MONTVALE—The name McDonald’s stirs up a lot of nostalgia for Pascack Valley natives of a certain age—but their fond memories have nothing to do with Happy Meals or Big Macs. Rather, they think of steak sandwiches, tons of antiques, and a couple of fellas named Joe.
McDonald’s restaurant, which predated the fast food chain of the same name, was located on North Kinderkamack Road in Montvale, a short distance from the border with Pearl River. The restaurant closed in the 1990s. Today this location is the restaurant Hearth and Tap.
Joseph McDonald opened his bar and hamburger restaurant in 1940, when Montvale was still rural and a lunch including a steak sandwich, French fries, and a 22-ounce glass of beer cost a total of 35 cents.
In World War II, Joe’s place was popular with the soldiers awaiting deployment from Camp Shanks in Orangeburg, Rockland County. In fact, for some of those men, enjoying a steak at McDonald’s was one of their last experiences in the States before being shipped overseas to an unknown fate.
For decades the restaurant was a favorite among locals from both sides of the state line. The founder’s son, Joe Jr., took over in 1977 and kept it going through the 1980s.
The buttery steak platter was legendary, but beyond that, what people remember are the thousands of pieces of memorabilia and varied antiques, collected by father and son over many years, that covered the walls and ceilings. It was like a museum, except that you could touch the artifacts and you left absolutely stuffed.
The building was simple on the outside; there were no flashing lights or neon signs. Upon entering, diners were treated to an eclectic maze of memorabilia. There were antique firearms by the hundreds, bayonets, swords, military hats, lanterns, clocks, liquor decanters, glass figurines, vintage sheet music, movie posters, cameras, telephones, old bicycles and toys, Civil War relics, military items from World War I and World War II, a cigar store carved Indian statue, a bathtub, Victorian curling irons, a barber chair with a collection of vintage straight razors, and more — way too much to take in during just one visit. Especially memorable were the vintage cars on display — not in the parking lot, but rather inside the dining rooms. People could admire a 1911 Ford Model T or a 1958 Corvette over dinner.
In 1990, Joe packed up a portion of his collection and moved more than 2,000 miles out West, to Missoula, Montana. He opened a new restaurant that he called McKay’s (a tribute to his parents; his mother’s name was Kay). The old McDonald’s restaurant in Montvale continued to operate for five more years under new ownership before closing for good.
— Kristin Beuscher is president of the Pascack Historical Society.