Looking back: The Macopin/Weaver Road corner

With anticipation building over a new restaurant set to open near the Macopin and Weaver Road intersection later this year, memories of past businesses on the site have resurfaced. Most locals remember the location as the “Town Tavern Country Inn,” while some recall the earlier “Tom-Tom Tavern/Restaurant.” Fewer still know that before those establishments, the site hosted other ventures that have largely faded from memory.

The first building, constructed in the 1920s, stood on what is now vacant land across from the shuttered restaurant at 736 Macopin Road. It was part of the sprawling John F. Mathews estate, encompassing hundreds of acres.

The automobile boom of the 1920s made such enterprises possible. Henry Ford’s Model T, first sold in 1908 for $850 and dropping to $260 by 1924, put cars within reach of the middle class. Pleasure driving became a popular pastime, and John F. Mathews, a local businessman with a keen eye for opportunity, recognized a need for motorists to rest and refuel. He built “The Stand” on Macopin Road, across from the future site of the Tom-Tom Tavern and later the Town Country Tavern. Mathews designed the building with windows running across the front, flanking the entrance, allowing drivers to pull their cars up and order food and beverages without leaving their vehicles—a primitive “drive-in” that served hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream, and soda.

Mathews envisioned his patrons as potential buyers for vacation lots on his property, and many did purchase land. He dammed local streams, creating lakes and ponds before regulations restricted such projects. Two notable sites included Mountain Spring Lake and Van Nostrand Lake atop Apshawa Mountain. Visitors included actors and Broadway-related professionals from New York City who explored the countryside. Among them was David Luker, of the Luker Brothers moving company, who stopped at The Stand and eventually purchased property from Mathews. Luker built a luxurious stone house north of the current restaurant site, married his bride Elizabeth from Ireland, and became a longtime parishioner and benefactor of St. Joseph Church. Though the Lukers had no children of their own, Elizabeth formed lasting bonds with generations of Mathews children.

As more people settled in the area, The Stand evolved. Its large interior space became a dance hall for Saturday night socials, with local musicians providing entertainment. Mathews himself, an accomplished violinist, once performed on WOR radio after being invited by visiting city musicians.

John Mathews, my grandfather, passed away in 1934 at age 63 from pneumonia while completing the Van Nostrand Lake dam project. Following his death, the family did not reopen The Stand. As vacation homes multiplied, residents sought taverns that served food and offered social spaces. The Mathews property eventually reopened under various owners, including Mr. Kevit, who ran the Amber Inn, and Stanley Markowski, who married local resident Louise Stanscik in a well-remembered St. Joseph Church wedding.

Margaret and Tom Clark from Clifton later opened the Tom-Tom Tavern in the same building. The Clarks, both educators, eventually purchased property across the road and built the restaurant most recently occupied by Bruce and Judy Ziegler. The Ziegler family, already known for a family restaurant in Little Falls, operated the Town Tavern Country Inn until closing in 2017 due to increased township taxes.

After the Clarks moved from The Stand, a family in need temporarily lived there. Over time, the aging building fell into disrepair and was eventually demolished. The property, with unpaid taxes, went to a sheriff’s sale and is now owned by Rocky Hazelman.

From its early days as a 1920s roadside stop to its role as a neighborhood tavern, the Macopin Road property has served the community in evolving ways, reflecting both the changing leisure habits and the growth of West Milford itself.