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.
I loved bringing my family here to eat on vacation. Great atmosphere, and we never left hungry. My kids loved the “Seashell Guide” place mats.
Our family will so miss the famous Groff’s pies — we would take 2 peach glaze pies back to Sea Isle
each year where we rented since the 1970’s. Will the pie recipes be available to the new owners?
We missed our special treat this year — hopefully something can be worked out– is there any info
available?
Thank you for the attention to detail … The quality .. Work .. And dedication to the home made food … Sorry to see you go … I am glad I got one of the last sittings of the end of the summer of 2013 … I will miss the tradition of going to groffs for dinner … And the memories my husband and I shared there … Started by his German grandparents … Thanks again … And God speed …
Growing up my family vacationed in Wildwood and Groff’s was our favorite place to eat. We continued this tradition with our own children. We returned last summer only to find it wasn’t Black Bittom Oue Day. The owner graciously delivered one the next day to our Bed & Breakfast. It was just as delicious as it had been for the last 60 years.
Heartbroken…was hoping to make it to the Jersey Shore this month and Groffs was my first destination! I had not been there in a few years and I was so looking forward to the roast turkey, fresh seafood and OH, those pies, blueberry glazed, peach glazed, blackbottom…yum yum! Ate at Groffs since I was a kid. Food and Owners the best! My best wishes to you all! We would bring whole pies home to family members packed on ice by the staff. Wonderful Memories!
Pop, my husband’s grandfather worked downstairs at Groff’s in the 40s and 50s. My husband worked as a dishwasher when he was in high school. After his Navy service, he worked in the bake shop and I was a hostess – 50 years ago. We have been married for 49 years. It was a wonderful place to work. Mrs. Groff was the reason the service was terrific. The kitchen was immaculate. We brought our children and then our grandchildren to eat there every summer. Now we are left with memories of the summer of 65, the Groff family and those delicious pies! May the new restaurant and its staff begin to experience their own special memories.
Hi, Do you happen to have the recipe for Strawberry Glaze PIe? My husband took me there for 40 years, has now passed and I miss their delicious pies!
Thanks
Was down Wildwood for the first time in a long time and took the family to Groff’s for dinner – what a surprise to see it was gone. Family memories of Groff’s go back generations for us. They will be missed. Loved the pies and my favorite real turkey with stuffing. Best of luck in retirement.
I was planning to take a one day trip this Friday just to go to the boardwalk and Groff’s for dinner, and was shocked to see the word CLOSED when I searched for Groff’s online. My parents started taking us to Groff’s in the late 60’s and we continued to visit once or twice each summer while on vacation from Baltimore. I loved the Chicken ala Maryland and ALL the glazed pies. I have the cutest picture of my son sitting on the stool near the front counter next to the hostess. He was about 4 years old and you could tell he was happy to be at Groff’s. I’m so sad to know that we will never eat their wonderful food again.
My family ate here every night we were in Wildwood for vacations since the 40’s. I have been going there since the 60’s whenever I was in town. I will absolutely miss that amazing peach glaze pie. There was and never will be a place like this was…….so so sad you are gone. Thanks for the memories.
Such awful news!
I, as well as soooo many others (above) have spent their lives going to Wildwood and having dinner at Groff’s Restaurant. I went the 1st week in August EVERY summer with my grandparents. Groff’s was always on the list. The Fried Shrimp was my thing. I’ve now owned a house (just outside of North Wildwood) for the last 11 years, because I love the town and it’s vintage charm, and places like Groff’s so much. On my wall hangs a tray with a placemat from Groff’s that I sealed under the glass on the tray. It’s tells you all about the different seashells of the world. Educational and beautiful. I’ve been to Nino’s at their other locations (and I like them), but Groff’s will always hold a place in my heart. Truly sad to see it go.
I agree, Wildwood will never be the same.
Very sad to hear the news of Groff’s closing. Our NJ shore vacations will never be the same. We have been going to Groff’s for 30 years with just my family. My wife’s family you can add another 20 + years! We enjoyed all of our dinners, desserts served by dedicated staff.
I know this is a crazy question, but does anyone know if any of the pie recipes are available anywhere?
We decided to try Groff’s with a party of 8 including three generations! We have been coming to Wildwood for years and have seen many of our favorites go, Duffinetti’s which thankfully just reopened, Zabereres, and Duffys on the Lake. We thought we would start a new family tradition in 2014 after hearing about Groff’s. We were very disappointed from the start as we were not happily greeted, the server took forever to take out order, the food came out cold and was not tasty and a huge disappointment!! Obviously it’s time had come to close as quality was a thing of the past at Groff’s. I’m sure another case of a disinterested younger generation taking over!!
In addition, they started to clean and put the chairs up on the tables 30 minutes before they closed! Very rude!!!
I’m pretty sure Earl Groff did not own the restaurant any more at that time. He had sold it & someone else was running it the last few years it was open.
I loved coming from Bethlehem, PA to Groff’s with my grandparents, then with my parents, then with my new husband, then with our kids, then with our grandkids. We’ll miss you!
I vacationed with my grandparents, mom & sister in the early 1970′. We stood in line for hours to be seated in the best restaurant in Wildwood. We had turkey, fish, ham, monkey dishes with our favorite side dishes! The Pies were to die for. I went there with my husband & kids a few years back-It was awesome. The place was a time capsule of my childhood in Wildwood. My suggestion to the new owners: Please add some Groff’s menu item to your menu.
I cannot believe Groffs is gone. Ever since I was born, my family vacationed in Wildwood for 2 weeks every year faithfully. We went to the same family to rent, and always looked forward to eating at Groffs. It will not be the same without them. Future generations will never get to enjoy what we did. Sometimes change is not for the better. God bless you all in your future.
We go to the shore every two years so we only discovered the loss of Groff’s last week 🙁 The thought of not eating their black bottom pie ever again was about as devastating as our loss of the game of Fascination…both traditions spanning 4 generations. I will continually check to see if the black bottom pie recipe becomes available…
I have been eating at Groff’s for the last 20 years. They will be missed.
Like for so many others, going to Groff’s was a yearly tradition – for me since I was a little girl many years ago. The menu had just the right number and types of choices,, good prices, consistently good food, and unforgettable glazed pies. Am still mourning the loss of the restaurant but wish Groff family members involved in the business the best and thank them for many good memories.
Very very sad. It has been 30 years since I’ve been in in Wildwood and looked forward to eating at Groff’s and also eating a piece of peach glaze pie. When I was a kid every summer we spent a week in Wildwood and ate several meals at Groffs during that week.
I’m now in Wildwood and did a search for their address and then find they are closed. Sad.