An Update

I've been running Jersey City Eats for a little over two and a half years. And I've loved it. I've talked to so many great people, learned a lot, become more involved in Jersey City as a whole, and of course, eaten some terrific food. But...it's also been exhausting, frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive. What started as a hobby has quickly become a second job. There's always been so much more I know I could do and that I want to do with the blog, but the truth is I just don't have the resources (in this case time, energy, money) and it's taken a toll on me and on what the blog is. So it's time to make a few changes while also moving forward.

This is not a good-bye. Instead, it's a notice that you'll start seeing some new things on here to allow a little more flexibility while hopefully increasing and improving content. There will be some new formats, some new recurring weekly posts. A lot of these are ideas I've had for a long time but haven't been able to formally put into place. I honestly don't have a timeline on when these things will roll out (again, limited resources) but they will slowly start to show up. One major thing that I'm going to start doing is more short posts - little announcements and posts that will discuss a single stand-out menu item rather than a restaurant as a whole - as well as mixing in some of the longer full length reviews and some more personal think piece types about the state of Jersey City dining and food trends. The shorter posts will not be posted or linked to on social media in the same way the longer ones are, so just keep an eye out for them when you check the site.

Another major change that will occur will be more on the business/financial end of things. My basic rule has been I don't accept free things. End of story. On the very rare occasion it's happened (very much as a non-transactional thing and from people I've already gotten to know on a more personal basis) and I've somehow posted about it, I have always been very clear and specific that it was free. That kind of transparency has not and will never change. I will continue my policy of not accepting meals in exchange for a review and/or publicity. There will be no sponsored posts from restaurants where I talk about the quality of the food although there might be sponsored posts about events. The only major change that will occur is I will occasionally attend events I'm invited to, always with the understanding it's not in exchange for publicity and usually when it's just intended as a gesture of goodwill. Anything like that will be decided on a case-by-case basis (it will generally be the exception, not the norm) and if I write about it, I will always inform you if I received anything free of charge. It's incredibly important to me that I maintain trust and present as fair a view as I can in all things.

So as the blog moves towards its three year anniversary and some of these changes start rolling in, please feel free to reach out to me with any feedback or questions. Thank you all so much for your support, comments, and interest over the past couple of years; it really makes such a difference. I hope this blog will continue to be a helpful and entertaining resource for you.