A newly renovated space, an entirely new menu, and a new American + Italian Gastropub concept mark a major new chapter for the longtime Clark restaurant.
When the doors reopen at Paragon in Clark on September 10, guests won’t simply find a refreshed version of Paragon Tap & Table. They’ll meet Paragon American + Italian Gastropub, a new concept with a renovated space, a completely reworked menu, a new weekend brunch, and a revamped cocktail program.
And at the center of it all is someone with a unique connection to Paragon’s past: Chopped Champion Chef Eric LeVine.
Chopped Champion Chef Eric LeVine returns to Paragon Tap & Table after eight years, leading the culinary transformation of the Clark restaurant into a new American + Italian gastropub.
LeVine was integral to developing the original Paragon Tap & Table concept in 2014 and helped establish its culinary identity at opening. Now, after eight years away, he’s returning to the restaurant he helped create — this time to help reinvent it.
A Full-Circle Return for Chef Eric LeVine
Chopped Champion Chef Eric LeVine in the kitchen at the newly reimagined Paragon American + Italian Gastropub in Clark, NJ.
For LeVine, Paragon isn’t simply another restaurant project.
His history with the restaurant dates back to its beginning, making his return a chance to revisit something he helped build with years of additional experience and a fresh perspective.
LeVine is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America who began his career working under acclaimed chef David Burke at New York City’s River Café. He later became Chef de Cuisine at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan and has built a career that includes national television appearances, invitations to cook at the James Beard House, and multiple cookbooks.
Chopped Champion Chef Eric LeVine joins fellow Food Network personalities at a charity event.
Many diners, however, will recognize him from the Food Network. In 2011, LeVine became a Chopped Champion, adding another chapter to a career built around his inventive approach to food.
Beyond Paragon, LeVine is a chef and restaurateur with a growing portfolio that includes 317 Main Street, Vico, The James Room, The Nutty Irishman, and Stage 317 on Long Island. His work has earned him numerous accolades, including being voted Best Chef on Long Island in both 2023 and 2024, while 317 Main Street was named Best American Restaurant on Long Island in 2024 and 2025.
That creativity is now being directed back toward Paragon.
Rather than simply updating a handful of dishes, LeVine is helping reshape the restaurant’s culinary identity around a new American + Italian Gastropub concept.
So, What Is an American + Italian Gastropub?
A taste of the new Paragon, featuring a table filled with brunch and dinner favorites from the reimagined American + Italian Gastropub in Clark, NJ.
The idea blends two familiar dining styles.
Paragon’s new menu will combine the casual, approachable spirit of an American gastropub with the flavors and traditions of Italian cooking. The goal isn’t to turn Paragon into a traditional Italian restaurant. Instead, expect LeVine’s creative take on Italian-American favorites alongside the kind of satisfying, playful gastropub dishes that have long been part of Paragon’s DNA.
Paragon’s Vegan Bolognese is one of several creative vegan and gluten-free dishes featured on the new menu.
Guests can expect a completely refreshed dinner menu, reimagined gastropub favorites, and an entirely new weekend brunch.
And Paragon isn’t being shy about brunch.
Paragon puts a creative spin on brunch with four pasta dishes from Chopped Champion Chef Eric LeVine’s new brunch menu.
LeVine is promising an outrageous new brunch menu, giving him another chance to showcase his playful take on familiar dishes. Italian-American comfort food gets the brunch treatment in creations like a Sunday Gravy Breakfast Pizza topped with braised short rib, ricotta and baked eggs; Chicken Parm Benedict with Pecorino hollandaise; and a Short Rib Risotto Benedict built on crispy saffron risotto cakes.
Paragon’s Chicken Parm Benedict gives the brunch classic an Italian-American spin, finished with Pecorino hollandaise.
Then there are the brunch pastas—a category all their own—including Breakfast Rigatoni Vodka with bacon and a poached egg, Chorizo & Egg Rigatoni, Sunday Gravy Mac & Egg, and Mushroom Cacio e Pepe Carbonara. Even the sweet side gets LeVine’s over-the-top treatment with Cannoli French Toast Bread Pudding and a Tiramisu Chocolate Waffle. It’s brunch designed to be fun, unexpected, and unmistakably Paragon.
The bar is getting attention, too, with a revamped beverage program featuring new cocktails, craft beer, and wine.
A New Chapter for Paragon
A fresh new look for Paragon American + Italian Gastropub in Clark, NJ, following its transformation and grand reopening.
Owners Purvi and Akik Shah aren’t approaching the project as a simple restaurant refresh.
“This isn’t simply a menu update or renovation,” the Shahs said. “We wanted to rethink what Paragon could be while keeping the welcoming, neighborhood feel that has always been important to us. Bringing Eric back gave us the opportunity to do that in a much bigger way.”
That reinvention extends beyond the kitchen.
Paragon Tap & Table temporarily closed on August 24 as renovations began throughout the restaurant. When guests return in September, they’ll find a refreshed space and atmosphere designed to better reflect the new culinary direction.
It’s an ambitious transformation for an established restaurant, but there’s something fitting about bringing LeVine back to lead it.
The chef who helped shape Paragon’s first chapter is now helping write the next.
Paragon American + Italian Gastropub Opens September 10
Paragon American + Italian Gastropub will celebrate its Grand Reopening on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 77 Central Avenue in Clark.
The newly reinvented restaurant will offer dinner, weekend brunch, craft cocktails, beer and wine.
For diners who remember the original Paragon — and those discovering it for the first time — September 10 won’t simply mark the reopening of a familiar Clark restaurant.
It will introduce something new.
Paragon American + Italian Gastropub
77 Central Avenue
Clark, NJ 07066
732-931-1776
paragonnj.com
