It is with sadness that I post this blog entry about the closing of one of my favorite restaurants: The Fireplace in Paramus, New Jersey.
The news came to me a few minutes before four in the morning on what turned out to be the final day that The Fireplace would be open for business.
This place felt a bit like an institution. It was one of the last good independent burger places that had been around for many decades, having opened their doors in 1956. Back then, of course, Paramus was a very different place. Looking at pictures, it looked almost like a small, even somewhat rural town.
That has changed greatly, obviously. Now, Paramus has some enormous malls and strip malls, and the highways are often choked with traffic. There are a ton of name-brand places. That includes, of course, typical, rather charmless major fastfood chains, dominating the sides of Route 17 as you drive past, with their nauseating neon signs.
One of the few quality places that had withstood the storm of fastfood chains taking over is now closing it’s doors. The Fireplace is a restaurant that I have been going to for many years, since the nineties at least, and possibly earlier. It always reminded me a lot of Anthony Wayne, another great restaurant right at the intersection of a number of highways (46, 80, and 23), and which had a distinctive style of burgers, as well as orange whip drinks, which were always my favorite drinks to get when we went there. I am not aware of anyplace else that had, or presently has, those orange whip drinks.
I miss those orange whip drinks. But as for the burgers, the ones at The Fireplace reminded me of those. In fact, the two restaurants felt very similar to me, almost like sister restaurants. They both had rustic appearances, especially on the inside. One of the things I really enjoyed about the Fireplace, at least before the pandemic, was to eat near the literal fireplace. Like Anthony Wayne’s, there was some décor that was reminiscent of the Revolutionary War period. It was a much better experience than eating at your typical fastfood joint, both culinary and aesthetically. Anthony Wayne’s even had a small bit of green space in the back, and my family often went outside when we ate there.
Now, sadly, there are both gone.
But I remember going here with a number of friends and family over the course of the years, even decades. It was one of my favorite places to go to with friends from Bergen County. In recent years, my son and I would go there at least once every few months, or so. Normally, we would go there are least two or three times per year. My son really seemed to appreciate this place, as well.
Another great restaurant, and New Jersey institution, is now gone. Vintage Vinyl, one of the last true music store to pick up great albums, and The Fireplace both closed their doors this month, and I cannot help but wonder what place is next.
Goodbye to The Fireplace. You will be missed.
Below are some pictures of The Fireplace. The first set were from earlier today, when my son and I went and had one final meal here. I got a cheeseburger and fries, and a nice, cold lemonade, which tasted great and felt sweet after the better part of three hours under the hot sun. He got a Bacon Cheeseburger that looked pretty loaded, a side of fries, and soda.
There were some local media outlets covering the story, including ABC-7, WPIX-11 for TV, and WNEW, if I am not mistaken, for radio. New Jersey Gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli was out in the parking lot, shaking hands. N. J. Burkett waas the reporter covering the story for ABC-7, although I am not sure he is in specifically in any of the pictures that I took.
Some Past Pictures of the Fireplace
That's a damned shame. It never fails: if a place has got character and charm, and a retro vibe that feels anachronistic in this increasingly soulless era, its days are probably numbered. One of the few such places that I know of that's still around is Hiram's in Fort Lee. They've been in business since 1932, and Anthony Bourdain even featured it on one of his shows. Of course, now that I've mentioned Hiram's, there'll probably be a For Rent sign in the window soon. (Actually, I'm cautiously optimistic that won't happen, though considering what happened to The Red Apple Rest, Anthony Wayne's, and now The Fireplace, you never know.) I miss all three of those places.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is sad to see this place close. We went there at least a couple of times over the years, as I recall. Also, I went numerous times with friends. Most recently, Sebast and I were going fairly regularly, at least maybe two to three times per year, for quite a number of years now. No more. As you said, it had some character. Don't think that I ever ate at Hiram's, although I am not intrigued to go. As for employees being sad, yeah, probably. There was a rumor that frickin Chick-Fil-A was taking over. I hope not.
DeleteI'm guessing some of the Fireplace employees – particularly ones who'd been there for a while – probably got a little emotional when they closed for the last time, as did some of the customers who loved the place and hate to see it go.
ReplyDeleteAs for those pictures of businesses that have gone out of business over the years, I vaguely remember hearing about Bamberger's, but I definitely remember the Alexander's on 17.
I won't be remotely surprised if that Chick-Fil-A rumor turns out be be true. But even if it doesn't, it's already a foregone conclusion that those of us who appreciated The Fireplace are going to be less than thrilled with whatever takes its place.
ReplyDeleteAs for Hiram's, hopefully "I am not intrigued to go" is a typo. I don't have a background in creating promotional campaigns, but dah-eem, bro, that was cold.
That was indeed a typo.
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