When longtime waitress, Sandy Dreyer, decided to open Sandy’s Cozy Corner in 1999, she knew she was on to something really special. Now 25 years after its opening, her restaurant is a fixture for residents of Lakehurst, Manchester and well beyond.
Sandy’s unique establishment features a lot of friendly faces among the serving staff. Patrons step into a front foyer where there’s a lending library. There’s also a gift shop, an electric train that rides the tracks across the ceiling, and the eatery even sports an apple tree straight from the land of Oz.
“I opened in ‘99 a block away and in 2003, I moved over here. It was a bit bigger. I put up the train in honor of the historic Blue Comet that used to come through here in 1941 so that was a big thing in Lakehurst. I thought it would be so cool to have a train running around above us. During the holidays I change things around,” Sandy added.
When her Blue Comet engine was being serviced, she brought in her freight train until the Blue Comet was back in service. Sandy pays attention to the traditions of her establishment and the interests of her customers.
As to how the biscuits and gravy breakfast dish became such a specialty item on the menu, Sandy explained, “biscuits and gravy are a big thing. It is one of our signature items along with chicken pot pies that are homemade. We have all comfort foods, pot roast, meat loaf, loin of pork – things like that.”
She noted, “we do an $8.99 meal which is a to-go meal. It is a meat and potato or a meat and pasta. That really works well for the seniors. They don’t want to cook or can’t cook and going out to eat everyday gets expensive.”
“They can pop it into a microwave and have dinner for $8.99. We have a lot of those orders. People come in and say ‘I’ll take three, I’ll take four’ all day long,” Sandy added.
When asked how many staff members she has, she replied, “quite a few. I have three girls out front and four in the back. When they get hired, they don’t leave. They’ve been with me for a long time unless they are going to move or open up something of their own.”
The restaurant/gift shop is located at 414 Route 70 in Lakehurst. Reservations are welcome and they serve breakfast and lunch boasting of the “Best Biscuits and Gravy” in all of New Jersey. Their hours are 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and their phone number is 732-657-7088. You can follow them on Facebook and visit their website at SandysCozyCorner.net. The e-mail is umakesunshine@yahoo.com
“During Covid we had a bit of a rough patch because everything was closed at first,” she said. Like other restaurants, they had to adjust to the new normal. They created an outside dining area with a little fireplace. “It was really cozy outside there too.”
The state eventually let restaurants take inside customers which helped tremendously. “I used to be open for dinner. Because of Covid some of the girls left and some were older and they didn’t want to come back to work and be inside. A couple of the girls retired,” she added.
Sandy recalled, “we tried doing nights with the staff that we had and we tried hiring more but I couldn’t get reliable people to work so I decided after so many years and working weekends I’d just do breakfast and lunch and it’s working.”
She said she is very happy that the surrounding communities have adopted her cozy corner as their place to come in, eat, talk and relax. “We have Whiting, the rest of Manchester, Lakehurst, Toms River, Beachwood – they come from everywhere. After so many years we have people come from Lakewood and Jackson and every day there are new people because I put out a Facebook post out.”
“People say, ‘oh I saw your post, this is my first time here’ plus I give them rewards. For every 100 points I give them $5,” she said.
As to the addition of the gift store which came about with her second location, Sandy explained, “I had a gift shop and just before Covid I sold it to somebody else as I was just doing too much but I love gift shops. I think they are fun and people love them and it’s an impulse thing but people love them.”
Her items include such beautiful works as glass dragonfly figures, guardian angel figurines, crystals, and charms. “The one booth in the front, nobody liked to sit there. There was one right in the middle and I was going to put a sign up as a joke saying ‘I’ll pay you to sit here’ but instead I took the booth away and put a little gift shop there and that is how it started,” Sandy added.
She said her customers love checking it out when they come in to eat. They even have Sandy’s Cozy Corner mugs and shirts to share your love for the restaurant.
Sandy’s eatery also has a display case of pies and cakes. Sandy said her overall décor was eclectic but “the tree is classic. When we had our first Halloween here, we did the Wizard of Oz. Every year I do a different theme and when I do, I do the whole place.”
“We did two apple trees at both ends of the café and I took one down and left that one up all these years. As to other decorations I just find things that I like. I recently redecorated the tables and put all new booths in and chairs. They got a little old so I changed them,” Sandy added.
Sandy said, “I went from a granny type of home to a more of a country cozy feel and changed the wall and decorations. Every once in a while I’ll find something I like and I’ll just put something else up and do that periodically during the season.”
She added that one particular season isn’t busier than another. “It is a steady flow. Even with the snowbirds who go away in the winter, they make room for all the people who couldn’t get in because it was so busy, so it stays busy.”
Among those who have sat at a booth is former San Diego Padres pitcher Alan Joel Santorini. “He’s been coming here for a while now.”
“I’m not sure which of the Jonas Brothers came in with his grandmother, but it was on Twitter (now X) and we just don’t know who it was,” she added.
She spotted a vacant area of her front foyer and decided that it would be a good home for a free library. “I found a nice spiral book case so if you have extra books, drop them off. If you want one, take it. People love it. They come take books all the time and leave books all the time.”
Sandy also expanded her parking area, “They have a fence and I made a walkway next store and there is a sign so people can park over there as well.”
She urged those who haven’t tried her establishment to stop by for breakfast or lunch anytime as “there’s always something delicious waiting for you here.”
