NJ Alfa Club Breakfast Meet, Nov. 9, 2025

November 10, 2025 RichardReina Drives, Events Americana Diner, NJ-AROC

Members of the New Jersey Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club got together on Sunday November 9^th, 2025, for our monthly breakfast meetup. The Americana Diner in Shrewsbury, NJ again played host for the thirteen intrepid Alfisti who braved changeable skies and the ever-present threat of rain. But the promise of fresh griddle cakes, hot coffee, and conversation about Italian cars will get us up and out of the house, no matter the time or temperature.

We had a particularly nice variety of Milanese macchine this time around, with Lee’s GTV6 (a model we seem to rarely see), Dave’s new-to-him ’71 GTV, Alex’s always-impressive Duetto (on which he bravely kept the top down through breakfast) and several moderns, including three Stelvios and a Guilia Quadrifoglio. The thirteen of us were crammed around a table for ten, but we made it work. Our waitress did an exemplary job keeping us plied with food and drink, and as is the custom, after breakfast we spilled out into the parking lot where we continued the conversations.

Yes, there’s 12 here; Frank stepped away.

We finally bid ciao around 11 a.m. and headed home. Our Chapter has, in my humble opinion, done an outstanding job keeping the monthly breakfast tradition alive, and rotating the location among several diners throughout the state also helps bring out members who might not otherwise be able to make a longer drive. With the holiday season approaching, I’m certain that we’ll still find the time (and the room in our bellies) for a December breakfast.

Lee’s GTV6:

Dave’s GTV:

And the rest:

NJ AROC breakfast meet, Feb. 16, 2025

February 16, 2025 RichardReina Events Americana Diner, AROC-NJ

The NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owner’s Club held its monthly breakfast on Sunday, February 16, 2025, with six Chapter members gathering at the Americana Diner in Shrewsbury, NJ. The lighter than usual turnout was not a surprise given the weather, which overnight had started as snow, then changed to sleet, freezing rain, and finally rain. Temperatures above freezing helped make the hour’s drive for your scribe palatable.

Also palatable was the food, which was excellent as we’ve come to expect from this diner. Conversation ranged from winter projects on stored Alfas to the upcoming Amelia Island show and the annual National AROC Convention in Chicago.

Four of the six of us motored in Alfas, and we decorated the Americana parking lot with a Giulia, two Stelvios, and the oldest Alfa out today, a 164 sedan. Here’s hoping for an early spring so that our March breakfast might include a larger number of Milan’s finest.

L to R: Lee, Richard, Vic, Paul, Alfred, Frank

NJ Alfa Club Breakfast Meet, Nov. 17, 2024

November 18, 2024 RichardReina Drives, Events Americana Diner, AROC NJ Chapter, Breakfast meet

For the 11^th month in a row, the New Jersey Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owner’s Club (AROC-NJ) held its monthly breakfast meet, returning to a favorite eatery, the Americana Diner in Shrewsbury, NJ. Our autumnal weather continues to grace us with sunshine and warm temperatures, and this past Sunday the 17^th of November was no exception.

We made our way into the diner a little bit after 9 a.m., but we were far short of the expected headcount. That was soon remedied when the remainder of those who had registered for breakfast arrived to fill out our reserved table. The food and drink were greatly enjoyed, and although the diner was getting crowded, the wait staff didn’t act as though they were in any hurry to shoo us out the door. One waitress, obliging my request, was only too happy to take my camera and snap the obligatory group photo.

The fun continued after we exited the building. We hung around our Alfas, old and new, and continued our conversations. Vic delighted us by showing his new-to-him 1966 Giulia Super sedan, an amazingly original car. The cloth interior was nicely preserved, and the engine compartment looked like it had not been tampered with, down to the fuses which Vic claimed were original. At some time in its past, the car had been repainted, and top coat did not adhere well, perhaps due to poor prep work. We debated the pros and cons of a repaint, with the consensus agreeing that the car probably should be brought back down to bare metal and treated to a quality respray.

Parked next to Alex’s red Duetto was a very rare Alfa Romeo prototype. A club member who prefers to remain anonymous said that he was given the chance to drive Alfa’s new electric SUV. In order to disguise the beautiful Italian styling, the engineers hung sheets of flat steel roofing they bought at Home Depot over the entire car. Their intent was to use the camouflage to create “the ugliest car on the road” as a way to deceive the public. We unanimously agreed that they had succeeded.

The Americana parking lot is small, and cars kept pouring into the lot looking for spots, of which there were none. We finally decided that we needed to get out of the way, so our chit-chat was over for the day. The NJ Chapter meets next month in December, which will make it 12 consecutive monthly breakfast meets.

AROC-NJ Breakfast Meet, April 21, 2024

April 21, 2024 RichardReina Drives, Events Americana Diner, AROC NJ Chapter

What a turnout! With 10 Alfa Romeos of various vintages parked outside, 19 Alfisti parked inside, and an infinite amount of camaraderie, the NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC-NJ) held its 4^th consecutive breakfast meet on Sunday April 21, 2024, at the Americana Diner in Shrewsbury NJ.

Old and new Alfas complement each other nicely

My GT 1300 Jr was a no-show as it is still suffering from braking woes (breaking woes?), but with 2 new remanufactured rear brake calipers in place, I’m hoping for an end to this latest saga soon. Instead, I drove to fellow Chapter member Tony’s house and hopped into the navigator’s seat of his 1967 Guilia TI. Tony ably piloted us along Route 287 and the Garden State Parkway, easily keeping up with Sunday morning traffic. (His car was born with a 1300 and now has a 2.0L transplant for extra con brio.) We arrived a few minutes before 9 a.m., and I was happily surprised to see a respectable turnout in the diner’s parking lot.

Of the 10 cars, 4 were classics: in addition to Tony’s blue TI was a white Giulia TI, and two Spiders, one red and one white. The 6 other Alfas were modern: 2 4C’s, one red and one white; 3 Giulias, in grey, bright red, and dark red; and one Stelvio in blue. Together, it was an impressive display of incredibly fine Italian styling and engineering.

The staff at the Americana welcomed us warmly and had our table ready for us. Eggs, pancakes, home fries, and plenty of coffee to wash it all down were on the menu, as was the usual chit-chat about the states of our hobby cars. While the late April weather was cloudy and cool, the climate did nothing to deter us from continuing our conversations outside amongst our Alfas. Tony and I were motoring out of there sometime after 11 a.m. and his Giulia got us home without incident.

Pay no attention to the man in the mirror

With 4 successful breakfast meetings completed, I’d say that we have a strong tradition underway. The May breakfast date and location are yet to be chosen, but there is a Chapter meeting during this upcoming week when those facts will be decided. My Alfa better be ready by then!

Suzanne, JP, and Steve with their Giulia

Two cars (the white Giulia TI and the white Spider) feature significantly reworked engines with Twin-Spark heads:

NJ Alfa Club Breakfast Meet, Feb. 18, 2024

February 18, 2024 RichardReina Drives, Events Americana Diner, AROC NJ Chapter

The NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC) held their 2^nd monthly breakfast meet-up of the year on Sunday February 18. The chosen locale was the Americana Diner in Shrewsbury, NJ. Nine Alfisti braved a.m. temps in the teens to make the trek. Our Chapter V.P. Vic had made the arrangements with the diner, which was all too obvious when I, the first one to arrive, walked in, whereupon the diner manager blurted “You with Vic? Just hang on a sec.”

The rest of the crowd poured in within minutes, and we were given a large table in the rear, where we could eat and chat in peace and comfort. With spring just over a month away, much of the conversation pivoted around plans for warm weather events, such as a visit to the Simeone Museum and participation in the New Hope car show. Alex, our Chapter Secretary, entertained us with the Show & Tell portion of the morning by passing around the gears and synchros from his Duetto transmission, which he is in the midst of rebuilding.

Breakfast was served and consumed, coffee was poured and drunk, and as car guys tend to do, we hung out and gabbed well past the time when plates were cleared. Before departing for the day, I made sure to capture photos of those who drove their modern Alfas. The classics are still stored, waiting for salt-free roads and milder temperatures.

The next breakfast outing for the Jersey Chapter is Sunday March 10, which means there will be just 10 days remaining before Ol’ Man Winter departs (we hope) for the season.