Restaurant carves out niche for local benefits
BY TOYNETT HALL
Staff Writer

HOWELL - "Paying it forward" is what assistant manager Maria Conrow says Mulligan's Bar and Grill is doing every time it hosts a benefit.

The Squankum Road restaurant that is named after a golf term which means "take another shot" has helped to raise more than $10,000 for local charities and community groups through fund-raisers.

Although Conrow said Mulligan's has always contributed to the community, it was not until last September that the restaurant's managers decided to extend their generosity on a regular basis.

"We are so blessed with everything we have. If you can do something for someone else do it, especially if it's to benefit the children who are the adults of tomorrow," Conrow said.

Chef Steve Dawson has been the cook at Mulligan's for more than 10 years. He said the business has changed for the better and the benefit events that are held at the restaurant help to bring in more business and better the community.

"The benefits are good on several different levels because it helps us to bring new people in who haven't been here before. These new patrons get a chance to try our food and see what we are all about," Dawson said. "It also helps to give money back to the community which is also important."

According to Conrow, organizations that hold a benefit at the restaurant receive back 20 percent of their purchases.

The managers and employees agreed that Mulligan's is more than just a business. They say it is a family.

The staff and clientele has remained the same for nearly a decade. They say the environment and people contribute to the low turnover rate among employees.

Manager and server Lisa Rachinsky has been on the job for more than three years. She said she loves her co-workers and really enjoys the atmosphere.

According to Rachinsky, the benefit events are an all-around plus.

"It brings a lot of people together and new folks get to experience the food, atmosphere, and then hopefully come back," she said.

Besides the food and the fund-raisers, some employees said the charm of the restaurant is not the adornments of the wood finished furniture. It is the location. Mulligan's is near several golf courses and local parks, among them Allaire State Park, Bel-Air Golf Course, Cruz Farm Golf Course, Jumping Brook Country Club, Quail Brook Golf Range, Shark River Golf Course and Spring Meadow Golf Course.

Although the venue might be seen as a golfer's paradise, the managers say Mulligan's is a place where a lot of local blue collar, hardworking people come to unwind and enjoy great food.

Mulligan's is holding hermit crab races during the summer to benefit the Howell Police Athletic League.

For more information about holding a benefit at Mulligan's, call Maria Conrow, Thursday through Sunday at (732) 938-6166.