Coastal European cuisine has found a new home in Holmdel: Mabel at Bell Works. Opened in mid-November 2024, the bright, bustling restaurant offers lunch, dinner, and brunch and seats 185 (including the bar). Grace Crossman, who is Mabel’s co-owner and co-executive chef along with Laura Brahn, describes the vibe as “a neighborhood spot—casual, approachable, not fussy,” she says. “It makes you feel fed. And we love European food, especially Spanish food.”

The Bell Works site was initially built in 1958 to house Bell Labs and now, repurposed over the past decade as a metroburb, features a light-filled, two-million-square-foot space populated with shops, restaurants, and more. (Fans of the Apple TV series “Severance” will recognize the space as a key film location for the show.)

Crossman and Brahn originally became involved in the project when a local brewery asked them to consult on a menu for a new place within the iconic building. The duo, who operate Asbury Park’s breakfast-lunch nook Cardinal Provisions, agreed, but the project fell through. Still, though they had had no plans to open a spot of their own there, “we stepped in and made it our own,” says Crossman. “It kind of happened by accident, but it was a happy accident.” Mabel, Bell Works’ first full-service sit-down restaurant, was the result.

The women were also intrigued by a fact they came across while getting established. “We discovered that Alexander Graham Bell’s wife [Mabel Gardiner Hubbard Bell] was a phenomenal person—a guerrilla gardener who worked to restore native plants,” says Crossman. She was also deaf. When it came to Bell’s groundbreaking work in communication technologies, “she inspired everything he did,” continues Crossman, and they chose the restaurant’s name as an homage to her. “A woman in a male-dominated industry speaks to us.” —Marisa Procopio

Mabel
Bell Works | 101 Crawfords Corner Rd., Holmdel | mabelatbell.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF: MABEL