Not many people can fathom coming back to their hometown to open not one, but two restaurants – but that’s just what longtime Metuchen resident, Dan Slobodien has done with the grand opening of his latest restaurant venture, Pearl Street Café.

Dan Slobodien started his culinary career earning a Cub Scout badge for cooking and after studying psychology & business at college, he attended culinary school at Philadelphia Restaurant School and came back to his hometown to open the acclaimed, Dan’s on Main. After nearly 10 years in Downtown Metuchen, Slobodien moved on to Princeton University to develop and manage their Whitman College Dining Hall. But the call of Downtown Metuchen was still strong in this hometown restauranteur and he is back with his latest culinary venture, Pearl Street Café located at 10 Pearl Street.

Metuchen has quickly been gaining traction as a destination location for its restaurants and specialty retailers and with new residents’ footsteps away from Downtown, Slobodien is looking forward to the opportunity to operate another successful business feeding the souls and bellies of its customers.

“This is a very exciting period in Metuchen and I’m glad to be back as a business owner in Downtown. The energy & support from fellow business owners & residents has been wonderful and we’re looking forward to sharing our scratch made cuisine with everyone who visits –young, old and everyone in-between.” – Dan Slobodien

Slobodien’s menu is reflective of his eclectic and classical culinary training with an eye on homemade takes on classics. They will be brining, curing, and smoking their own Pastrami, curing their house made bacon (a favorite of Slobodien’s wife, Sandy, is his candied bacon), grinding their own hamburger meat, and making their own ketchup.

“We loved Dan’s food when he was on Main Street and can’t wait to dig in to his new menu at Pearl Street Café! It’s wonderful to have such a great selection of eateries Downtown and with all the locales that would welcome Dan and his cuisine, we’re excited about Dan coming back home to his roots.” – Jay Muldoon, Metuchen Councilman

For more information visit www.pearlstcafe.com & www.downtownmetuchen.org