Martha’s is a new American eatery opening in Hoboken from a lifelong Hudson County resident complete with craft beer and signature cocktails. It will replace the uptown location of local Hoboken favorite restaurant La Isla.
Earlier this month, La Isla announced they were shutting down one of their locations at 25 12th Street. While that restaurant will still operate their Washington Street location, the move has left a prominent space inside the Maxwell Place development dark.
The void is slated to be filled by a new endeavor called Martha’s, which comes courtesy of restauranteur Alex Cabrera. He owns Harry’s Food and Drink in North Bergen, an eatery that launched in 2018 at 8101 Bergenline Avenue just off North Hudson Park.
Harry’s Food and Drink has become a go-to spot noted for their weekend brunches and Martha’s looks to build on that concept. Cabrera tells Jersey Digs that the menu at Martha’s will be an expanded version of Harry’s Food and Drink that offers reinterpretations of classic dishes.
Cabrera says Martha’s moniker comes from “strong, fierce women who’ve left their mark, starting with my mother-in-law.” He notes that the name became more meaningful when he learned about Martha Bayard, the matriarch of Hoboken who made so many significant contributions to the community.
Bayard, who has a building named after her at Stevens Institute of Technology, was daughter-in-law to Col. John Stevens. She became a noted philanthropist after her husband Edwin Stevens died at age 37 and established the institute’s engineering school, funded the Hoboken Public Library in 1896, and endowed the Church of the Holy Innocents.
Martha’s looks to honor that legacy with thoughtfully prepared dishes alongside a curated beverage program of wine, craft beer and signature cocktails. The restaurant’s application to take over the liquor license at the 12th Street property was heard by Hoboken’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board during their March 13 meeting.
Cabrera says that the goal of Martha’s is to bring a casual and family-friendly vibe to the Hoboken space, which they hope to have fully operational sometime later this spring. The restaurant can be followed on Instagram at the handle @marthashoboken.
