Then and Now – Jim’s Drive-In Bar & Grill

Morgan Memories – Then and Now – Jim’s Drive-In Bar & Grill

Jim’s Drive-In

Jim’s Drive-In, Morgan, NJ.

At the southern end of the northern Morgan Avenue, between Haussling Place and the north bound lanes of Route 35, is a restaurant.  There has been a restaurant on this site since at least the 1950’s, if not long before that, and it is good to see that this is still a viable site for one.  I can’t name all of the restaurants which have occupied this building over the years but can for certain name the following:

As a kid in early elementary school, I recall repeatedly riding my banana bike around the curved sidewalk of this building – as well as the smell of stale booze coming out of the trash bins in back of the restaurant. I also think I used to deliver “The News Tribune” newspaper there but don’t fully recall if really I did or not. There would have been no other reason for me actually going into the building as a kid otherwise. On the Jim’s Drive-In picture post card, you can see the “Bar Grill” signage over the top if the building.  If you look closely at the to-be-reposted write-up regarding “The Magical Castle on Willow Street”, you will see the back of this sign.  What a relief it was to have found this picture post card as it resolved the mystery regarding that backward sign for me.

Just to the left of Jim’s in this image used to be a tiny truck stop with an apartment on top which I first knew as Molly’s.  Later it became DeVito’s.  For a while, kids on this side of Route 35 used to wait inside Molly’s during the winter time waiting for the bus to take us to Selover School and maybe even the Junior High School.  I recall there was a pin ball machine and standing around the pool table endlessly hearing “Bye-Bye Miss American Pie” played on the juke box or perhaps a radio.  There was a small counter where truck drivers or commuters would have breakfast in the morning.  I think when the DeVito’s acquired the business, they built or expanded the second floor and lived there.  Now there are no remains of this little place. If anyone has any photos of this building, please make a comment at the end of this posting so I can contact you.

Interestingly enough, the first time I saw a tattoo was on Molly’s son whose name I don’t think I ever knew.  It is considerably easier to see one these days.  According to a recent Rutgers University survey, 19% of the 1000 registered New Jersey voters surveyed have one.

The below picture shows what this building looks like today.  Notice a gas station to the left of the restaurant. For many years this was Ed Ryan’s Sunoco gas station. Now it is another brand.  Finally, after all these years away from Morgan, I took the opportunity one night during a trip to Morgan in August 2012 to visit the La Marina Restaurant to have dinner.  It was a very pleasant experience, the food was very good, the service very courteous and attentive, and I was greatly impressed on how beautifully the inside of the building has been finished.

La Marina Restaurant

La Marina Restaurant located at the intersection of Morgan Avenue and Route 35 in August 2011.

Something about the shape of the Jim’s sign reminds me of Bozo the Clown or Chuckles, the clown toy in Toy Story 3.  I only now realize the shape of the sign is the outline of a hamburger combined with an arrow pointing to the building.

Originally posted on September 3, 2012.

9 thoughts on “Then and Now – Jim’s Drive-In Bar & Grill

    1. morgannjadmin Post author

      Hi Richard! I moved to Morgan when I was an infant and moved after graduating college with visits back about every year or so. My family used to have a bungalow on Morgan Beach from sometime in the 1920’s or 1930’s. Verne

      Reply
        1. John Casazza

          Lived in Laurence Harbor. My dad was good friends with the Kiasers. Julius was my confirmation sponsor. Miss those days.

          Reply
  1. Jamie Bauer

    We lived at 193 Morgan Ave directly across from Haussling, from about 1948 thru 1958. The side of Jim’s was diagonally across the street from our driveway entrance. My brother and sister were acquainted with Molly’s kids. Darlene Peart, her daughter was my sister’s age and Allan (sp. ?) Peart was my brother’s age. We heard he got into some trouble and when we moved away he was in reform school, perhaps the source of the ink? Anyway, he must have gotten out and was working at Molly’s when you knew of him.

    Reply
  2. Bill Love

    I remember “Molly’s Grill” (< as I knew it) as a place we could wait for the school bus in the mid-late 1960s. There was a pinball machine in it right by the door facing Route 35, and a billiards table too. I also have a vague recollection of Molly as a short, slender lady who wore her dark hair in a ponytail and ran the place. She was business-like, but always fair and nice to us kids. Her son (?) Allan Peart is also a vague memory.

    Reply
  3. Laura

    You are missing the deli that was a pink building in that spot in 2000 before they bulldozed it for the Spanish Riviera.

    Reply
    1. morgannjadmin Post author

      During my time in Morgan, the deli was Mollie’s then changed to I believe “DeVito’s”. I have never found an image of it and would really like to get one. At one time, it was used as a school bus stop for the kids on that side of Route 35. Waiting for the bus in winter wasn’t fun outdoors.

      Reply

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