THE HIGHLAWN’S GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF MIXOLOGIST IS SHAKING UP THE LOCAL COCKTAIL SCENE WITH CREATIVE RENDITIONS OF PERENNIAL FAN FAVORITES – PLUS A FEW SURPRISES

BY ZACHARY WEG • PHOTOS BY TOM ZAPCIC

Nick Apostolopoulos doesn’t prefer titles. At the Highlawn, a sprawling restaurant and event space in West Orange, the gregarious multi-hyphenate is, officially, the general manager, but he’s also the beverage director, chief mixologist, and go-to mover and shaker. He’s the person patrons go to with the good, the bad, and everything in between.
Born in Staten Island and partially raised in the Garden State, Apostolopoulos witnessed firsthand the gathering power of food from his parents. “My dad and my mom are both very food and drink-driven,” he said. “My father was born in Greece but grew up in France. There was always wine on the table at home. My parents always kind of stressed the importance of how they go hand-in-hand, the food and the wine or the beverage. They were never really talking about it in terms of alcohol content, but just how it all meshed together. They’re both trained cooks, so I always had a good meal and a good bottle of wine on the table.”

Galvanized by the memories of his childhood kitchen, Apostolopoulos later immersed himself in the restaurant industry. “I fully realized that the more you knew about food, wine, and spirits, the more money you made so I started buying a lot, drinking a lot, and studying a lot,” he said with a laugh. Along his career journey, during which he’s worked in several restaurants and bars, Apostolopoulos said he’s learned to “be humble about” his approach. “I travel quite often,” he explained. “I try to objectively taste everything, especially cocktails and wine, and just see and appreciate the direction they’re going in and not let my ego get involved.”
At the Highlawn, Apostolopoulos considers his post as GM and lead mixologist as his highest-pro le yet. Nestled atop the Eagle Rock Reservation (a hilltop overlooking the Atlantic Ocean where General George Washington hunkered down during the Revolutionary War), the Highlawn is one of the premier locales in the tri-state area. Since its reopening in 2021, the restaurant has been a hive of activity, hosting everything from weddings to company outings. Owned by the venerable Frungillo family and overlooking the Manhattan skyline, the establishment has enjoyed astounding success and Apostolopoulos has been there from the beginning.
“I’ve been here since day one,” he said. Initially hired as the beverage director, Apostolopoulos makes, as he described them, “really cool drinks.” What sets him apart from other mixologists and drink-makers is his food-oriented approach. He uses “ingredients that you would use in food like turmeric and sesame oil, for example. I treat drinks the same way I treat food. It’s about sweetness, balance, heat, color: that all matters to me.”
He continued: “The base spirit is extremely important because that sets the tone for the entire cocktail, but it’s also important to have secondary spirits that balance it out.”

Among his signature drinks is a rion the classic margarita, dubbed the Morning Glow. “I take actual turmeric that I cut up and blend in the tequila itself,” he said. “So the tequila takes hold with the turmeric. ¬ Then, from a bundle of fresh rainbow carrots, I just take the orange ones because this carrot not only has a similar texture to turmeric, but it still maintains the spice and the integrity of the color because, just like with food, plating and presentation are important. Food-driven, herb-driven: that’s essentially my style when it comes to making drinks.”
Drink shaker in one hand and a food menu in the other, Apostolopoulos is poised to ignite the restaurant industry.

The Highlawn
1 Crest Drive, West Orange
973.731.3463 / highlawn.com