By BOB ZIMORINO
Before I am hunted down like Richard Kimble, by psychotic attorneys claiming none of what I have written is true, I have decided to add a disclaimer to my blog. I freely admit that these ramblings are from my memory and are subject to moments of mental frailty and lapses that I can proudly blame on the seventies.
In the previous blog (#5 The Growth of a Nation) I made mention of all of the different types of restaurants in my hometown.
They were all there when I graduated from high school and moved on in 1972. By 1975 most of them were gone. As a matter of fact so was the rest of the downtown. The plaza pretty much sucked the life of downtown Newark and so in response the “powers that were” decide to create an “urban renewal” district, tear down all the old buildings and build a new modern downtown…the model for the new American downtown.
Unfortunately, they ran out of money sometime soon after the demolition and it became the parking lot with no where to go. Somebody cashed in on that deal but it wasn’t the citizenry of Newark. In one fell swoop, Wes’s Luncheonette, Celso’s News Room, The Plaza Tea Room, The Newark Grill (Greco’s pizzeria), The Home Dairy (cafeteria and bakery) Crockford’s Bar and Grill and even Woolworths Five and Dime (soda fountain) were leveled. I do mean leveled as in down to the dirt. Most of the other restaurants either sold or closed around that time too.
There is a popular pearl of wisdom for those that have had portions their lives slammed shut like the lid of a hit man’s trunk. It goes something like: “One door closes and another one opens.” What it doesn’t say is: “Of course when that door opens it may reveal a level of mediocrity unmatched in culinary history.”
When I returned to Newark a few years later, downtown was empty and fast food had found it’s way to town. Carrol’s Hamburgers had essentially the same menu as McDonald’s but with different names. The Club Burger was the same as the Big Mac and they were just as fast. They built a restaurant near the plaza.
While McDonald’s opened more and more locations in the cities, Carrol’s was doing the same in smaller towns to such success that in 1975 they got absorbed by Burger King. Carrol’s began in Syracuse New York and ironically were an offshoot of the Tastee Freeze Corporation. With their in-town location and fast food menu Carrol’s crushed the Tastee Freeze that I worked at, like a spent smoke.
On one of my visits home I drove past the empty Tastee Freeze building which neighbored The Rose City Drive In Theatre, another victim to the changing times. I was having some changing times myself.
I was in college and had a meal ticket at the dining hall. It was an all you could eat buffet every meal, every day. I lived in a dorm and the guys from my floor bonded immediately. We played hard, consumed copious amounts of potables and ate like there was no tomorrow. We used to say “It isn’t very good but at least there’s lots of it.”
Instant food like eggs, mashed potatoes and cereal were in surplus. We had rice by the bushel, white bread by the loaf and gravy by the gallon. In between meals we would snack on burgers, fries and shakes at the local Carrol’s or slices of pizza from the local pizzerias.
Fortunately for us there was always a football, baseball, basketball, hockey, lacrosse or soccer game to be played. We burned off a lot of what we put on. Unfortunately for many of us we developed eating habits that affected us for years to come.
As for what happened in my hometown, well the same thing was happening in towns across America; not as dramatically with the whole neighborhood being leveled but piece by piece downtowns were starting to lose their draw to the new plaza culture and with that new culture restaurants and the way we eat changed too.
Next: The Beauty of Being Young and Broke. Back to the Bob Zimorino Blog home page.
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Bio: Bob Zimorino is a full-time real estate agent with Lambros/ERA Real Estate, a retired Certified Executive Chef, a Musician with the popular local band Hellgate Rodeo, a dad, and a grandpa. He shares the experiences from his life that helped shape his careers and hobbies. What better place to start his weekly “Taste It” blog than his take on the evolution of food in his lifetime?
Living in Missoula in tandem with your years in Newark, there is so much parallel in what occurred here. I distinctly remember the coming of the “new” Holiday Village. And right in front was Missoula’s first truly “fast” (and cheap!) burger place called Henry’s that served up 12 cent burgers. We’d bike in from Orchard Homes with a buck in our pockets and fill our stomachs with burgers, fries, and a milkshake — and ride home with change! Henry’s later became Hermes and that same location is now home to Little Ceasars on Brooks. Ah, what fun memories!
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When I was growing up in Billings there was a great little ’50s diner called the 5 and Diner. I loved it so much i’d go every year for my birthday. About 6 or 7 years ago they changed from a restaurant to a restaurant/casino and soon after abandoned making food altogether. There’s been nothing like it in Billings since!
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Hey Bob, Great blog. I enjoy reading it.
I also grew up in New Jersey (Exit 8a) and was as a cashier in my high school lunch room for the first 20 minutes of a 25 minute lunch break. This left me 5 minutes to eat the lunch that I had earned as payment for working the till.
The eating habit I learned was – Eat Fast! For some reason, It took me many years to slow down. Having kids has helped, as I don’t want to finish too far ahead of them, but I’m still the first person to clean my plate at dinner time.
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Bob, it goes without saying that Newark, NY and not NJ, isn’t the Mecca it used to be. Fact remains, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If one looks with intent, there is still the small town ambiance that comes with features the bigger ‘burbs can’t enjoy, such as the following:
1. Crime. Sure, we got it, but we also have little of it and when it DOES occur, the perp is usually well known and easy to apprehend.
2. Fast food. It’s everywhere, Newark no exception. Yet, out of the three non-chain diners, one Mexican, one Puerto Rican, one sports bar and one pseudo Italian joint, I still find myself driving outside of Newark for really superb Italian food. What can I say, I go where my paisans cook.
3. The sights. Sure, the ponds at used-to-be-Sarah Coventry are now akin to the LaBrea Tar Pits, but this time of year the tree colors are unmatched and a big foreign draw. Last month on my walk down toward SC I viewed a car full of Asians armed with cameras making various stops to absorb the photo ops, their favorite backdrop the water tower on Rte. 88.
4. People. People who need people…Newark once a bastion for the upper crust of society is now more culturally diverse. Some of the old guard call it the demise of a once beautiful village, I call it a necessary component that speaks of acceptance and understanding.
Seriously, and I’m one of the few to admit this, but I really love living in the “other” Newark.
(Great blog piece, by the way.)
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Many fond memories came rushing back from reading this blog entry.
I still think that the “Harvard Club” (aka The Newark Grill) pizza was the best I’ve ever had, although I am fairly certain that an eventual trip to Missoula and a visit to Zimorino’s will result in The Newark Grill Pizza falling to my #2 spot.
It was always a treat when, after alleviating an hour of suffering in purgatory by enduring Sunday Mass at St. Michaels’ Church, my parents took the family to breakfast at The Newark Diner. This establishment is still in business, although looking time worn based on drive-bys. I’ve been warned that the food is not of the same quality that we once knew, but maybe that is partially due to more sophisticated tastes. I can still remember the smell of the pancakes cooking, and the taste of the maple syrup.
My father, Ray, was a part time public servant, and among the “powers that were” as so aptly noted. He served the community as a Trustee on the Village Board under Mayor Milton Elzufon, and was hip deep in the discussions when the plan for Urban Renewal was hatched. I’m not certain who exactly was responsible for this idea, but I do recall that despite our “Wonder Years-esque” nostalgic memories of the downtown shops and eateries, the aging infrastructure beneath our feet in our beloved downtown was falling into disrepair. Buildings needed structural attention, bridges needed to be replaced, and the water and sewer facilities were in constant need of repair.
I was young and was personally paying more attention to the AM radio station WACK (“1420 on your dial) top 50, to see which Beatles single was topping this week’s list than I was to local politics, but I do recall that there was debate between those who wanted to preserve and fix what was there, and those who advocated for “tear it all down and build anew.” One of the prevailing arguments from the second camp was that the Newark Plaza was new and fresh, and that to compete, the downtown merchants had to modernize.
The Village Board made the decision, and took the proper steps to hire an expert to manage the project. They brought in a man who had successfully managed the transformation of another small community. He and his family moved to Newark, and I was a personal friend and swim teammate of his son. Unfortunately, this man was accused of asking for an illegal payment from a local builder to secure his firm in winning the award for the contract for the Senior Citizen High Rise building that still stands on the corner of East Ave. and East Miller St. The builder notified the Newark Police of this illegal proposal, and made the payment with marked bills. When that money was spent or deposited, the arrest was made. Tragically, this individual took his own life a few days later, and this lack of continuity in managing the project also contributed to the standstill that plagued downtown Newark for many years.
Urban Renewal was a great idea to revitalize the downtown economy, and it was as carefully planned as possible by the local Village Board. It was done with the best intentions and with input by some very well meaning local business owners and political leaders. It obviously did not go as planned, and I know that my father always regretted the outcome to the community. When coupled with the exit of Jackson & Perkins and the demise of CH Stuart businesses, the economy of Newark continued to erode.
The Village appears to be showing signs of life however: There are a couple of local businesses that are doing well, and a couple of restaurants have emerged that I enjoy going to, including The Corner, and Parkers.
I guess you have to move on in life, and make new memories, while still treasuring the past.!
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Thanks for reading the blog folks. I appreciate your comments. truly most of the country went through these changes around the same time. I hope you will keep reading and pass it on to your friends. Thanks again.
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This part of the post is to Ken. I totally appreciate the insight that you brought to this piece because I, like so many others, never knew what you just wrote. I will say that in the eighties Downtown Missoula faced many of the same challenges with the new mall that was built across town. We chose to renovate using tax increment financing. The old buildings got some money as grants and some as no or low interest loans. Infrastructures were repaired, asbestos removed, facades were updated and Downtown Missoula came back to life. Today it is one of the most vibrant that I have seen.
Having left Newark in 1973, I never knew what happened but having witnessed the outcome, I fought hard for renovation over demolition. We had a great partnership between the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, the Missoula Parking Commission and the Missoula Downtown Association (the downtown business community) that is still strong today. I am proud to have been there and to have fought to save the heart of this amazing city. I do hope you will come and visit because you are one I think will truly appreciate that.
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Andy, Kathy, Bob and Ken,
It’s okay, we’ve gotten used to saying “Not New Jersey”. I think some people actually think that all of New Jersey is part of New York City.
Andy – Bob (and Kathy and Ken and I) grew up in Newark, New York, not Newark, New Jersey. Exit 43 New York State Thruway.
Kathy – my mom and sister and niece still live in Newark too and still love it too! Cultural diversity has happened all across America, Newark is no different. I for one think this it’s a good thing. After growing up in lilly-white-dom and since then moving to the West coast, I now have friends from a lot of different cultures and find it much more interesting and I must say one of the best benefits is the different kinds of FOOD!
Ken and Bob – I think people around our age were particularly hard hit by Newark’s urban renewal because we graduated from high school, went away for a couple years and came back to an unfamiliar place. No wonder not many of us considered staying in Newark, lack of jobs, loss of businesses, just sadness at looking at “where Woolworth’s was”. Anyway, on my trip this past summer I saw some signs of renewed enthusiasm for the future. The owners of the B&B on High Street are a California couple who found their dream house in Newark and are making it work. They are very active in promoting Newark, the canal park, etc. There is a new building where the Capital Theater was called South Main Emporium; not much there yet, but our own classmate, Mary Jane VandenBeckens has opened a gourmet coffee shop in there. So I think it will take more people like that, who don’t just focus on what was there and is now gone, but what can be there. Newark is a lovely town, the architecture of the homes there is just beautiful, prices are right, the parks and schools are beautiful. Taxes? That’s a different story for a different forum.
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