River Edge's Original Route 4 Roadside Food Eatery

Before there was Total wine, before there was Liberty Travel, even before there was Huffman & Boyle, Route 4 in our neighborhood was known for Nystrom's,

Nystrom's was a roadside eatery that last into the early 1950's (Route 4 iopened in the 1930's).

The place featured sandwichwes, home style ccokuing and epsprecally ioce cream.

Considered one of the best of the area in those days,  Nystrom's pretty much had the place to itsepf - there on Route 4 in North Hackensack, when most of the commercial land that bordered Route 4 was still undeveloped.

Nystrom’s was actually a restaurant that served full-course meals, but it was also noted for its fountain service and homemade ice cream.

And in a time when such a convenience was still novel, Nystrom's offered air conditioning to weary and sweaty travelers.

I found on a Hackensack message board this menu from Nystrom's dating back to 1939.

Old Timers (few left) still speak reverentially about Nystrom's as a landmark along the highway when they first moved to the area.

Otherwise, other than these few words it is mostly unknown or forgotten.