David Burke is taking over operations at Bernardsville’s shuttered Station, with the restaurant across from the town’s train station set to relaunch Saturday, April 18, as Station Tavern.
The reopening brings a refreshed tavern-style menu and a redesigned interior under Burke’s restaurant group. After the debut, Station Tavern will serve an all-day menu from noon to 9 p.m. on weekdays and until 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, with weekend brunch specials expected to follow.
Burke has already built a foothold in the area. He opened Red Horse by David Burke at the Bernards Inn a few years earlier, and his New Jersey portfolio also includes Red Horse in Rumson, Orchard Park in East Brunswick and Dixie Lee Bakery in Keansburg.
The Station had been closed before Burke stepped in, which gives the relaunch more weight than a routine menu update. Turning a beloved-but-shuttered dining room back on, especially in a spot so close to the train station, puts the focus on whether Station Tavern can pull back the regulars who remember what was there before.
For Bernardsville, the answer arrives quickly. By April 18, the town will know whether Burke’s version of the Station can turn a familiar address into a working dinner spot again.