Pinto's in Hackensack
Does anyone remember Pinto's Restaurant in Hackensack? It used to be in a white building on Greene Street, and when I lived in Teaneck as a tot (early 1960's), it's where my family always got their pizza. Later on, when we moved out of Teaneck, we'd still stop by if we were in the area, and I thought their Italian food (and pizza especially) was delicious, although I probably wasn't very discriminating when it came to Italian food (which I uniformly loved). In the mid 80's, the restaurant still existed, and I stopped there as a young adult after not having been for several years, and found it not all that great. Not sure if that meant the quality had deteriorated over the years, or whether my own sense of taste had become more refined. In any event, I'm pretty sure it no longer exists. A shame. I can still sometimes have visions of its pizza, with those circular pieces of sausage floating amongst the bubbling cheese and sauce (not sure if the visions are justified, or I'm looking back at the past through the proverbial rose colored glasses).
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Pinto's was actually a very good restaurant for family dining back in the day. While it may not have been very creative or exciting.....All the food was freshly made.
After Pinto's closed...it was replaced by a very poor BBQ restaurant.....Porky's?
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re: fourunder
Thanks for the quick response, fourunder. Do you have any idea when it first opened? My initial memory of it was the early 1960's, but I'm pretty sure it was around for a long time before that. My grandfather used to work in the area in the 1920's/1930's, and I know that Greene Street and vicinity was primarily Italian.
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re: legsdiamond12
I would assume you are correct or close about the 60's, but I do not know the exact date of opening. If I recall, there was a change in ownership in the late 70s or early 80's. The new owner sold another restaurant and purchased Pinto's. He and his manager were friends with my father. ...and the owner's name was Bernstein and the manager's was Tommy. The place had a strong local following for both the food and bar. I know all my father's friends from both Haworth and White Beeches Golf Clubs frequented the place on a regular basis too. If memory serves me....the restaurant interest he sold before Pinto's was The New Bridge Inn located in New Milford on the Teaneck border
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