Autumn Years Fall 2024

Mischief Many will recall Manero’s Steak House on Route 17 north in Rochelle Park. This was the well-known restaurant with the enormous steer out front (and that steer is the meat of this story). Tony Manero, professional golfer and winner of the 1936 U.S. Open, opened a steak house near Greenwich, Connecticut, after WWII. He then opened several others. Wanting to expand into the growing New Jersey market, Manero partnered with Dan Dowd. While in college, Dowd learned the restaurant business and after WWII delivered meat, and that is how he met Manero. In 1952, the first Bergen County Manero’s Steak House opened at 185 Route 17 south in Paramus. It was a huge success and very popular. Everything was fine until September 27, 1959, when a late-night fire destroyed the restaurant. Dan Dowd then purchased the short lived Porcelli Farm Restaurant (222 Route 17 north, Rochelle Park), and he opened a Manero’s Steak House there.

political career ended in 1974 when he was convicted on federal charges in volving the 1969 campaign of Governor William T. Cahill. After his prison term, Gross went on to a lucrative business career that included Binghamton’s. In 1997, the vessel made headlines when Gross was found murdered in Manhat tan. A busboy and two accomplices kid napped Gross from the restaurant, made him withdraw $20,000 from a nearby bank and then killed him. His body was found dumped along the Henry Hudson Parkway near the river. Binghamton’s remained in busi ness another ten years and served its last meal in 2007. The Binghamton re mained unused and deteriorated at her berth in Edgewater for years. In 2011, the owner applied for a demolition per mit. By May 2012, the ferry had taken on water and was partially submerged. It was further swamped during Hurricane Sandy, and news reporters not bother ing to look into the real story claimed that the storm did all the damage. In 2017, the boat—now completely unre storable—was dismantled.

To advertise the steak house, Dowd purchased a 15-foot-long fiberglass steer that was mounted on a trailer parked out front. The steer caught the attention of drivers, and many a steak was served. The massive steer also caught the atten tion of some kids who, in 1968, took the bull (by the trailer hitch) and towed it to the front lawn of a house in Maywood. The prime movers in this mischief were never rounded up. Some may remember the more-casu al, rebuilt Manero’s in Paramus, which served hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza. The Manero’s in Rochelle Park closed in 1977, and today a large office building is on the site.

FALL 2024 I AUTUMN YEARS 39