Chiropractor in Jamesburg, NJ

After more than 80 years, Mendoker's closed its doors; Body and Soul to close next month

@SusanLoyerMyCJ

JAMESBURG - It's an end of an era for two longtime borough businesses.

Mendoker's Quality Bakery, a popular, iconic bakery that has tempted the palates of customers for 84 years, has closed. A second business, Body & Soul, which has been a staple in the community for years, is expected to close next month.

Mendoker's Quality Bakery at 34 W. Railroad Ave., announced in a Facebook post Sunday that it was forced to close its doors permanently as of Monday.

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"We have weathered many storms together in this great town and have celebrated so many special occasions with so many families over the years," the Facebook post by owners Ed and Nicole Mendoker said. "We consider our loyal customers as part of our extended family, many we greet by name, and it is heartbreaking to see our time come to an end. We have done everything in our power to keep our ovens hot and our handcrafted items on the shelf, but have become burdened with too many setbacks that we cannot overcome. We will not let our quality suffer for any reason."

According to its website, the business opened on April 1, 1932. The business has been such an integral part of the community that a sign at an entrance to the borough reads: Welcome to Jamesburg. Home of Mendoker's Bakery."

Customers far and near expressed their disappointment with the closing on Facebook.

"Very SAD day. So many great memories," wrote Patricia Vash.

"So sorry," wrote Barbara Rhodes. "Very sad to see you go. Went there a lot. Started taking my grandson !!"

"Even after I moved to California in 1989, I would still come in every trip back," Matt Sebastiano wrote. "Thank you so much for the smile that you put on my and my family's face for 37 years. I wish you all well."

In response to the posts from patrons, Ed and Nicole wrote late Monday afternoon: "Thank you for all the well wishes they mean a great deal to us! There isn't much in this world aside from family what I love more than baking, I was born on a bakers bench and there is flour in my veins. I will miss working with my children, teaching them my trade that has been so good to my family for generations. Most of all I will miss the first birthday cakes of my customers children and when they are old enough to come in to the bakery, watch the smiles on there faces when the " cookie lady" gives them a cookie. I am very sorry we closed, reading this posts makes me regret it more with each word! It was out of our control, it just had to be. Thank you for the opportunity to be your Baker."

Nearby Body & Soul, at 79 E. Railroad Ave., also is calling it quits.

"It's sad," said Monroe resident Ruth "Wuzzy" O'Carroll, who owns the business with her husband, George. "The customers have become like part of the family. We know everybody. I feel bad, but a lot of people were able to get things from us that are now sold over the internet or in the box stores."

The business opened in 1974 as The Right Track on Railroad Avenue, two or three blocks from its current location, O'Carroll said. In 1981, the business changed its name to Body & Soul and relocated to the Apple Plaza on Applegarth Road in Monroe, where they remained for about eight years before moving to a new location on Railroad Avenue in the borough.

"We moved to what was the former home of a go-go bar, called The Quarter Keg," O'Carroll said. "On the roof they had a picture of a keg of beer with suds coming out."

The business sells health and beauty aids, food supplements, cosmetics and a selection of Christian literature, including books, music and Bibles, as well as gifts and jewelry.

"We had a very active cafe, where we had music," she said. "We had authors visit. Once a month we showed a movie, which we were actually selling. It was like a ministry for us. People would come and meet other people. We would have coffee and goodies. It was a place they could feel safe. It was going well until the town told us we couldn't use it for assembly. We stopped that about a year ago and that really cut our business."

O'Carroll said a going-out-of-business sale has been going on at the store since Oct. 15.

Mayor Marlene Lowande did not respond for a request for comment.

Staff Writer Susan Loyer: 732-565-7243; sloyer@gannettnj.com

Brewer Cemetery, tucked behind a busy Howell road, is easy to miss. Six New Jersey residents wanted to change that.

Patch Staff

|Updated Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 11:21 am ET

HOWELL, NJ – It’s not hard to miss the centuries-old Brewer Cemetery if you’re not looking for it. For decades, the Howell location has been overgrown with weeds and rotting tombstones buried under thick brush on Squankum Road. Last week, several area locals set out to change that.

As first reported by News 12 New Jersey, Jamesburg resident Ron Errickson had no connection to the cemetery, having only driven by the location in recent years. Yet, for several days over the past week, Errickson and five other individuals cleaned up Brewer Cemetery in order to memorialize the individuals buried in the “forgotten” location.

The locals cut grass, remarked tombstones and trimmed tree branches to beautify the local memorial.

“There’s people that were laid to rest here, that’s full of history. We have veterans all around us here, probably about 9 or 10 that were buried here,” Errickson told News 12 New Jersey. “I did this out of my own time, my own money. I got everybody together and had this happen, and I’m very happy with this.”

According to New Jersey State Library documents, the plot began as a burial ground for Shrewsbury resident Adam Brewer. In his 1768 will, the land was set aside for Brewer’s family cemetery, which was subsequently maintained for several generations.

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hundreds of individuals were buried in the location over the years, including several Civil War and World War I veterans. Many of the cemetery’s tombstones date back to the early 1800s, with its oldest recorded burial dating back to 1806.

It was only after Brewer’s direct relatives left the area that the location became ill-kept and overgrown. That is, until Errikson and other locals made the effort to restore the resting place.

You can view what the location looked like before the cleanup here.

Have a news tip? Email nicole.rosenthal@patch.com.

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A longtime restaurant in Jamesburg known for its eclectic food and friendly staff is closing its doors.

Fiddleheads Restaurant, New American Bistro at 27 East Railroad Ave. will close at the end of business on Sunday June 18, the co-owners, General Manager Brian Blatz and Executive Chef Dan Davis, announced.

“It's exactly 19 years since we took it over, and 31 years since its initial opening by the Colluras,” they wrote in an email to staff last week, adding “it’s a deeply sad moment.”

Recent challenges have been too great to continue running the 60-seat, BYOB restaurant, they wrote.

“Even with the support of all of you reading this, we just cannot muster enough to remain in business in this environment,” the email said, adding serious illnesses to Davis have taken a huge toll on the business. … “It was everything to us and we met so many fine people along the way.”

Blatz was working in publishing and Davis in IT when their jobs came to an end in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Davis suggested the New Brunswick residents get into the restaurant business.

“Dan had a background in restaurant management and at the time cooked at home for our house parties, which we often had," Blatz said. “The business just happened to be for sale at the time.”

Blatz, a novice in the business, realized immediately that customer engagement was very important.

"It came natural to me," he said. "You follow protocols on how to do certain things, but the rest in terms of food and how you engage with customers, we had to create that, and we did."

Being in the restaurant business is not “all peaches and cream,” Blatz said, but the pros far outweighed the cons.

“It comes in waves,” he said. “You really don’t anticipate this when you’re opening up a business. You just roll with it, and we rolled with it for as long as we could. We felt if we’re going in this together, we’re going to marry it and we embraced that."

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The restaurant was able to navigate COVID, thanks to some neighborly help.

When outdoor dining was permitted during the pandemic, a next-door business, Archer Law Office, which had a wraparound porch, offered to let them use it.

“They came to our rescue," Blatz said. “Every time Carl (Archer) came into the restaurant we would point him out and say he is our hero. It became known as Carl’s porch. Carl remains a very good friend of ours. There were other people like Carl, who didn’t want to see us go. They wanted to help. We told them to just come in, let us practice our craft and we’ll be OK, and it all worked out.”

What Blatz said they’ll miss most is their customers and employees.

“We’re sad that we’re closing, but we are glad that we have had this wonderful opportunity and have met all these wonderful people,” he said.

The restaurant had a loyal following, Blatz said. Many were repeat customers, who celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions, and some have even become their close friends, he said.

"It’s not a fancy place, but it did become a special place for a lot of people," he said. "So many people referred to it as their home restaurant. They didn’t say let’s go to Fiddleheads. They would say let’s go to Brian and Dan’s. That’s the kind of stuff that I’ll miss."

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Blatz said the restaurant has been packed since last week’s announcement. He and Davis have no specific plans for the future.

“Thanks for all the joy and the memories, and for sticking with us all these years,” the two wrote in their email. “Nothing gold can stay, but it can remain golden in your heart.”

A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help support Davis and Blatz who are struggling with significant medical expenses in addition to the restaurant closing.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

JAMESBURG – The Jamesburg Public Library will temporarily close after Saturday for a much-needed makeover.

The upper and lower levels of the library, located at 229 Gatzmer Ave., will be redesigned and reconfigured with new furniture.

The project will take roughly 50 days to complete, with an anticipated reopening around May 31, said Councilman Thomas J. Emens, a member of the library’s Board of Trustees.

"This project is a bold and long overdue investment in our library, which will ensure that the JPL is an asset to our community and a destination for residents for many years to come,” Emens said. "We look forward to working with all of our community partners to build a bright future for the Jamesburg Public Library."

The reconfigured upper level will house an updated book collection with a permanent children’s section, a redesigned patron service area, and stations for technology. The lower level will become a community center with a lounge reading area, tutoring and studying space for students, and a meeting area for the public, according to the library's website.

The project includes replacement of the library’s restroom toilets and sinks and painting the library’s main room, break room, office, bathrooms, hallway, vestibule, doors, trims, exterior overhang and railing.

The project also includes upgrades to electric and landscape, as well as new flooring.

The past few years have been difficult for the library as it navigated the pandemic and a recovery storm damage, library officials said.

In November 2022, the library began thinking about ways to optimize space to meet the community's current and future needs.

"This renovation project is our way of turning these challenges into an opportunity to upgrade our facilities to better serve the residents of Jamesburg," Emens said.

The Board of Trustees allotted $145,000 for capital improvements in the library’s 2023 operating budget, repurposing funds that were unused when the library was closed during the pandemic.

"The library is thrilled to write its next chapter," said Library Director Gabriella Oakley. "We look forward to seeing everyone during our grand opening later this spring."

Jamesburg residents with library cards will be able to check out books at any other consortium member libraries in neighboring towns. They will also be able to access e-books and other digital media online through Hoopla and Libby and sign up for temporary library cards.

email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

JAMESBURG -- A popular bakery in the borough has shuttered its doors after more than 80 years of business.

Mendoker's Quality Bakery in Jamesburg was a mainstay in the tiny Middlesex County borough, and in the state of New Jersey, for 84 years.

On Sunday, the bakery's owners, Ed and Nicole Mendoker, posted on Facebook that the business would shut down for good on Monday.

"We have weathered many storms together in this great town and have celebrated so many special occasions with so many families over the years," the post read. "We consider our loyal customers as part of our extended family, many we greet by name, and it is heartbreaking to see our time come to an end."

The Mendokers did not give a reason for the abrupt closing. Ed Mendoker declined to talk about the closing of the bakery when approached by a reporter at his home.

"It's too soon," he said.

It is with heavy heart full of sorrow that we must announce after 84yrs of business, we will be forced to permanently...

Posted by Mendokers Quality Bakery on Sunday, October 23, 2016

The bakery has had its financial troubles. Records show the state issued three tax liens against the business totaling more than $75,000 in 2013 and 2014, though all three were released in 2015. In May, debt collectors filed two civil lawsuits in Middlesex County against the bakery totally $8,000, according to court records.

On Monday morning, a steady stream of customers arrived at the bakery, only to be greeted with the bad news instead of tasty treats.

James Cavanaugh said he would make the trip to Mendoker's Bakery from East Brunswick every Sunday to get donuts for his five children. A loyal customer for 40 years, Cavanaugh, 78, said he'll miss the "hometown bakery."

"They were like family," he said of the Mendokers. "It was the hallmark of the town."

Cavanaugh said the bakery was so well-known in the area, people used it as a geographical landmark when giving directions.

John Emilio, 41, who owns a contracting business a couple storefronts down from Mendokers, said he was at the bakery three days ago and everything appeared to be fine.

"It's sad. This has been a staple of Jamesburg since I've been here," Emilio, who has lived in neighboring Monroe for 13 years, said. "It's sad to see another nice place like this close in Jamesburg. I guess all good things have to come to an end."

NJ Advance Media research editor Vinessa Erminio contributed to this report.