These broke our hearts: The biggest restaurant closings of 2023, so far

It's always sad when a restaurant closes. Restaurants are where we go to connect with family and friends, where we celebrate anniversaries, promotions, graduations, holidays, birthdays. It's where we make memories.

Thus far this year, we have had to say goodbye to way too many restaurants. It wasn't easy. But some goodbyes were especially difficult.

Here are the restaurants whose closures saddened us most.

Fascino, Montclair

Acclaimed chef Ryan DePersio called it "bittersweet." After 20 years, the chef, who owns Battello and Kitchen Step in Jersey City, closed Fascino, the first restaurant he had owned, saying that "it was time."

Besides, DePersio, a Nutley native, said, "I'm more a restaurateur than a chef now." He is currently building a 40,000-square-foot events venue and restaurant in Eatontown with the goal of opening the event space, dubbed Tilling House, later this summer.

We certainly will miss him in Montclair.

The good news, however: DePersio sold the restaurant to two skilled employees, Logan Ramirez, who was Fascino's chef de cuisine and is now its executive chef, and Mary Cumella, who was Fascino's general manager. They have renamed the restaurant Gioia Mia, which means "my joy" in Italian.

While they have not changed the look of the place, they have changed the menu, making it less Italian-centric and more global. And they have kept DePersio's signature dish, ricotta gnocchi, though bathing it in a cacio e pepe sauce and not a sweet sausage ragu. They have also brought back a burger and are offering oysters, hot and cold. I loved Gioia Mia's food, especially the chicken liver mousse (a must), the hamachi crudo (so refreshing it makes water redundant), the pork chop (don't even think of not ordering it) and the pan seared scallops (perfectly cooked, tender and sweet).

Gioia Mia is at 331 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair; 973-233-0350, fascinorestaurant.com.

White Birch, Flanders

After four and a half years, White Birch, a fine-dine restaurant in Flanders, a serene bucolic southwest corner of Morris County, permanently closed after Mother's Day brunch service this year.

COVID was a major culprit.

"Hospitability is a tough and rough industry since COVID," said Freund, who has been in the industry for a quarter of a century. "I have given it everything I have. The return is not much. This industry is a grind."

He also admitted that business wasn't doing as well as he had hoped, despite the fact that for four years in a row White Birch was one of New Jersey Monthly's Best 30 Restaurants. "I don't know why," he said, business had dropped. "You can't force people to come to your restaurant. If I could, I would."

White Birch was Freund's third restaurant. His first was Slamwich Scratch Kitchen, a beloved breakfast, lunch and sandwich shop in Madison, which closed three years ago.

He now runs his more casual restaurant, The Oldwick General Store, a breakfast and lunch spot, not only serving sit-down meals but many homemade eats, including tomato sauce, preserves, donuts, muffins and breads. And, if you, as I, were a fan of his signature onion tart, good news: it is served for breakfast at The Oldwick (57 Old Turnpike Road, Oldwick; 908-572-7475). It is simply sublime, made with gooey, nutty Gruyere cheese that is set in a buttery crust heaped with a frisée salad sprinkled with pine nuts. A delicious way to start any day.

Kimchi Smoke, Westwood

Thank goodness Robert Cho, the award-winning pitmaster of Southern-style Korean barbecue Kimchi Smoke, still has a location in Ridgewood. As of mid July, his larger Westwood spot closed. Cho said he closed it because he wanted to concentrate on catering as well as participate in more food events. And of course he's got a Kimchi Smoke food truck.

Cho originally opened his popular barbecue restaurant in a teeny space on Church Street in Bergenfield in 2016 but outgrew it quickly. In less than a year Kimchi Smoke moved into much larger quarters on Westwood's Center Avenue. Cho opened his Ridgewood shop (2 Godwin Ave.; 201-447-6653) in 2022.

Over the years he has won so many awards you could consider him the Michael Phelps of barbecue. Among them: Best Chicken at the Meadowlands BBQ Extravaganza in 2016; In 2021, Most Creative Brisket at Brisket King NYC:Pig Island NYC Best in Show in 2022; and in 2023 Best Pastrami at Brisket King NYC.

River View East, Elmwood Park

New Jersey has the best and biggest hot dog culture on the planet. Food magazine Saveur described Jersey's long love affair with the dog this way: "Hot dogs are more than a food in New Jersey, they're a whole cuisine." And North Jersey? Heck, our region created three of the most popular types of hot dogs devoured throughout the state and beyond: the Texas Weiner, the Italian Hot Dog and the Ripper. So when a hot dog joint closes its doors, that, my friend, is a state-wide tragedy.

Weiner lovers may indeed still be mourning the March closing of River View East. For decades, the unpretentious, beloved hot dog joint had been slinging Texas Weiners, deep-fried franks covered with Greek-inspired meat chili, in its wonderfully preserved squat 1950s building. Yes there are other joints for dogs — Rutt's Hut in Clifton, Hiram's in Fort Lee, The Hot Grill in Clifton and Johnny & Hange's in Fair Lawn — but River View East was so close to Paterson, which everyone knows or should know is the center of hot dog heaven. It's where the word hot dog was birthed (in 1892) as was the Texas Weiner; the chili sauce was brought over by Greek immigrants who used it for moussaka.

Tom Decicco, River View East's owner since 1989, said that a combination of rising labor costs, inflation and rent had made the restaurant fiscally unsustainable. “It’s a death by a thousand cuts,” he said.

We can't afford another death. Here's your takeaway: support the hot dog spots still serving wonderful, heady food in a tube to ensure that they remain open.

The Manor, West Orange

The lavish catering hall and restaurant, which opened for the first time on New Year's Eve in 1956, closed its doors for good on July 5. The three-generation family-run business said that COVID, inflation and other "unforeseen circumstances" contributed to the reasons for the closing.

The 66-year-old catering hall hosted innumerable couples who held their weddings and receptions, as well as many other celebrations and special events. In April 1975, Ronald Reagan, then governor of California running for president, held a $100-a-plate champagne brunch at The Manor.

Besides weddings and other celebrations, The Manor was famous for its seafood buffet and brunch. It also served an a la carte dinner.

In a message on social media, the Knowles family who owned the venue, said: "We’re sad that this phase is ending, but grateful to have been a part of it. Thank you for letting us serve you. It meant the world to us."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: North Jersey restaurant closures that saddened us most so far in 2023