Teaneck renames street for Bischoff's ahead of longtime ice cream shop's closing

TEANECK — Jan. 1 marks the end of an era, when, for the first time since 1934, Teaneck will be without Bischoff's.

For almost 90 years, the ice cream shop, confectionery and luncheonette had been the local go-to site for firsts — first dates, first jobs and first Little League celebrations.

Whatever the occasion, said T.J. Quinn, a onetime New York Mets reporter for The Record and a current ESPN investigative reporter, "Bischoff's made it better."

Quinn's remarks were part of special dedication to mark the store's closing, which was announced earlier this month. In response, the township's governing body dedicated the small square just off Cedar Lane, the backbone of Teaneck's downtown, as Bischoff's Place.

"It's incredibly bittersweet," Quinn told a crowd of about 100. "It is nothing but a loss for Teaneck. We are less without Bischoff's."

The decision to close the shop, run by the Bischoff and Mather families, had been on the horizon for some time but was hastened by the dual influences of COVID and rising costs.

The owners fought for years to stay open, even despite advice to the contrary from accountants. The doors close for good on Saturday at 5 p.m.

"We're at the point where we just need to close and say it's been a great life," Steve Mather said. "And it has."

Teaneck Mayor Jim Dunleavy called the sweet shop a local treasure and said in a statement read for the dedication: "It will be missed by all. They served world-class ice cream."

Although Dunleavy couldn't get away from work to attend, others like former Teaneck resident Carole Regan and retired Teaneck police Capt. Mark Distler made the trip because of fond memories.

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Regan for the past month has returned several times to order her favorite treat: a coffee royal ice cream sundae with hot fudge. In the past she's brought her children and grandchildren.

"I was born here and coming here for 70 years," Regan said. "It was always the place to go for local celebrations or even if you had a bad day."

Distler would often return, and for his mom, Judy, Bischoff's was a weekly lunch spot.

"They had the best ice cream," he said.

By Thursday, however, Bischoff's had sold out of all 40-something of its ice cream flavors. But patrons and other well-wishers still crowded in to say goodbye and leave notes expressing their fond memories for the owners.

Four generations

Although it was established in Teaneck in 1934, the confectionery's origins date back to the 1890s, when Albert Bischoff first opened a place in New York City. He brought his business to New Jersey, first to Leonia and finally to Teaneck's Cedar Lane.

It epitomized the family business. Mather, the great-grandson of Bischoff, with his trademark bow tie, worked alongside his mom, Anita, who inherited it from her father, Ralph Brunkhorst, son-in-law of Bischoff.

Bischoff's kept Mather's family close-knit. Steve worked alongside his grandfather for six years before the latter died, and with his mother for 40 hours a week for decades. Steve started running things about eight years ago, when his father got sick. Gary Mather died in 2020.

"It's been more than about ice cream, it has been about our relationship with you," Steve said, adding that the first time not going to work will be strange. "It's going to be insanely different."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bischoff's ice cream honored at Teaneck NJ ceremony