The H-GOAT GAME – Loved Businesses Lost In Somerset Hills History #HGOAT

Update:

A new offering of vintage apparel by MLH honoring local businesses lost in our Bernardsville and Basking Ridge communities. It’s called our “Wear Local History” collection and it keeps growing. Check it out.

Vintage Retro Clothing from Bernardsville / Basking Ridge

What started out as a walk down memory lane turned into a really interesting research project about the history of businesses we’ve lost in the Somerset Hills over the last 50 years. The memories that people keep about these businesses are truly exciting to capture. Growing up is so much more than just playing around. There are these indelible marks on us all that we remember; bowling, getting ice cream, having a pizza, sitting at the lunch counter…..whatever. So The Mr. Local History Project went out and started a game to tie mimic college basketball’s March Madness.

Businesses Lost in the Somerset Hills Over the Last 50 Years

Look at the sectors that have lost businesses over the last 50 years in the Somerset Hills. Retail establishments lead the way with over 28 businesses on the list lost, followed by 18 restaurants. Services lost came in third with 15. Rounding out the top five were bars and apparel businesses.

To create our list, the Mr. Local History Project started our research to find as many businesses that have either survived 50 years or were established over the last 50 years. We then reached out to the public to submit any business that they felt deserved to be history’s greatest of all time (HGOAT) businesses in the Somerset Hills. Finally, we then grouped in similar fashions and created a series of brackets where people would vote. The winner moved on to the next bracket until we had a winner.

Find out what the most loved businesses were that we lost in the Somerset Hills over the last fifty years.

Here’s what happened…….

How to Play Along

People followed us on our Facebook page. If you like just one bracket challenge you are in the game. They visited often and voted. Each week over four weeks elimination brackets were created. The first bracket was the most difficult to match up as we tried our best to determine “like vs. like” competitors. But as the game went on, some very difficult choices needed to be made.

Who Got To the Final Four

The Mr. Local History Project contacted the public to identify most businesses that are no longer around but all remember. The MLH Project then posted business against the business where the public got to vote during each elimination round. The winner moved on to the next round. Some of you might have heard a similar “battle of the bands” on the radio where you vote for one of two choices. One moves on to compete in the next round against the other previous winner, as the rest fall off the list. The process continued for six rounds until the brackets were complete and we crowned a winner.

Voting took place on our Facebook page. If you didn’t have Facebook you could follow along by clicking on our Gossip Page.

Consolation Matchup – Nardone’s Bakery vs. the Corner Cupboard

Championship – The Store from Basking Ridge vs. Pistilli’s of Bernardsville

And our HGOAT Champion – Pistilli’s Italian Restaurant
The most beloved business we lost in the Somerset Hills

Individual Bracket Results

HGOAT Business Listings (Alphabetical)

We’d love to share your memories if there’s a blank below. Post at the bottom.

Name	Town/Area	Type	Currently There/Comments
A&P	Basking Ridge	Grocery	Condos and Rentals
A&P	Bernardsville	Grocery	CVS
A&P	Pluckemin	Grocery	Market Fresh
Acme	Bernardsville Center	Grocery	Kings for a while – Proposed Ace Hardware
Adrienne’s Place	Bernardsville	Apparel	By VW
Apgar Associates	Far Hills	Services	De Munn Place, Far Hills
Appogee	Basking Ridge Village	Apparel	Soul Sisters and now
Atlas Market (Deli)	Bernardsville	Deli	29 West Street
AT&T Headquarters	Basking Ridge	Corporate	Verizon Wireless
Audi Bernardsville	Bernardsville	Auto	Empty
Autumn House Furniture	Bernardsville	Retail	Olcott Square
Baker’s Auto Parts	Bernardsville	Auto	Somerset Hills Handyman  18 Quimby Lane
Bardy Farms	Basking Ridge	Farm	The Barrons Development
Base Camp	Basking Ridge	Apparel	Basking Ridge Dentistry
Basking In Java	Basking Ridge	Services	Perrotti’s
Bedminster Motors	Bedminster	Auto	Main Street and 27 Morristown Road Bernardsville
Bernards Television Company	Bernardsville	Retail	M. Cunningham  37 Olcott Square
Bernardsville Camera Mart	Bernardsville	Retail	Bagel Bin – Now Vacant
Bevels Saddlery	Gladstone	Retail
Bills Corall	Basking Ridge	Bar/Eatery	Café Rustica
Bistro II	Bernardsville	Restaurant	The Claremont Tavern, 121 Claremont Road
Bon Marche	Bernardsville Center	Retail	Bill Ramsey – 92 Morristown Road
Brass Penny	Gladstone	Bar/Eatery	Gladstone Tavern
Brookdale Deli	Olcott District	Deli	19 Olcott Square – Carl and Ruthie Hackert. Now Buona Pizza
Burger King	Bernardsville Center	Restaurant	Across from the Fire Dept
Brush’s Deli	Basking Ridge	Deli	Mariana’s Cafe – June 2024
Buxton’s	Bernardsville	Restaurant	When Buxtons was Buxtons (after it was Pipers and the Shaggy Shingle
C&E Auto Body	Bernardsville	Auto
Carmine’s Beauty Salon	Bernardsville	Retail	Bernardsville Auto Repair 75 Mine Brook Road
Carriage Trade Gifts	Bernardsville	Retail	75 Route 202 Bernardsville
Catch Penny Pub	Bernardsville	Bar/Eatery	Under Bernards Inn
Charlies Aunt	Bernardsville	Retail	In front of DQ
Charlies Spirits & Deli	Bernardsville	Deli	Bernards Café – 8 Mine Brook Road
Chatfield’s	Gladstone	Bar/Eatery	Gladstone Tavern
Christine’s	Bernardsville	Restaurant	Next to Huffman Koos
Cigars and Fire Trucks	Bernardsville	Retail	165 Morristown Road
City Federal Savings	Pluckemin	Bank	315 US 206 – Investors Savings Bank
Clara Louise	Olcott District	Apparel	Known in Westfield 5 Olcott Square
Classic Fashions	Basking Ridge	Apparel	Perrotti’s – 75 S. Maple Avenue
Cobbler Shop	Bernardsville	Services	Craft Hair Studio – 13 Mine Brook Road
Collins Corner	Far Hills	Retail	Antiques
Conkling Miller	Bernardsville	Retail	117 Morristown Road
Copper Kettle Deli	Gladstone	Restaurant	Moved to Basking Ridge (2000)
Corner Cupboard	Basking Ridge	Services	Blue Café
Country Casuals II	Lyons Mall	Apparel
County Neighbor Liquors	Basking Ridge	Retail	Owner Bob Pretzfelder would buy us dinner (to go) from the Corner Cupboard. every night we worked
Crest Jewelers	Basking Ridge	Retail	Somerset Hills Florist 94 S. Finley Ave
Curran Pharmacy	Lyons Mall	Pharmacy	Lyons Mall
Debus Drugs	Gladstone	Retail	George DeSesso – Main Street
Dee’s Deli	Bernardsville Center	Deli	1980s
Delan Flowers	Bernardsville	Services	Between Bernards Café & Diamond Dream 10 Mine Brook Road
Dewy Meadow Farm	Basking Ridge	Farm	Future Rental Complex
Diamond Dream Jewelers	Bernardsville	Retail	165 Morristown Road
Diehl’s Jewelers	Olcott District	Apparel	Envy Lash  – 24 Olcott Square
Door Décor	Bernardsville	Retail	across from train
Doug Lowrie Auto Body	Bernardsville	Auto	57 Morristown Road
Duke’s Cafe & Grille	Basking Ridge Village	Restaurant	2008-2009 where Blue Café
Duke’s Wild Goose Bakery	Basking Ridge Village	Bakery	2009-2010 – Blue Café
Dunster’s Propane Gas	Basking Ridge	Services	26 W. Oak Street – opposite Brick Academy
Famished Frog	Bedminster	Restaurant	Delicious Heights
Far Hills Country Inn	Far Hills	Restaurant	Peapack Road,  Heinz and Debbie Keller
Far Hills Hair Salon	Far Hills	Beauty	Corner of Rt. 2020 and Peapack Road
First National State Bank	Bernardsville	Bank	Wells Fargo
First National State Bank	Basking Ridge	Bank	Wells Fargo
Flamingo’s Ice Cream	Lyons Mall	Services
Florios Tavern	Bernardsville	Bar/Eatery	1996 to 1998 when Blue Café
Freddys Tavern	Olcott District	Bar/Eatery	Rudolph’s Steak House
Friendly’s	Bernardsville	Restaurant	Dunkin Donuts
G.F. Hill Power Equipment	Gladstone	Retail	Lawnmowers
Game Stop	Bernardsville Center	Retail	Jersey Mikes
Gardner Motors	Bernardsville	Auto	65 and 118 Morristown Road
Gourmet Touch	Liberty Corner	Bakery	Dominik’s Pizza
Giraffe	Basking Ridge	Restaurant	The Vine
Grand Union	Lyons Mall	Grocery	Stop N Shop
Henry Street Bakery	Basking Ridge Village	Bakery	Blue Café
Hill Chevrolet	Gladstone	Auto
Hills Development Company	Pluckemin	Services
Honeycomb Heath Foods	Bedminster	Grocery
Huffman Koos	Bernardsville	Retail	Rite Aid – Route 202 and North Finley
Hurley Insurance	Far Hills	Services
Jaeger Lumber	Olcott District	Retail
Jerolomans	Bernardsville	Retail	Karl Jerlolman -125 Claremont Road
Jerry Lewis Cinema	Lyons Mall	Services	Lyons Mall – Also was Ridge Cinema
Joe’s Taxi Service	Bernardsville	Services
La Viva Coiffures	Olcott District	Beauty	27 Olcott Square
Le Petite Chateau	Bernardsville	Restaurant	The Claremont Tavern – 121 Claremont Rd
Leitners Toy Shop	Lyons Mall	Retail	Lyons Mall
Lemon Lounge	Basking Ridge Village	Restaurant	Blue Café
Liberty Cycles	Basking Ridge	Retail	Now?
Limestone Café	Peapack	Restaurant	Il Monello Italian – 89 Main Street,
Linn Motors	Bernardsville	Auto	Packard Dealer in Bernardsville
Lobel’s Boutique	Bernardsville	Retail
Lotus Mind & Body Yoga	Bernardsville	Services	165 Morristown Road
Lucent Technologies	Basking Ridge	Corporate	Daiichi Sankyo
Ludlow Records	Olcott District	Retail	56 Degrees Wine 25 Claremont Road
Marauders Pharmacy (Mowders)	Bernardsville	Pharmacy
Mardi Gras Corner Restaurant	Basking Ridge Village	Restaurant	The corner of Henry Street and Maple
Mary’s Ceramic & Gift Shop	Far Hills	Retail	Route 206
Mastro Shoes	Olcott District	Apparel	Passaic Valley Dry Cleaning and Dyeing
McGraths Paint and Hardware	The Hills	Retail	The Wine Rack – 572 Allen Road
Melon Shoes	Bernardsville	Apparel	80 Morristown Road, Unit 3A UPS Store
Millington Savings	Basking Ridge	Bank
Mockingbird Café	Basking Ridge Village	Restaurant	Blue Cafe
Mowders Pharmacy	Bernardsville Center	Pharmacy
Mowders Pharmacy	Far Hills	Pharmacy
Nardone’s Bakery	Bernardsville Center	Bakery	80 Morristown Road, Phillips & Fredericks Jewelers
National Video	Lyons Mall	Retail	Lyons Mall
New Jersey Savings Bank	Basking Ridge	Bank	Wells Fargo
Nino’s Pizza	Lyons Mall	Restaurant	22 Lyons Mall
O’Connors Beef ‘n Ale House	Watchung	Bar/Eatery	708 Mountain Blvd.
Old Stone Tavern	Bernardsville	Bar/Eatery	Rudolph’s Steak House
OK Shoes	Basking Ridge	Apparel	Lyons Mall
Parks Meat Market	Basking Ridge Village	Retail	Haus Remodeling  – 47 South Finley Ave – Anthony Cavaluzzo
Passiac Valley Dry Cleaning and Dyeing	Basking Ridge	Services	26 W. Oak Street – opposite Brick Academy
Peking Royale Restaurant	Bernardsville Center	Restaurant	Li Chu Li –
Pepper Mill Deli	Basking Ridge	Deli	Coldwell Banker Real Estate
Per Forza Italian Restaurant	Basking Ridge Village	Restaurant	Blue Cafe – 1987-1996
Pink Poodle	Basking Ridge	Beauty	Lyons Mall
Pipers Restaurant	Bernardsville	Restaurant	John and Mary Garis – 99 Morristown Road
Pistilli’s Restaurant	Bernardsville	Restaurant	Josephine Pistilli – Applied Waste Water Pumping 0 147 Morristown Road
Queen City Savings	Basking Ridge Village	Bank	Where Wells Fargo is
Quiet Cycles	Olcott District	Retail	15 Olcott Square
Ridge Beauty Salon	Basking Ridge Village	Beauty	24 W. Oak Street Irene Wilkenson
Ridge Chevrolet	Basking Ridge Village	Auto	Organic Nest – 17 Olcott Square
Ridge Liquors	Basking Ridge Village	Retail	Ridge Family Dentistry
Ridge Pharmacy	Basking Ridge Village	Pharmacy	Gotta Dance – Al Needleman and Charles Berman – 69 S. Maple Avenue – Corner of Finley and Henry Street
Shady Grove Inn	Basking Ridge	Bar/Eatery	Vine
Organic Nest – 17 Olcott Square	Basking Ridge	Retail	24 W. Oak Street now Ridge Sweet Shop
Sight & Sound Camera and Audio	Bernardsville Center	Retail
Simms Jewelers	Bernardsville	Retail	17 Mine Brook Road
Somerset Bowling	Bernardsville	Services	Bernardsville Hardware
Somerset Hills Dairy Farm	Bernardsville	Farm	Dairy on 33 Mill Street
Somerset Hills Florist	Basking Ridge	Services	On Finley
Somerset Hills Pastry Shop	Bernardsville	Bakery	Formerly Nardone’s Bakery
Somerset Recreation Bowling	Bernardsville	Services	Bernardsville Hardware
Somerset Travel	Olcott District	Services	Organic Nest – 17 Olcoltt Square
Speed Wash Launderette	Bernardsville Center	Services
Sussmans	Olcott District	Apparel	Ride & Reflect Meditation 11 Olcott Square
Telesco’s Beauty Salon	Gladstone	Beauty
The Knit Shop	Far Hills	Retail	Far Hills Village
The Lamp Post Gift Shop	Bernardsville Center	Retail
The Olympic Shop	Bernardsville	Apparel	Down from Theater
The Rug Beater	Bernardsville Center	Retail	Next to Lobell’s
The Sports People	Bedminster	Retail	Steve French Betty Sackmeister
The Store	Basking Ridge Village	Bar/Eatery	The Washington House
The Works	Bernardsville	Services
Three Lights Tavern	Olcott District	Bar/Eatery	Empty – 17 Olcott Square
Three Links Social Club	Bernardsville	Services	Lodge 263
Thursty Turtle	Bernardsville	Restaurant	Shop Rite Parking Lot
Tony’s Butcher Shop	Basking Ridge Village	Retail	Tony  Cavaluzzo supplied meat to the Store aka THE Market
Valley Squire Clothing	Basking Ridge	Apparel	Perroitti’s 75 South Maple Avenue
Village Fountain	Basking Ridge Village	Services	Food Services – Took over in 1955 by Dick Cleave. Barber Shop today
Village Hardware	Basking Ridge Village	Retail	WB Hawke – 37 South Finley Avenue
Village Toys	Bedminster	Retail	The Hills Village
Wachovia Bank	Basking Ridge Village	Bank	Current Wells Fargo
Wagon Wheel	Basking Ridge	Restaurant	Minuteman BBQ
Werring Chevy/Olds	Basking Ridge Village	Auto	Ridge Dentistry
West & Noble Inc	Bernardsville	Services	Advertising Agency
Willies Tavern	Bedminster	Bar/Eatery	Delicious Heights
Wilson’s Taxi	Bernardsville	Services	Edwin Wilson –
Woolworths	Bernardsville Center	Retail	Gary’s Wine and Liquors
Ye Old Cordiality Shoppe	Bedminster	Clothing	Corner 202 and Lamington Road

Additional MLH Researched Stories

The Besties – The Best of the Best in Basking Ridge, Bernardsville, Bedminster in Northern Somerset County

Brush’s Deli Served the Community for Three Generations

The Official Sandwich of Basking Ridge – What Now?