Salt & Butter
It’s the first kosher mall restaurant in Bergen County
The history of kosher restaurants in Bergen County is filled with some success stories, some hits-and-misses, and some that folks just don’t like to talk about.
I have been living here in Bergen County, first in Fair Lawn and now in Teaneck, since 1970. I know about lots of them.
Before there were kosher restaurants in this area, some people would eat only strictly kosher, but would eat tuna fish and salad in a nonkosher restaurant. There were some strictly kosher people who would eat dairy in a nonkosher restaurant. And, of course, there were people who wouldn’t eat anything in a nonkosher restaurant.
Thank God those restaurants started to open. Can you imagine never going out to dinner???
According to Google, the Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock is listed as the first kosher restaurant in Bergen County, opening its doors in 1976. Some kosher folks didn’t eat there because it was open on Shabbos.
Maadan, the famous and delicious take-out place in Teaneck, opened in 1982. At the time it opened, there was also a kosher Jerusalem Pizza place on Cedar Lane. I remember it fondly. And in November of 1988, Noah’s Ark opened its doors, and they have stayed open all these years.
Fair Lawn had New Royal Kosher Bakery, Petaks, a variety of restaurants that couldn’t stay open. The Chinese takeout place, Kosher Express, has been around for at least 20 years.
All that delicious kosher restaurant history is leading to why I am writing this piece. Ladies and gentleman, for the very first time, there is a legit, strictly kosher and cholov Yisroel restaurant that recently opened in the Garden State Plaza in Paramus.
You read that correctly. A dairy, strictly kosher restaurant in the mall! How exciting is that? Its name? Salt and Butter.
I asked the owner, Ben Kahan, why he and his wife, Sarah, chose the name Salt and Butter. Those are two ingredients that people usually try to avoid. His response was simple.
“We chose Salt and Butter because they are authentic names that reflect our commitment to scratch-made food. Everything is prepared in-house without any unhealthy ingredients or preservatives.”
I also asked Ben and his wife why, if they are now living in upstate New York, they would open a restaurant in a mall in Bergen County. That answer was a little longer.
“We started our journey in December 2022 with a food truck called Everything Kosher at the Woodbury Commons Premium Outlet in Central Valley, New York,” he said. “And Sarah, who was working near Woodbury Commons, noticed the clear need for kosher food in shopping areas.”
Their food truck was a tremendous success. They started to outgrow it and knew it was time for a new and bigger venture. “Our niche is to cater high-demand kosher food in locations where there are no other kosher options,” Ben said. Neither he nor Sarah have any culinary background, “This fact makes us feel even stronger about pursuing this mission.”
After starting the kosher food truck in a mall, going into a mall with a restaurant was the next logical move.
“We started looking for new opportunities, and based on advice from our rabbi, we decided to open in a busy local mall closest to where we live. We chose Garden State Plaza because we view it as a more kid-friendly and local destination.”
The Kahans also “feel we are on a mission to feed our nation where they genuinely need it. People who are shopping are very appreciative to have a quiet, dedicated space to eat.”
One of the issues with opening a kosher restaurant in the mall is that you cannot be open on Saturdays. “While it can sometimes bother me not being able to do business on Shabbat, it is a reminder that we are part of the chosen nation, and one never regrets being loyal to Hashem,” Ben told me.
I also asked him how he has been treated as a religious Jew in a secular environment, especially in the recent political climate. “We have been very respected in the mall, especially regarding our Jewish standards,” he told me.
Fortunately, despite the blue laws, parts of the mall are open on Sundays — the restaurants, the movie theater, and the kid play space areas. So hopefully the kosher clientele — and even the not kosher clientele — will come and enjoy Salt and Butter.
I have walked by it many times and I am always happy when I see people enjoying themselves. The food looks amazing, and it isn’t just for kosher people! The menu has choices for grown-ups and kids alike.
Wishing them lots of success in this exciting venture!
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