Kellys, of Sea Bright, say they can relate to their customers’ qualms that new ownership would bring in a new, unproven pizza recipe.

That is why they immediately seized the opportunity to purchase and operate the Mad Hatter when it came on the market late last year.

“It was about Sea Bright and the locals and being able to work in a place that we love,” said Scott Kelly, a Short Hills native who spent summers as a child in the oceanside borough.

PHOTOSBYMIGUEL JUAREZ staff So far, the Mad Hatter’s patrons have been faithful despite some trepidations about whether or not the new proprietors had preserved the pizza recipe, said Amy Kelly, a Georgia native.

“The biggest question we get is, ‘You’re not going to change the pizza, are you?’” she said as she sat with her husband inside the restaurant’s sunny dining room.

The Kellys, who met as students at Georgia State University in Atlanta, say they are adhering to the adage that “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” by keeping the pizza recipe intact.

As for changes to the menu, it will be to provide more choices, particularly with a greater selection of burgers, sandwiches and salads, the entrepreneurial couple said.

“We will offer a more extensive menu, but without messing with what we’ve already got,” Scott Kelly said.

“We’ll be highlighting the things we already have and adding new things,” Amy Kelly added.

One new item the Kellys are promoting is the California chicken salad, served in a spinach tortilla bowl holding grilled chicken, mixed greens, roasted red peppers, cheddar cheese, scallions and diced tomatoes.

The thin crusted pizza can be ordered plain or with any of a variety of toppings, including pepperoni, sausage, anchovies, meatballs, green peppers, broccoli, hot peppers, tomatoes and black olives.

Hawaiian pizza topped with pineapple and ham and a pie sporting chopped buffalo chicken are on the menu as well.

“Our house special is the pizza with sausage and peppers,” Amy Kelly said.

In lieu of offering pizza by the slice, the Mad Hatter sells a four-slice personal pie to satisfy the solo diner.

All of the Mad Hatter’s managers, cooks, servers, bartenders and busboys have stayed on board even though they have new bosses to report to, the Kellys said.

The employees are knowledgeable about the prior ownership and the customer base, they noted.

“It’s a great staff,” Scott Kelly said.

They have also ordered an “industrial-size popcorn popper” and equipment for trivia games and Texas Hold ’em, which patrons will be able to play in the Mad Hatter’s front bar area.

The Kellys hope to have an outdoor patio area behind the building ready by April 15, when the state’s recently approved ban on indoor smoking in bars and restaurants goes into effect.

Propane heaters will be installed on the patio, which has concrete floors, to warm up patrons on cooler nights in spring or fall, Scott Kelly said.

“We’ll try to use the patio for those [patrons] who smoke,” he said.

With the propane heaters and perhaps a covering to keep patrons dry, the owners hope to keep summer going beyond Labor Day.

“The patio has been underutilized in the past,” Amy Kelly said. “We’re looking to close it in so we could extend the season a bit.”

Altogether, 18 television sets, three of which are flat screen models, are strategically placed throughout the Mad Hatter’s premises, which includes the front barroom, the dining room and a smaller bar area with pool table and faux fireplace.

Patrons enjoy watching sports, news and other programs even in the dining room while eating, the Kellys explained.

During dinner hours, the sets in the dining room are usually tuned to cartoons or children’s programs to keep the younger set entertained while the adults converse, Amy Kelly noted.

Last Friday, the Kellys were gearing up for the Mad Hatter’s Super Bowl party to be held this past Sunday evening.

They expect to be busy during “March Madness,” the NCAA’s basketball championship series, next month.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the Kellys plan to pull out the stops not just on March 17, but throughout that entire month.

“It will be St. Patrick’s Month,” Scott Kelly said. “We’ll be serving corned beef all month.”

On March 17 itself, the Mad Hatter will host a party in honor of Ireland’s patron saint, complete with bagpipers in kilts, he added.

Though there is no dance floor at present, the Kellys hope to have booked various musical acts to perform on weekend nights in the front bar area’s bandstand.

Guitarist and vocalist Craig Daniel has already been booked on a monthly basis. The Kellys also expect to bring back karaoke night, a popular attraction under the previous ownership.

Business has been brisk even during the off-season months, which Amy Kelly attributes in part to the unseasonably mild winter.

“It has been busy,” Scott Kelly said. “It’s hard to figure out why.”

By 9 p.m. the dinner crowd begins exiting and the bar patrons come in about an hour later when the live music starts. Casual dress is encouraged, and pizza is sold up to 1:15 a.m.

The Kellys are seeking donations of any old postcards from Sea Bright and the vicinity. Those pictures will then be

blown up into larger photographs and

displayed on the pub’s walls.

Some photos of the area complement the bar’s existing nautical decor and sports memorabilia.

“We want it to have that old feel of a Jersey Shore bar,” Scott Kelly said.

Amy, who moved to New Jersey in 1994, continues to be dazzled by Sea Bright as a community, where she and her husband have lived year-round since 1998.

“[Sea Bright] is so amazing,” she said.

Most of the clientele hails from Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach, Rumson, Little Silver, Red Bank and Atlantic Highlands, Scott Kelly noted.

“[Customers live] within a five-mile radius,” said Scott, noting that he and Amy have made walking about and talking to patrons a priority.

“We’re interactive with people. We want to be recognized,” he said.

“We introduce ourselves and take

suggestions from our customers,”

Amy Kelly said.

Apparently the concept of familiarity promoted by the theme song for “Cheers,” the long-running television series about the bartenders and regulars at a Boston tavern, holds true for the Mad Hatter.

“It’s true. Everyone loves to come someplace where they know your name,” Scott Kelly said. “It’s probably the basis for a really good restaurant business.”

Looking ahead to summer, the Kellys expect to be delivering pizzas throughout Sea Bright, even to sunbathers on the beach as was the case under the previous ownership.

Located at 10 East Ocean Ave., the Mad Hatter is open from Sunday through Saturday. Drink and food specials are served during happy hour which extends from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.