Beloved Country Store In North Jersey Is Closing: Here's Why

RIVER VALE, NJ — Nestled just around a bend in the road in River Vale, a century-old shop called The Country Store evokes the general stores of bygone days — the ones that sold candy, sandwiches, and the basics you needed at home.

Such stores can be found in old towns around the Northeast, but they're dying out. Among the last of its kind, The Country Store on Main Street is closing this week.

Owner Rick Marshall said Wednesday that he and partner Jim DeSalvatore have run the store for "40 years, 6 months and 24 days."

But for a few reasons, it's time for both of them to go.

Marshall said it'll be hard to leave, because customers have become like family — something fans of the 105-year-old store echoed in comments on social media.

The deli section is so popular that people have left rave reviews for years about the roast beef.

"We came in from Scotland and spent three weeks driving coast to coast," wrote a man on Yelp. "This was the best roast beef sandwich in almost 5,000 miles. Great chat too from the owners."

Marshall said that he and DeSalvatore, who met while working at the now-defunct Just Alan's Restaurant in Harrington Park in the 1970s, are retiring "because of the economy and the condition of the building" which requires a lot of maintenance.

He said they used to stay open until 6 p.m., but had to cut their hours to 3 after the pandemic. And they stopped serving breakfast around that time. "People don't spend like they used to," he said. "Prices are sky high."

The pair even provided school lunches in a number of towns until this fall.

But he will miss the customers.

"It's a family here," he said. "If we're not making fun of you, you're making fun of us. Over the years we grew into a big family. People text me their orders."

Customers have been stopping in to bid farewell, and posting tributes on social media.

"Yesterday I went to The Country Store to say goodbye to my friends Jim and Rick," wrote Curt Schlenker. "They have been running the store for the last 40 years, two months, and 10 days (as per Rick) and it's time to move on. Since I lived only a few houses away, I have known them since they've been there."

"I used to stop there after school to grab candy and baseball cards, and my dad practically lived there," wrote one man. "If he wasn’t at home when we woke up, we knew he was at the store ...I got to visit a few weeks ago and bring my own family along ... Goodbye to a store that was never just a store."

'So Much Meaning'

Marshall said that he was surprised by the responses.

"It's nice to see this little store has so much meaning to so many people," he said. "We've been getting letters and happy retirement cards from little old ladies we used to deliver to."

Marshall said he's actually looking for his next job, and would be happy to hear from anyone with an appropriate opportunity.

He said he looks back on his time there fondly.

"We both raised two families," he said. "Jim has two boys and three grandkids. I have three boys and a new grandkid."

He said the store has been there since 1920, and was always called The Country Store.

A woman on Facebook noted that her mother, born in 1929, "Remembers it always being there."

Still Time To Stop By

So when exactly will they close?

Marshall said they expect to be open until Thursday at 3 p.m.

The Country store is located at 729 Rivervale Road, River Vale.

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