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Hundreds of people come to The Fireplace
Hundreds of people show up on The Fireplace’s last day before it closes in Paramus on June 30, 2021.
Tariq Zehawi, NorthJersey.com
Liz Belthoff of Oradell is devastated.
Just a few days ago, she and her husband were having dinner at The Fireplace, one of their all-time favorite restaurants, when she remarked, “Isn’t it great that Is the Fireplace still here? “
The fireplace was there throughout her childhood when she and her parents stopped by after going for a Sunday drive. It was there throughout his high school years when teenagers from all over Bergen went there after Saturday football games. It was there that she and her father met for breakfast on Saturday morning. And it was there for her and her own family of five as they went through their childhood to adulthood.
Then she learned on Facebook that after 65 years, the institution of Route 17 was definitely closing its doors.
“I was so horrified to read the post,” Belthoff said. “It’s a Bergen County tradition. I’m so sad.”
Belthoff is hardly alone in her sadness. Hundreds of fans have taken to Facebook, Instagram and their phones to mourn the loss of The Fireplace, an unassuming family restaurant that has barely changed over the years and served its last burger on Friday.
The story continues after the gallery
Its original oak tables, slate floors, brick walls, and cart-wheeled chandeliers remained, as did the miniature train that ran on rails above the counter. And while the menu may have changed – over the years the owners have added breakfast (started in 1976) as well as chicken dishes, roast beef sandwich, thinly sliced steak sandwich, pizzas. and fish platters – what kept almost everyone coming back was their burgers and of course pickle bowls (customers could help themselves to condiments and pickles at the pickle bar).
All served with a good dose of nostalgia.
“I cried all day,” said Andrea McHugh of New Milford. “I can’t believe I’m crying for a burger restaurant.”
Closures: 65 restaurants that have closed permanently since 2020, almost all because of the pandemic
McHugh fondly remembers stopping by The Fireplace whenever she and her family, like many Jewish families from the 1920s to the 1960s, traveled to the Catskills Mountains to stay at a resort. “As a Jewish child, The Fireplace for me was halfway to the Catskills,” she said.
She continued to frequent the restaurant over the years with her friends, sister and brother-in-law. “We got him hooked,” she said. And although she tried the chicken dishes and the pizza (“They’re good”), she said The Fireplace was still her place for burgers, especially cheeseburgers.
“If you ask me, there were the best cheeseburgers in Bergen,” she said. Adding: “It’s a sad day for Bergen County. In the same two weeks we lost Nabisco where you would smell like chocolate cookies on 208 every time you passed her and now The Fireplace where I swear. that there was still the smell of charcoal grilled burgers when you passed it on Highway 17. ”(The 63-year-old Nabisco factory at Fair Lawn closed for good on July 16.)
The Fireplace opened in 1956 as a no-frills little burger and hot dog by Frank Reilly, a Navy veterinarian turned FBI agent turned restaurateur. Over time, he bought the surrounding houses to expand his restaurant and build a parking lot. Reilly hired other agents and their sons to help him; until the 1970s, no woman worked there. His son, Patrick Reilly, eventually took over and led him until his last day.
“Over the past few months, we have had more and more difficulty covering the operating costs of our restaurant,” Fireplace posted in its Facebook ad. And he thanked his loyal patrons: “It has been an honor to serve you.”
The restaurant, which has never closed its doors except for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas in its more than six decades of existence, closed them for three months last year before reopening in September. It tried to stay afloat, offering alfresco dining, drive-thru, pickup service, and DoorDash delivery. And of course, it offered what fans say is some of the best and most authentic food in the region.
“Idiots go to Shake Shack when nearby is The Fireplace,” said Barry Fein, who grew up in Hillsdale and now lives in Los Angeles. For Fein, The Fireplace is the real deal, not a run-of-the-mill restaurant chain with mediocre food and indifferent service, but a beloved institution with great food and attentive service.
“Go find another place with grilled burgers like The Fireplace’s. In a fast food world, there’s a Fireplace steak sandwich,” he said, a sandwich he makes a point of. take whenever he comes back in the east.
“I was there last week,” he said. “Every time I come back, I land in Newark, drop my bags off at my mom’s, and then go to The Fireplace.”
He added: “I’m disappointed that this is closing. A friend said, ‘I bet a Chick Fil A is replacing him. “
Longtime Bergenfield fan Jack Hoffman has said he knows more than a burger restaurant is disappearing.
“A burger is a burger, but The Fireplace was a tradition, a tradition that is going away. It’s a shame.”
Esther Davidowitz is the Food Editor for NorthJersey.com. To learn more about where to dine and drink, please sign up today and sign up for our North Jersey Eats newsletter.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @estherdavido
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