That Little Restaurant: A Wonderful, Down-Home Place To Eat!

That Little Restaurant in Oak Ridge, New Jersey is a wonderful, old-fashioned, down-home, cute little place to eat.

That Little Restaurant:  A Wonderful, Down-Home Place To Eat!

By Richard Mabey Jr.

I presently live in Central Florida, in one of the these granddaddy gated communities. They’ve got over a hundred restaurants in this gated community. One, more dull and boring as the next. “Hello, my name is Sally, I’ll be your server today.” What Sally doesn’t tell you is that after she takes your order, you’ll never see her again. She’ll be in the back talking to the other servers about how Mr. MacGruder came into the restaurant, with a lady who was NOT his wife!

“I’m Sally and I’ll be your server today. But, after I take your order, you’ll never see me again!”

At some of these corporate chain restaurants, after the waitress takes your order, then someone else brings out your food. It says, clear as the crack in the Liberty Bell, on the menu that iced tea and soda refills are free. What they don’t tell you is this: good luck trying to get a server’s attention to give you a refill. Oh, and if you do get the server’s attention, she will bring an iced tea refill to you when you ask her. But guess what? Your glass will be 90 percent filled with ice. That’s even after you ask your server to go easy on the ice. Oh, yes, these corporate, cookie-cutter restaurants are a real fun to deal with.

“That’s how they do things here in Central Florida, son. The waitress brings you the drinks, then you wait a good half-hour for her to come back and take your order. Then, you wait a good half-hour for your food. It’s just the way it is in Florida!”

I know about a third of my readers live in Central Florida also. And I also know that about 99 percent of you, end up traveling up the highway about twice a year to visit kin and old friends up in the New York, New Jersey area. Guess what? Have I got a place to take your friends and relatives out to eat, when you’re up in the North Country!

The interior of That Little Restaurant is clean and they give you plenty of room to eat in comfort!

This little charming, down-home restaurant goes by the name of “That Little Restaurant.” It’s located in the hills of rural northern New Jersey in none other than the town of Oak Ridge. That Little Restaurant or TLR, as some folks call it, is owned and operated by two of the nicest people that you’ll ever meet; Bob and Linda Nitkin. A husband and wife team that have many years of hands-on experience in the restaurant business!

Another great photo of the interior of TLR. Check out the bat insignia on the far wall!

Both, Bob and Linda have many years experience in managing a restaurant. For many years they owned and managed the infamous Lincoln Park Sweet Shop, which was located right on the charming Main Street of good old Lincoln Park, New Jersey. So, if you were ever in the Lincoln Park Sweet Shop, you know what I mean when I tell you that you won’t walk out of TLR feeling like you just got the bum’s rush, like you do when you eat in some restaurants.

Here’s another view of the interior of That Little Restaurant.

This is what small town, New Jersey hospitality is all about. No, you’re table won’t be cluttered with oversized propaganda ads for what you should order for dessert. No, you won’t find those little computer screens on your table. That when you press the wrong button on it, you get charged an outrageous fee for having played on the video games. Even if you didn’t even play the video game! No tricks, no gimmicks, no phony deals, no phony passwords that are advertised on some television commercial. Just real nice people; serving good, fresh food; and brace yourself, served with a smile!

From time to time, Bob Nitkin himself picks up his drum sticks and joins in on providing the customers with top-rated musical entertainment.

But TLR is more than a restaurant. It’s a place where people come to have fellowship, to meet friends, and on most weekends, listen to live music that is for free! Bob Nitkin is a talented drummer. He’s played in a lot of different marching bands, jazz bands, and music combos. So, you guessed it! Sometimes Bob puts down his spatula and picks up his drum sticks and plays the drums with the music group that is playing that particular night. When that happens, you really are in for a treat, because Bob really is one heckofa talented drummer!

In this photo, we see some of the volunteers that worked so hard to gather up toys for the United States Marines’ Toys for Tots program. Linda Nitkin is standing with the group, fifth from your left hand side.

Aside from all this, there’s more! Bob and Linda Nitkin do a lot to help various nonprofit organizations. Every year, Bob and Linda help to gather toys for the Toys for Tots, sponsored by the United States Marines. Both, Bob and Linda, have such a good heart in helping others. Sure, the big boxes take up space in their restaurant. They have to sacrifice a table or two during the holiday season, to make room for the Toys for Tots big boxes. But, truly, that’s the kind of people that they are!

From your left to your right: Glen Wargo, Linda Nitkin, Irena Wargo and Bob Nitkin. These four good people, worked hard to hold special fund raising events at TLR!

To list all the good things that Bob and Linda do for their community and nonprofit organizations would takes pages and pages. But one of their favorite charities, that they do a lot to help out, is The Special Operations, Fallen Warriors Organization. Bob and Linda sponsor quite a few fund raiseing events for this wonderful nonprofit organization, that helps our wounded veterans. Both, Bob and Linda, themselves are United States Service Veterans. So, working to help our wounded veterans, holds a special place in both of their hearts.

Here’s a photo of a brass band playing at one of the fund raisers for The Special Operations, Fallen Warriors Organization. You can see Bob Nitkin is playing the drums!

To wrap things up, I can’t imagine finding a more down-home, charming place to get a good meal, than you’ll find at That Little Restaurant. It’s open from Tuesday till Sunday, from 8:30 in the morning till 2:00 in the afternoon. Just a great place to eat, have a few laughs and just have a nice time. By the way, this is not an advertisement. This is just a true blue service to let people know of a place in northern New Jersey to have a good meal, get good service and have a nice little time.