Syd's Moved

[AlisonA]

There is a sign on the door of Syd's:

Moving Oct 31 to

Tony's Place

234 Morris

Springfield

Anyone know/been to the new locale?

[ELA]

From another thread -- I haven't been yet but will be going ASAP.

Eric

I spoke to the owner of Syd's yesterday. Their last day at the current location will be this coming Saturday. Their lease is up and they were unable to negotiate a deal. Their rent would have been raised considerably. They will be moving to nearby Springfield. The address is 234 Morris Ave. Springfield. Syd's will be moving into an existing business. It's a luncheonette called Tony's. Both businessess will be serving their food under a kind of profit sharing agreement. It will take a few days to a week to make the transition.

Syd's originally opened in Newark in 1941. There were many owners in it's history, but the same great dogs, considered by many, myself included, to be the finest in Jersey. They moved to their current location in the Millburn Mall (still considered Union despite the name) in 1967. You may want to head down there one more time before they close.

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[AlisonA]

From another thread -- I haven't been yet but will be going ASAP.

Eric

I spoke to the owner of Syd's yesterday. Their last day at the current location will be this coming Saturday. Their lease is up and they were unable to negotiate a deal. Their rent would have been raised considerably. They will be moving to nearby Springfield. The address is 234 Morris Ave. Springfield. Syd's will be moving into an existing business. It's a luncheonette called Tony's. Both businessess will be serving their food under a kind of profit sharing agreement. It will take a few days to a week to make the transition.

Syd's originally opened in Newark in 1941. There were many owners in it's history, but the same great dogs, considered by many, myself included, to be the finest in Jersey. They moved to their current location in the Millburn Mall (still considered Union despite the name) in 1967. You may want to head down there one more time before they close.

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Thanks.

I did do a search for "Syd's" but couldn't get anything to come up.

Maybe we should make sure hot dog is in this thread for anyone else trying to search??

[ELA]

AlisonA -- here's the link to thread

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=4290&st=30

Eric

[John]

I went to Syd's new location Friday, Nov. 3rd. They are indeed at Tony's place on Morris Ave. Called Tony's Place featuring Syd's, or Syd's at Tony's Place. Tony's is a small diner that looks like a slimmer version of Syd's. What I mean is that it is long and narrow, with a counter to your right as you walk in the front door. It is about the same length as Syd's, but about half as wide. And it lacks the atmosphere of Syd's.

I wasn't impressed at all with Tony's. There were too many people working in a cramped area getting in each other's way. Service was slow; it took me a long time to get a hot dog. All of the employees are Tony's; the only one from Syd's is Eric, the owner of Syd's. He was able to get the grill from Syd's and put it in the back where he makes the burgers and dogs. Same great dogs, but the roll was falling apart. I had a chance to ask Eric if he changed the roll. He didn't, but wasn't able to elaborate as someone from Tony's needed his immediate attention and I didn't see him again. I believe that the Bakers Touch roll that he uses isn't of the same quality that it used to be since they stopped baking them individually. Many hot dog joints stopped using this roll. Eric continued to use it at Syd's, but put it in a toaster oven, which I believe he no longer has. I heard another woman compalian about the roll also.

My dog was barely warm; at the old Syd's it was always served hot. I think this was due to a delay in getting it from the back to me. The fries used at Tony's are the standard frozen Sysco fries that are indistinguishable from countless other establishments that use them. Syd's always had great fries that were homemade, hand cut, and never frozen. The waitress that I spoke with told me that the only food from Syd's are the dogs and burgers. I told her that I wished the fries were from Syd's as well. I elaborated on the differences, to which she replied that it's a lot of work making fries. Maybe, I said, but I don't care. I'm the one eating them and I prefer the superior fries that Syd's used to serve.

The dog was also $3.49, which is about 20 cents more than I remember it costing. I hope someday Syd's has a place of it's own once again, where Eric has total control of the menu and the staff. To those who loved Syd's, let me suggest that you might be better off going to Best Provisions in Newark and buying these same dogs yourself and preparing them at home. I do, and save myself a lot of money in the process. And enjoy the same dogs prepared the same way that the old Syd's did. And don't let anyone tell you that the dogs are made especially for Syd's. They are made at Best and sold to anyone who wants them. For awhile Melt in Jersey City used these same dogs.

[Rich Pawlak]

Sad, truly sad. I loved Syd's when we visited on the Hot Dog Nation Tour, absolutely first class dog and killer fries. Why do you think Eric went for this awkward arrangement, John?

[John]

Eric's lease was up and he doesn't have the time and/or money to look for a new place. So the next best thing was to move somewhere else where he can continue to work. Otherwise he wouldn't have an income. Hopefully this arrangement will be temporary.

[SueWho321]

Eric's lease was up and he doesn't have the time and/or money to look for a new place. So the next best thing was to move somewhere else where he can continue to work. Otherwise he wouldn't have an income. Hopefully this arrangement will be temporary.

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I guess the location formerly known as Joy Luck Pavilion (Northfield Ave in WO) is too big for Syd's (It's 9000 sq ft, according to the banners on the roof).

[John]

Today's Star Ledger has an article about the merger between Syd's and Tony's Place. It's in the Savor section. I'm glad that a few more of Syd's selections are now available, including their fries.

[John]

Link here: http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/l...er?livfd&coll=1