Olivia Fisher 
There is nothing more local for The Local Girl to share than a guide to the oldest surviving businesses in Bergen County. Bergen County has seen industries come and go, recently saying goodbye to The Bendix Diner on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights, which served the area for over 70 years. Here at The Bergen Girl, we did the work of scouring newspapers and deep diving through the internet to uncover as many businesses as we could that have been serving Bergen County for over 70 years. Read on for a guide to the 15 of the oldest businesses in Bergen County, New Jersey.
^ Lyndhurst Bakery
B&W Bakery | 614 Main Street Hackensack
B&W Bakery was established in 1948 in Hackensack. The initial stands for the original owners whose last names were Boehringer and Weimer. BG suggests ordering the crumb cake; it’s the thing to get a B&W.
Butterflake Bakery | 444 Cedar Lane, Teaneck
Butterflake Bakery in Teaneck has been around since 1950. In 1988, it became a Kosher bakery when David and Richard Heisler bought it. It is also nut-free.
Read More: 15 Historic Locations in Bergen County, New Jersey
Conrad’s Confectionery | 107 Westwood Avenue, Westwood
View this post on Instagram
Conrad’s Confectionery dates to 1928. Fred Conrad operated the space from 1928 until 1959. He was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1919. He lived in Woodcliff Lake before moving to Oradell. James Pouletsos worked at the shop as a teenager and eventually became co-owner along with his wife Irene. In the late 1980s, they sold the business to their daughter Corienne and son-in-law. Owner JJ Krachtus continues to use some of Fred Conrad’s original recipes, keeping almost a century of local history and flavor alive.
Demarest Farms | 244 Werimus Road, Hillsdale
View this post on Instagram
Demarest Farms was founded in 1886 when George Washington Demarest purchased a parcel of land on the border of Hillside and Saddle River. In the 1910s, his son Lincoln inherited the farm and started fruit orchards on it with his sister Annie. Lincoln passed the farm to his son, George, and his wife, Elizabeth. The couple passed it to their son Peter and his wife Marsha.
Dumont Crystal Diner | 45 West Madison Avenue, Dumont
Established between 1925 and 1932, the Dumont Crystal Diner is the oldest diner in Bergen County and one of the oldest in the state still in operation. By 1975, Momir Saranovic, an immigrant from Yugoslavia, was the diner’s fourth owner. In 2014, Momir sold the business to Louie Saleh, an immigrant from Palestine. Before Dumont Crystal Diner, Louie worked at the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton, another legendary Garden State diner.
Ho-Ho-Kus Inn + Tavern | 1 East Franklin Turnpike, Ho-Ho-Kus
View this post on Instagram
One of Bergen County’s oldest buildings, the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn + Tavern was constructed in 1796 by Andrew Zabriskie as a home for his son, John. It was once used as a parsonage and first became a tavern in 1890. Over the years, it has been known by several names, including the Zabriskie House, Villa Inn, Mansion House, Wayside Inn, Washington Inn, Estephe’s Hotel, and Paddy Burke’s. Ho-Ho-Kus purchased the building and property in 1941 from Mrs. Jacqueline, a resident and last owner of the Inn. In 1953, it was leased to Helen Wilson and her brother, Gordon Butler. Helen’s son, Dick, later ran the business as the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn. After he retired, it became Claude’s Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and became a favorite dining spot of President Richard Nixon. In 2009, Gordon and Laurie Hamm reopened the building following a $1.5 million renovation project.
Krauses Homemade Candies | 50 Bergen Boulevard, Fairview
View this post on Instagram
In the early 1900s, Alfred Krause worked as an apprentice in Germany, making chocolate. After he immigrated to the United States, he met his wife Hanna, and in 1929, they opened a gas station on Long Island. Customers would receive a free lollipop handmade by Hanna when they purchased at least five gallons of gasoline. Before World War II, the couple left their gas station and opened up shops in Paterson and Fairview for Hannah to sell her sweet treats. In 1959, Alfred and Hanna’s son, Karl, and his wife, Ingrid, opened a Paramus location, Hanna Krause’s Candies. Until 2024, it was operated by their daughter, Ryan, until it closed. Another location of Hanna Krause’s Candies still exists and can be visited in Toms River. At some point, the Krause business split into Hanna Krause’s Candies and Krause’s Homemade Candies. Krause’s Homemade Candies sells chocolates from its Bergen County location in Fairview and another spot in Paterson.
Levy’s Pharmacy | 299 Stuyvesant Avenue, Lyndhurst
Levy’s Pharmacy has served Lyndhurst since 1906. It was owned by Anna and Louis Levy, Russian-Jewish immigrants. When Anna passed, she left the business to her son Joel. By 1981, it was owned by Joel’s son Edward Levy. In 2001, Matthew Parisi took over ownership.
Lyndhurst Bakery | 256 Ridge Road, Lyndhurst
Lyndhurst Pastry Shop’s story began in 1915 when Anthony Lanzerotti arrived at Ellis Island from Catania, Sicily, Italy. He worked in numerous Brooklyn bakeries and eventually purchased DeFeo’s Pastry Shop in Jersey City. In 1948, his sons Jerry, Anthony Jr., and Joseph opened a store of their own in Bergen County called the Lyndhurst Pastry Shop. About a decade later, Jerry Sr. and Joseph decided to split up because one shop could not support both their families. Jerry Sr. stayed in North Jersey, moving across the street to a larger spot, while Joseph settled in Brooklyn, New York. Jerry Sr. and his wife Vincenza also moved above the shop and raised their three sons, Butch, Chuck, and Jerry Jr., who grew up working alongside their father. After 75 years, this family-owned business continues to serve pastries, cookies, bread, and baked goods using family recipes from Sicily.
Marcal Paper Plant | 1 Market Street, Elmwood Park
Elmwood Park’s Marcal Paper Plant dates back to 1932 when Nicholas Marcalus opened his factory. Nicholas was born in Petralia, Sicily, Italy, in 1893 and immigrated to the United States in 1905. From 1913 to 1915, he worked for the Hunt and McCree Electric Machinery Company, where he produced his first invention, a machine that removed the black skin from pepper to make the condiment suitable for table use. In 1925, he and a partner opened Automatic Paper Machinery Company, and in 1932, they sold the company to the Scott Paper Company. Nicholas used the funds to form Marcalus Manufacturing Company, eventually renaming it the Marcal Paper Mills. Today, it has over 1,000 employees across facilities in NJ, PA, NC, TN, MS, and NV.
Mills Bakery | 275 Valley Boulevard, Wood-Ridge
View this post on Instagram
In 1929, Earl C Mills opened Mills Bakery in Wood-Ridge. Earl sold the business in 1961 and retired. The current Head Master Baker, John Cabrera, started at Mills Bakery in 1998 at the age of 14. He started out as a dishwasher and quickly learned simple bakery tasks and realized baking was for him. He later received his Associate’s degree in Baking + Pastry Arts from Johnson + Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. After graduating, John worked as Head Baker of the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, eventually finding his way back to Mills Bakery.
Rispoli Pastry Shop | 23 Emerson Plaza East, Emerson
View this post on Instagram
Rispoli Pastry Shop has been making and baking fresh Italian pastries for almost 90 years. Gabriele and Josephine Rispoli opened their shop in 1937 in West New York, eventually moving to Ridgefield and Emerson. In 2021, a Hawthorne location opened in Passaic County. Last year, the Ridgefield location closed, but the bakery continues to operate out of its Emerson storefront, maintaining one Bergen County spot.
Stokes Farm | 23 Dewolf Road, Old Tappan
View this post on Instagram
In 1873, Stokes Farm was established by Isaiah Stokes, an English immigrant. He purchased 40 acres of land in Old Tappan and started the farm with a vision of growing and selling farm-fresh products to the locals. In the 1900s, the farm passed to his son Joseph, then Joseph’s daughter Madeline and her husband Ernie Binaghi. Madeline and Ernie’s son, Ron Jr., dropped out of NYU music school to lend a hand on the farm. Ron married Jean, and together they expanded Stokes Farm by opening a roadside stand in 1955. Over time, the couple sold their produce at the Paterson Farmers Market and in 1966, rebuilt the farm stand to accommodate its growing venture. Stokes Farm is a longtime vendor at the Union Square Greenmarket in NYC.
Westwood Cinema | 182 Center Avenue, Westwood
In 1928, Westwood Cinema opened as the Pascack Theater on Center Street in downtown Westwood. United Artists purchased the Pascack Theater and converted it into a multiplex cinema. Current owner, Spiros Papas, purchased the Pascack Theater in 1996.
See More: 24 of the Oldest Businesses in Montclair
White Manna | 358 River Street Hackensack
View this post on Instagram
Founded in 1939 at the World’s Fair, White Manna made it to Hackensack in 1946. The spot has been featured on The Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Best Thing I Ever Ate,and Food Feuds, as well as the Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
Follow @thebergencountygirl on Instagram for the latest Bergen County updates, sign up for our email list here that shares everything you missed each week, and check out our events calendar, which has over 30+ events weekly to peruse.
