Groff’s Restaurant has closed and sold the property to Nino’s Family Restaurant. Nino’s used to have a restaurant in North Wildwood, NJ that was open all season long, but it was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Groff’s Restaurant opened its doors in 1925 and has been family owned. Groff’s was known for their delicious pies and great early bird specials.
Mr. Earl M. Groff came to Wildwood in 1918 where he started as a millwright and then started working for the Ludens Candy Company. He later rented a store on the boardwalk and ran various games and in 1925 he installed a grill and started selling hot dogs.
Some of the latest reviews on Yelp for Groff’s sound familliar to the ones I remember from my parents growing up.
Jeffrey D from South Haven, MI writes, “A Wildwood institution – around since like 1925. My folks ate here some 30 years ago. We went on a Tuesday evening in June. They are only open from 4 to 8 p.m. We had 3 generations at the table and all loved it.
I enjoyed the fried scallops, while my wife and mom had the broiled scallops. My son had the fried crab cakes. (I also enjoyed one of those). Your meal comes with THREE sides. Between us we had mac and cheese, fries, applesauce, baked potato, sweet potatoes, corn, carrots, salad and a cucumber/onion dish. All were very good and nice proportions. Nice size dinner rolls.
Since we were on vacation and my teenage son saw the size of the pies, we indulged. The coconut creme was awesome. Lemon Meringue alrnight. The Black Bottom was heavenly.
Price is what you would expect at the shore (about 30 per person). The atmosphere is very dinerish and old fashioned and that is cool. Staff was delightful.”
Wildwood will never be the same without Groff’s Restaurant. Nino’s Family Restaurant opens this season.
Since so many of our families have been touched by Groff’s please take a moment and leave the family a message in the comments section below.
Wow we are down here in the crest and were shocked to see them closed! My family has been eating there since the beginning! Good food,and service that made you feel like part of the family. Glad I asked to keep my menu to frame. I will be waiting for the cookbook! Happy trails
I’m really sitting here crying! I’m 53 years old and have gone to Groff’s every year, several times a year since I was a baby! So sad when a part of your own history and tradition is no more! My children and grandchildren enjoyed Groff’s as well! Going to miss it a whole lot!
So sad to know Groff’s is gone!
We always enjoyed eating there over the years. My favorite was the crab imperial.
Anyone have the recipe?
I worked at Groff’s from 1957-1962 first as bus boy under Dottie GROFF and then as short order cook under Al GROFF, Earle’s father. Great times and great people. I met my wife Beverly who was a waitress there. We were lucky that we brought our children and grandchildren to Groff’s last summer. Great meal, and they took me on a tour of the kitchen. We’ll miss it.
My family went to Wildwood for a week every summer and ate at Groff’s almost every night! Such great memories of us four kids, a little sunburned from a day on the beach, waiting on the ramp to get to our “party of six” because no names were taken, just the number in your party. You walked through the door into the cool air and delicious smells. The fried scallops, fried chicken, chicken croquettes were all good. My Dad loved the pepper cabbage salad and we were all crazy for the Peach Glazed Pie and would sometimes order one early to take home!
Wildwood just won’t be the same without Groffs. Four generations of my family enjoyed it. I’m so sad to see it go. I still miss the tiny Taylor Pork Roll restaurant right on the boardwalk – they would cook the pork roll on special tongs over open flame and I would always get a nice cold birch beer.
Thank you Groff family for all the wonderful memories!
We will miss Groff’s. When I was little we used to eat breakfast there too. Such a loss. Is there any chance someone will sell the pies anywhere? Those recipes are too good to end. My husband could eat almost a whole pie. He is devastated. So sorry you had to close.
I remember how sad I was when Adam & Zebes closed because of family obligations and now we’ve lost another landmark that made everyone that walked in feel like family. I have been to Nino”s it was a Great Italian family restaurant will look forward to seeing them fill that spot. ALL MY FAMILIES LOVE GOES OUT TO THE GROFF FAMILY you will always be a wildwood icon
It made me very sad to hear that Groff’s will no longer be open. My grandparents owned a house on the corner of Ocean and Magnolia, so I grew up spending my summer vacations only a block away from Groff’s. The line would stretch down the ramp and onto the sidewalk, so we would always try and get there early. I loved seashells when I was a little girl, so I would always try and keep the seashell placemat clean so that I could take it home to keep. I always got the turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and buttered beets and sometimes green beans. When I got older I fell in love with the peach glaze pie. I also liked the Strawberry Glaze Pie, if the peaches were not yet in season. Both were delicious. After I got married, I introduced my husband and then my children to Groff’s. Their favorite pie was the Black Bottom Pie. When we would come down for a week’s vacation, we would order whole pies to take home and enjoy all week long. Any chance that someone from the family will publish copies of their pie recipes. I’m sure they will be hard to duplicate, but my daughter and I would love to try and keep a summer tradition living on. Please let me know if the pie recipes are available anywhere. Thanks. Only reason left to come to Wildwood anymore is to get molasses paddles at Douglass’. Wonder how much longer they will be around.
My heart broke when I found out that Groff’s had closed. May family has been coming to Wildwood for summer vacation for over 50 years. I have many found memories of delicious dinners there with both family and friends, my favorite was the turkey dinner. It was worth waiting in line for. The pies were the best ever. We would always have to get them to go because everyone was too full to eat them there. Groff’s will surely be missed. Best wishes to the family and thanks for all the wonderful years.
when i was a kid my family would spend a week at the shore. we would only eat out one night and it was groffs. waiting on the ramp with my mom dad and sisters was a great time. best food of the week. grow up had my own family and took them to groffs. got to take my granddaughter to groffs last year. dad past away this March and now groffs is no more very sad.
So exactly when and why did Groff’s close? This is such heart-breaking news to come on vacation this year and not be able to experience so many favorites of so many, not have the saved placemats, only place willing to wait in line down the ramp. Tradition all our lives.
Been eating at Groffs since I was a young boy in the mid 60’s. The line to eat was at least an hour to wait and we never complained. It was worth it. We had a feeling it was not long for the world so we went twice last summer while on vacation in Wildwood. We truly LOVED Groffs and thank you for all the fond memories.
I am floored! My son was going to Groffs since it’s a family tradition for us. Then he found out it closed. He texted me that he was in disbelief and it made him feel like crying! My son is 30 and we spent two vacations each year in wildwood since he was 8 months old, and dinner at Groffs was a highlight so much that when he gets to AC in summer months, he travels to WW for Groffs dinner. I too am terribly sad since I’d been going there since the early 70’s. Groffs will be terribly missed and WW won’t be the same. It’s changed over the decades, most small motels home but without Groffs, it’s just not the same.
I am heartbroken to hear this news ! I love Groff’s so much. The food was out of this world! I am going to miss that place so much. It was a highlight of my week when we went there for dinner while we where on vacation.
My heart sank yesterday as I excitedly rounded the corner off the boards, to see the Groff’s sign gone, no awnings, no open at 4 sign, no Groff’s! I feel like a piece of my childhood is gone. I grew up coming to Wildwood for a week every summer, staying on Magnolia just a block down from Groff’s. We ate there a few times each stay. We would always see familiar waitresses as well as Earl and his wife, and they too would remember our family. I know retirement had been on their minds, and every year for the past 5 or 6, I always feared they would close, but they kept on going. Now, a true Wildwood historical landmark is gone. It will now be just a fond memory that gets tied in with Hunt’s Pier and Sportland’s Hell Hole from my youth. Good luck to the Groff family and those that worked there, thank you for all your years of service. 🙁
We arrived in Wildwood Crest for our yearly trek to the shore on 7/12/15 and found out that Groff’s was no longer open. It was surreal….we couldn’t believe it. Four generations of our family have been eating there…it was always where we went for delicious, home cooked, nutritious food. The pies were the best; the pot roast and roasted turkey dinners will never be forgotten…pepper cabbage, candied sweet potatoes…and the list goes on. You cannot get food like this anywhere on the island. Thank you for all the years we were able to enjoy dining at your restaurant. Wildwood is not the same without you and we miss you terribly.
ben going there for over 50 years…will be missed…love the strawberry pie…none like it
I’m not really sure how I will survive my week at the Crest this year. We have gone to Groff’s for dinner each summer for the past 30 years. And, even though it may not have been as great as it once was, we still enjoyed every minute. the Staff and the roast turkey and of course the pies. What will I do without Black bottom pie? Any plans for the bakery to stay in business for the pies?
How sad ! Wildwood will never be the same. We have been going to Groffs for 32 years and we look forward to Groffs every year. It is one of our vacation high lights. Will be greatly missed !
A dark day in history. My grandparents had a house on glenwood ave and we would visit Groff’s religiously. Never had a bad meal. Years later I’d take my wife and son there. Just as I remembered, and a delicious meal every time. An institution that I will forever miss. Thank you to all that were ever involved in this historic eatery.