Wayne, NJ February 2025 by City Lifestyle

February - It's All About Loving Local

February. What's the first thing that jumps into your mind when you hear it? Valentine's Day, right? We touch on that in this issue by bringing you a rather Enchanting gift guide to help bring that special someone a little closer. I gave an early Valentine's Day gift this year (see the I Love You Mini Gift Set to the right, also on the page 30 gift guide). It went over so well, I probably should have held onto it as a future “I’m Sorry” gift as it could've gotten me out of whatever hot water I'll get myself into next.

For the rest of this issue, though, the type of love we focus on is not romantic love. The love I am talking about is the love of our local communities. The people, organizations, and events that help make our communities the places we all love. The people that love our communities so much that all they do is find ways to help others, to make you smile or even just make your life easier.

Let's start with our cover story - Johnny Drinks, also known as Wayne residents John and Johnny Rondi. A father/son team that has spent the last four years setting the world of social media on fire by making beautiful drinks while sharing life lessons, laughs, a love of local bars and restaurants, and a lot of great times. It’s not about their millions of followers or the A-list celebrities they collaborate with, it’s actually about family.

Johnny Drinks also designed the brand-new drink, destined to be the next big thing. A drink aptly called…The Wayne Lifestyle. We’ve brought you the recipe in this issue or just go order your very own at The Brook Tap House.

We took a quick ride around the community with Derek Vannelli. Not only is Derek one of the hardest working people you’ll meet, he also uses his State Farm Office as a vehicle—pun intended—to help teach teens about driving safety, as well as how to handle the occasional accident, all with the eye toward helping all of us save money.

We also sat with Wayne resident Azniza Sharif, the owner of A Squared Tutoring. Azniza takes the best aspects of various tutoring companies and brings these methods to your home to tutor your children.

Finally, we’re excited to announce our third annual Wayne Lifestyle “Picture This 2025" Student Photo Contest.

Now go out there and share the love.

February 2025

PUBLISHER

Phillip Barone | phillip.barone@citylifestyle.com

EDITOR

Don Seaman | don.seaman@citylifestyle.com

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Officially Social | alison@officiallysocial.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Don Seaman, Marcelo Galarza, Angela Shehi, John Rondi, Phillip Barone

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

John Agnello, Karolina Burzynska, Michael Maloney, Joe Rude, Kristina Vepryk, Madison Schoeneich, Marcelo Galarza, Angela Shehi, Gina Monego, Phillip Barone, Aidan McKay, Weronika Telma, Jaylen Lovell

Corporate Team

CEO Steven Schowengerdt

COO Matthew Perry

CRO Jamie Pentz

CTO Ajay Krishnan

VP OF OPERATIONS Janeane Thompson

VP OF FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT Erika Smiley

AD DESIGNER Andrew Sapad

LAYOUT DESIGNER Kelsi Southard

QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Hannah Leimkuhler

PHILLIP BARONE, PUBLISHER @WAYNELIFESTYLEMAG

Advisor

WHERE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE AND BE SEEN FEBRUARY 2025

city scene

1: All set up for the Boys and Girls Club Giving Tree celebration. 2: Donations abound for the Boys and Girls Club Giving Tree this year. 3: The Bowens celebrated their grand opening of The Back Nine (virtual golf) in Pompton Plains. 4: Chris McCormack (April 2023 cover story) held another great networking event celebrating his adventure photography. 5: Holiday lights were on parade throughout our communities!

6: In December, Joe and Paulette Rude hosted their annual Special Needs Holiday Celebration. 7: Wayne Valley’s Kate Pritchard joined Dave Faccone and Peter D’Angelo for a night of networking.

PHILLIP BARONE

GINA MONEGO

JOE RUDE

GINA MONEGO

8: Kohl’s in Woodland Park donated a $2,000 shopping spree to the Wayne Boys & Girls Club. 9: The Clothes, toys, and more went to the kids who needed it most. Thanks Kohl’s! 10: The Ragazzi Italian Social Club celebrated friends, family, & life at Taste Of Tuscany.

Photography by Phillip Barone

Brand Force 5 Wins NJ Ad Club Design Award

Local resident Michael Maloney holds up the NJ Ad Club's Best Logo Design award, won by his Brand Force 5 agency. The design for their Warm Heart Pediatrics client featured a stethoscope shaped into an elephant - combining compassion and care along with the elephant's cultural symbol of strength and wisdom - inspired by the heritage of their director, Dr. Krupa Playforth.

Photography by Michael Maloney

FOR JOHNNY DRINKS, THEIR RELATIONSHIP DRIVES THEIR SUCCESS

The Family Influence

ARTICLE BY DON SEAMAN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN AGNELLO

“Life lessons from father to son,

a relationship on display.

It could’ve been Johnny Eats. Or Johnny Advises. Or Johnny Builds. It just happened to be Johnny Drinks. And now it’s worldwide.

Wayne residents John Sr. and John Jr. Rondi somehow caught lightning in a bottle one night as they prepared to have a guys’ night out with family. With four fateful words and a cell phone, their future had changed.

“Make me a drink,” John told his father. He did. He made him a Manhattan that night and recorded the process, along with them talking. John had recently downloaded TikTok to his phone, so he decided to post it. During dinner, he checked his phone. Their video had 100,000 views. By the time they got back in their car for the night, it was over a million. The next morning, it was three million.

Three weeks later, the world shut down and they had little to do, so they kept mixing, talking, and posting. John would give his son advice on how to do things, like how to tie a tie, or shine his shoes, or change the oil in his car. Life lessons from father to son, a relationship on display.

When the world opened back up, it was a different place for them.

“Suddenly we’re out in public and people start recognizing us for something we’d done in our basement, John Jr. says. “It was weird – ‘why do you want to take a picture with us?’. That’s when I knew that we had a serious opportunity to make it a business.”

“TikTok wants people to stay on their app. So, it’s less about the followers than the content. The algorithm will likely favor a new user and get the views built up quickly to encourage you to post more and stay on. It’s really about being consistent with what you’re posting. That’s how you build the success.”

Going viral is out of the control of a lot of people. “Maintaining that success is in learning what people

like and always staying consistent with who you are. The lifespan of a content creator influencer is about a year,” says John Jr. “It becomes an ego trip, you’re suddenly treated like a celebrity. Long-term success comes from staying who you are and not giving in to that. Staying real and organic, being careful of what you’re putting out and what it is you’re showing, that’s in the curation of the content. You never want to lose sight of what you’re putting out there, just to hunt for bigger views.”

They come and go because they’re not thinking of it as a business, according to John Sr. “I have a new acronym that I use - the ABCs: Appearance, Brand, and Communication. We have a standard of our appearance, and we’re not going to change that. That’s the brand, the optics of it. And what we communicate, the things that I say on the videos are important to me, in the giving back to the followers and the audience who have taken the time to click on the video.”

“I told him early on that this is outside my comfort zone,” notes John Sr. “Coming from a financial background, I always kept everything buttoned-up, never sharing any personal details of anything in my clients’ files. Now, I’m doing the opposite. I’m sharing everything. I built my own brand for 30 years in the mortgage business. Everything was tight, close to the vest—I kept the bar high for myself. But with a little bit of blind faith, I kept doing what John was asking me to do, and here we are, four and a half years later, still doing these things that I think bring value to the audience that engages with us. It’s the family dynamic. It’s real. He busts my chops, I bust his. It’s real.”

“I’m a father first. The responsibilities to the audience, to the business, come second. He’s my partner, but he’s my son first. That’s the dynamic, and in any family business, that’s probably the hardest part to manage.“

When you’re too comfortable, when you think you have everything figured out, that’s when you’re most vulnerable. “ ”

And that’s the crux of what they do. For Johnny Drinks, the mixology is the setting. It’s the background piece. And that’s what connects with viewers.

“Now, when young people approach me and ask me questions, I take it as an opportunity to tell them about things of value,” says John Sr. “It’s not about the cocktails that we make. It’s about the life lessons. That’s what we do.”

And those lessons are reaching millions. One TikTok video alone had almost 25 million views. And they have several hundred videos posted. John Jr. has added a John Rondi podcast, extending the brand beyond the

Johnny Drinks videos. Even those little things – John Sr.’s signature ring tap, once an acknowledgement to his son to remember to pour with his right hand – have taken on mythic status. Recently, a follower approached them, and the first thing that the man did was “ring tap” his drink.

That success, and the five million followers they’ve connected with as they’ve officially become Tier 1 mega influencers, have taken them into a new level of celebrity. They even were a bit surprised when they went to dinner at a local restaurant and saw their Johnny Drinks brand bourbon behind the bar.

There are some celebrity collaborations with people like Kevin Hart and Guy Fieri, but they’re mostly just for fun. The first real big one that they had was with UFC CEO Dana White. The Johnnys were flown out to Vegas for their session with him. After their shoot, while they were touring White's otherworldly facility, Johnny Jr., who grapples in Jujitsu, got to have a friendly session with one of their champions. While they were there, White’s chef saw them in the kitchen and said “Hey – Johnny Drinks!”

These are things that don’t happen to most people. But the Johnny Drinks brand, and who these men are, have found themselves in far bigger rings than most of us will ever see.

But to the Rondis, the best collaborations are simply with their family.

The things the Johnny Drinks boys are most proud of are the times when people come up to them to tell them how much they’ve learned from them. It’s not about the drinks. It’s about their relationship. The drinks never come up. It’s about the value that they bring to them as people. As father and son. As a family. As John Sr. says, they’ve set a standard for their brand with a very high bar.

And that’s a bar we can all gather around.

To see more about Johnny Drinks, check out their Johnny Drinks website (johnnydrinks.com). And they’re on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and wherever you get your podcasts. Simply search Johnny Drinks. You’ll find them.

The Wayne Lifestyle

URS YOUR FAVO R ITE MAGAZINE

Wayne Lifestyle has hit the big time - our very own signature drink!

Created by the one and only John Rondi of Johnny Drinks, the Wayne Lifestyle was inspired by its namesake!

Let some island spirit evoke vacations on the beach and sand between your toes with this tropical cocktail. Anytime can be the right time to envision blue skies and sunshine, destined to get you thinking about your next summer getaway. Once you are sitting there with a Wayne Lifestyle in your hands, that sand feels a little closer.

For a getaway that’s not so far away, head on over to the Brook Tap House in West Caldwell, and order yourself your own Wayne Lifestyle, now featured at the bar! See you on the beach!

ARTICLE BY JOHN RONDI | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN AGNELLO

INGREDIENTS

• Creme of Coconut

• Shredded coconut (toasted coconut works well)

• 1.5 oz coconut rum

• 0.5 oz. Blue Curacao

• Sprite

• Mint leaf

DIRECTIONS

1. Rim a tall glass with Creme of Coconut

2. Dip the rimmed glass into shredded, toasted coconut

3. Pour rum, Blue Curacao, and ice into shaker. Shake well.

4. Pour mixture into ice-filled glass

5. Fill with Sprite.

6. Garnish with 2 mint leaves.

7. Kick back and enjoy your very own Wayne Lifestyle!

TAKING EVERYONE to school

DEREK VANNELLI HELPS NEW DRIVERS NAVIGATE THEIR FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES WHILE ON THE ROAD

ARTICLE BY DON SEAMAN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEREK VANNELLI AND JOHN AGNELLO

When you’re a teenager, getting your driver’s license is a bona fide rite of passage. When you’re a parent, your teenager getting their driver’s license is a heart attack waiting to happen. You stress about everything that could happen out there, if they’re prepared as well as you hope them to be.

That’s where someone like Derek Vannelli comes in and gives those teenagers a booster in how to navigate the realities of driving. Derek is a State Farm agent based in Butler who visits local school driver’s ed classes to share with them how much of an adult world they’re about to accelerate into.

“My goal in doing this is to have a safe community of good youthful drivers who don’t cause accidents and respect the road,” Derek shares. “I’ve had several parents find out that I did this class and they wanted to bring their other children who didn’t have the class come to my office to sit down and review the program with them, to teach them the rules of the road and discounts they can qualify for for doing the right thing – and the ramifications for not following the rules.”

It's all part of State Farm’s “Steer Clear” program, where agents go to high schools to teach young drivers the perils of reckless driving (drinking and driving, speeding, etc.), he says. “The video we show is very hardcore and realistic, interviewing drivers on their experiences, kind of a ‘scared straight’ video. I just wanted to expand on this program.”

Since teenagers tend to have a bit of an immortality complex, they often overlook the risks they run while on the road from both a safety and financial perspective. This program serves as a wake up call to remind them of their responsibilities to be a safe driver, and what to do even if others aren’t.

“We go through the main reasons accidents occur with youthful drivers: distracted driving (cell phones), speeding, not being aware of the road conditions (ice, snow, wet leaves) and how to navigate them,” Derek explains.

The reaction to this program is quite remarkable. “Most kids really perk up after they see the graphic video of the accidents and then we usually have a very good conversation. They are so much smarter than we were growing up and really ask some interesting questions,” he says. “The schools love it because it’s helping educate the children to keep them alive and safe, so most teachers really love the way I handle the discussion by opening it up to them and let them voice their concerns.”

They also take this opportunity to go over something that most driver’s ed programs don’t cover –what auto insurance entails. “I teach kids the basics of insurance. Terms they should know such as deductible, liability, premium, etc., so they know what to expect in the future. I also go through an accident example and ask them what should you do. It’s great hands-on learning that prepares them for the real world. I also show them how much insurance costs for youthful drivers and how they can save money with certain student discounts, like the Good Student Grades Driver Training Program Discount which can reduce their premiums a lot and save them - or their parents - money.”

But the biggest reason that Derek enjoys doing this is what it means for his community, and the impact it can have on the kids.

“My goal in doing this is to have a safe community of good youthful drivers who don’t cause accidents and respect the road.”

“My customers are not only clients, they are an extension of my family. When clients come into my office, I treat them as if they were coming to my house. Growing up in the small town of Wanaque and having my dad as the local State Farm Agent was awesome. He always sponsored my baseball Little League and basketball teams and that made me so proud. To see my kids’ faces now when I sponsor their teams is priceless. That’s why I continue to sponsor all the local Butler, Kinnelon, and Bloomingdale kids’ programs to give them the support they need to thrive. All the local businesses I grew up with meant everything to our town. That’s why I think being the local State Farm Agent in Butler is a truly important job, showing the parents I genuinely care about their children and that goes a long way in building and keeping relationships, which is what my job is all about.”

DEREK VANNELLI

Derek’s State Farm office is at 1212 Route 23 North Suite 2, in Butler. He can be reached at 973-838-0220 for more information about the Steer Clear program or any of your insurance needs.

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LANDMARK ACHIEVEMENT

Successfully Completed

ARTICLE BY MARCELO GALARZA AND ANGELA SHEHI

a gift guide to love

At The Enchanted Petal, Romance Is Ready For The Giving

01. La Bella - Beauty and the Beast Inspired Enchanted Rose in Glass Dome

The La Bella Enchanted Rose is a timeless gift that makes any occasion unforgettable. Inspired by Beauty and the Beast, this arrangement is carefully handcrafted from the finest materials, featuring naturally preserved petals and leaves, displayed inside a glass dome with a luxurious wooden base.

04. Heart Shaped Eternal Rose In Luxury Box

Show your love with our Deluxe HeartShaped Rose Box, a lasting symbol of passion and devotion.

Featuring a single preserved heartshaped red rose, this timeless gift is an unforgettable expression of love.

Each rose is elegantly showcased in a black or mahogany luxurious wooden box.

02. I Love You Mini Gift Set

Spell I LOVE YOU in the most luxurious and meaningful way with this threepiece I Love You Mini Gift Set.

Each set includes three beautifully crafted wooden square boxes that spell out I, Love, and U, with the word LOVE symbolized by a heart-shaped long-lasting red rose.

05. Eternally Red Rose Bouquet

Inspired by the vibrant colors of love, this exquisite arrangement is the perfect way to make anniversaries, Valentine’s Day or any occasion unforgettable.

Featuring 7 long-lasting Red Roses and a Metallic Gold rose this bouquet is elegantly displayed on a round ivory box.

03. Eternal I Love You Rose Gift Box

Express your love with our luxurious “I Love You” gift box, featuring 20-25 long-lasting red roses, accented by metallic gold roses at its heart.

This elegant arrangement combines timeless beauty and craftsmanship, making it the perfect way to declare your affection with sophistication and style.

06. Enchanted Purple Eternal Rose Box

Love comes in many hues, and this luxurious bouquet celebrates affection with elegant shades of purple.

Handcrafted with 12 preserved roses that last over a year, it’s beautifully arranged in a sleek black box, making it an unforgettable and timeless gift.

5 and 6 available in-store or for local delivery only.

an educational house call

Help With Your Child’s Studies At Home Is As Local As Learning Can Be

ARTICLE BY DON SEAMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY KAROLINA BURZYNSKA

For kids, school is their full-time job. Learning is their everyday task. Mastering lessons is their rise up the ranks. But, like some other professions, sometimes you’ve gotta put in a little overtime.

Azniza Sharif is someone who kids can lean on to get them through that.

“When I was working for my first tutoring company, I found that their standardized approach wasn’t really helping to optimize the student,” explains Azniza. “Everyone learns in their own way, at their own pace, with things that resonate individually with them. That was my goal in starting A Squared Tutoring. We’d set up individualized methods to help guide each student, while still adhering to the lesson plans set up by each school.”

A Squared is run by Azniza, who teaches STEM programs, while her sister, Asmara, heads up the reading courses. If you haven’t worked it out yet, it’s Azniza and Asmara who make up A Squared. Azniza also serves as the CEO.

What makes A Squared unique, beyond the sisters themselves, is their in-home service. Unlike most tutoring companies, the lessons are done in the student’s home, where they can be at ease. It removes the pressure from the students, as well as the parents – there’s no rush to get anywhere. If only soccer practice could be so accommodating.

“Kids don’t need to feel as though they’re going to yet another classroom. Coming to them allows them to feel more comfortable, although we do make sure that it’s still conducive to learning. We typically set up in a home office or some other space where we can work without those distractions,” says Azniza.

Most parents can relate to how hard it is to educate in the home without a solid background in education, especially those who had to go through the virtual schooling experience of the Covid year.

As for her future, Azniza still has goals that may run beyond simply education. She’s also the President of her local Health Occupations of America organization at PCTI (Passaic County Technical Institute), where she’s also considering a career in healthcare. Yet right now, education is very much her present path.

Have we not mentioned that Azniza is 17?

She’s leading her own educational company while yet to graduate from high school.

That, ladies and gentlemen, may be the future of education.

A Squared Tutoring is based in Wayne. For more information, you can email Azniza directly at aznizars288@gmail.com or find her on Instagram at @asquaredtutoringwayne.

ARTICLE BY PHILLIP BARONE & DON SEAMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTINA VEPRYK AND MADISON SCHOENEICH

WAYNE LIFESTYLE'S "PICTURE THIS 2025" STUDENT PHOTO CONTEST

Seeing Life Through Our Children's Eyes

We are excited to announce our third annual "Picture This" student photo contest. With so many schools in our area, and so many talented students behind those cameras, we look forward to students blowing us away with the perfect moments in time they have captured!

To be eligible for the contest, entrants must be 14 years of age or older and must be high school, private school, or home-schooled students (grades 9-12) within the Wayne, Fairfield, Montville or Towaco towns and/or school districts.

Each photo requires a model and photography release form signed by all individuals who are personally and/or substantially identifiable in the photo, as well as by the photographer or the parent/guardian authorizing Wayne Lifestyle to display and advertise the submitted photos. Photos submitted without a completed model and photography release form will not be accepted. Model and photography release forms will be available on bit.ly/PictureThis2025.

The content of photos must be family-friendly and are not limited to any particular subject.

All entry photos must be oriented as portrait (vertical), not landscape (horizontal) and be submitted in jpg format with a DPI of at least 300, image dimensions of at least 2550 wide x 3300 high, and be between 1-13 MB in size.

There will be 3 winners chosen in each of the following categories: 1) “straight” photography and 2) digitally manipulated photography. Students can submit 1 photo per category.

Winning photos will be digitally displayed on social media and in an upcoming issue of Wayne Lifestyle. Photos previously entered are not eligible.

Winners will be chosen by a panel appointed by Wayne Lifestyle.

Original digital files and release forms, must be sent via email to wayne@citylifestyle.com and are due no later than April 1, 2025.

Let's continue the great tradition!

2024 Cover Photo Winner, "Mischievous Monkey" by Madison Schoeneich

2023 Cover Photo Winner, "Millions" by Kristina Vepryk