Paragon has reopened on Central Avenue in Clark, New Jersey, with founding chef Eric LeVine back behind the line for the first time in eight years, unveiling a reworked menu that blends American gastropub staples with Italian flavors. The restaurant celebrated its grand reopening Thursday at 77 Central Avenue, debuting dishes like a chicken parm Benedict with pecorino hollandaise and a short rib risotto Benedict built on crispy saffron risotto cakes.
The relaunch, first detailed by Jersey Bites, centers on LeVine, a Chopped champion who helped develop the original Paragon Tap & Table concept back in 2014. Restaurant owners Purvi and Akik Shah said they wanted to rethink what Paragon could be while keeping its welcoming neighborhood feel, according to the same outlet, and that bringing Eric back enabled a much larger reinvention of the business. Paragon Tap & Table had temporarily closed on August 24 for renovations ahead of the relaunch, per Jersey Bites.
A Menu Built on Sunday Gravy and Cacio e Pepe
The reworked dinner menu leans into Italian comfort food alongside gastropub standards, with entrees such as chicken scarpariello, pork chop pizzaiola, and braised short rib osso buco, according to NJ Advance Media. Vegan diners get a lentil walnut bolognese, and dessert includes a limoncello olive oil cake, the outlet reports. Jersey Bites adds that the dinner lineup also features mushroom cacio e pepe carbonara and a tiramisu chocolate waffle, while the new weekend brunch brings a Sunday gravy breakfast pizza topped with braised short rib, ricotta, and baked eggs, plus a chorizo & egg rigatoni and a breakfast rigatoni vodka finished with bacon and a poached egg.
Paragon also rolled out a revamped cocktail program alongside new craft beer and wine offerings, and the space itself has been renovated as part of the overhaul, per Jersey Bites. The restaurant can be reached at 732-931-1776 for reservations or questions about the new offerings.
The Chef Behind the Comeback
LeVine won Chopped in 2011 while he was actively undergoing chemotherapy, a personal battle he later channeled into charitable partnerships with organizations including the Family Reach Foundation and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, according to Edge Magazine. He is a six-time cancer survivor who has credited his health struggles with reshaping how he approaches hospitality and community service, the magazine notes. Jersey Bites reports that LeVine graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, worked under chef David Burke at New York City's River Café, and served as chef de cuisine at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan before helping build the original Paragon concept.
Before co-creating Paragon Tap & Table, LeVine served as executive chef at Morris Tap & Grill in Randolph, New Jersey, where he built a regional following for craft beer pairings and bacon-centric cooking, according to Parade. He stepped away from daily line operations at Paragon in 2018 before returning this year to orchestrate the relaunch. In the years since, he authored four cookbooks — including Stick It, Spoon It, Put It In A Glass, Small Bites, Big Flavors, Burgers, Bowls and Jars, and Forkin' Good — while appearing on national programs such as Beat Bobby Flay and Alex vs. America, according to Patch.
A Long Island Track Record
LeVine was named Best Chef on Long Island in the 2023 Bethpage Best of LI Awards for his work as a partner at Farmingdale restaurants 317 Main Street and Vico, Patch reported at the time. His venue 317 Main Street was later named Best American/Continental Restaurant on Long Island in both 2024 and 2025, and LeVine was also named Creative Chef of the Year by the International Caterers Association, making him the only American chef to hold that title, according to 317 Main Street's own catering materials. Jersey Bites reports that LeVine currently owns or operates 317 Main Street, Vico, The James Room, The Nutty Irishman, and Stage 317, and that he has also received invitations to cook at the James Beard House.
Clark's Central Avenue Keeps Reinventing Itself
Paragon operates under a Plenary Retail Consumption License registered to Paragon Restaurant Group LLC, which the Clark Township Council officially renewed in June 2024, according to township meeting records. The reboot arrives as the commercial corridor around 77 Central Avenue continues to see reinvestment, including Target's drive-up service expansion on Central Avenue and Denholtz Properties' multi-building developments along nearby Terminal Avenue, per the Michelle Pais Group. Commercial properties near Exit 135 of the Garden State Parkway in Clark have increasingly focused on re-concepting and intensifying existing sites rather than building new ones, the group notes, a pattern Paragon's own overhaul now fits squarely within.
