the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ho-Ho-Kus NJ, we are very sad to announce the sun has set on Sicilian Sun ,in a Facebook shock announcement on June 18th :
HAWAIIAN PIZZA? FUHGETTABOUTIT! https://theridgewoodblog.net/hawaiian-pizza-fuhgettaboutit/
To our many loyal customers over the years it’s with our sincere sorrow to inform you that The Sicilian Sun has closed. We thank you for the Cherished memories and friendships made.
Sincerely, the kitchen, the staff, Jim and chef Billy
Sicilian Sun was a main stay of downtown Ho-Ho-Kus served :Classic Italian Specialties with a modern European twist .50 years and counting of house made dishes -From thin crust pizza ,seafood ,veal ,chicken& pasta for as long as we can remember.
Its sad. I ate there for 30+ years when the ‘brothers’ and ‘mamma’ owned and ran it.
The new owners ran in into the ground .
Hopefully the ‘brothers’ will re-open it with the same quality that made it great
Agree completely
The new owners were not there to create the atmosphere that the family created
Went there for 20+ yrs and stopped after 2 visits with new new owners
Also agree completely, the new owners ran in into the ground.
The new owner turned me off the first time I went there after he took over. Came up to our table with a clip board and asked me my last name. Very strange. We never wen back. Broke down and ordered takeout once and it was terrible.
I started going there in 1983.
Last time I was there was November 2021.
Something will take it’s place I hope.
It’s difficult to buy an established family owned and run business. The Pandolfo family ran it perfectly for all those years. This news comes as no surprise.
Had my sons baptism party there , he is 38 years old now , many great means there , the last time I was there it just was not the same , I missed talking to momma everytime we were there
What happened.
They ran the place into the ground. So sad! They did have they best pizza but not worth the frustration on the phone placing the order.
Very, very sad to see this happen. I worked there for 3 years during high school. The Pandolfo’s: Mama, Tony, Gerry and Frank were the best. They worked hard, day in and day out. They knew how to treat people right. A true family business. I hope that one of boys or their children make an attempt at re-opening it to make the Sun Rise again at Sicilian Sun.
More than closing of a small restaurant you should worry what will happen next which is very likely a housing project to help HHK fulfill their affordable housing quota. Right behind Sic Sun they razed down 2 beautiful old houses and a number of tall pines to open about 1/2 acre space where they are building 8 town homes. Sic sun in the corner is a good location for another building. So far HHK has in process 100 housing units in the small HHK crossing area. Talk about ruining a once beautiful village. HHK politicians have proven to be complete crooks with these decisions.
The problem is the Democrat liberal NJ State Supreme court.
Its call the Mount Laurel decision that requires towns to provide affordable housing to those too lazy to work hard, save, and better themselves… so they bring shit-hole city problems to the suburbs.
Builders will use this scheme as a way to extra concessions from a town, and if the town fights back , the builders ‘remedy’ will result in MORE units.
So keep voting for Democrats, and welcome the residents of shit-hole cities to the suburbs- and your school taxes will rise for ESL classes too.
My parents worked hard, 7 days a week, many jobs day and night , saved, in order to get out of the shit-hole of Passaic and move to Bergen county.
Now their lazy counterparts get a hand-out.
Thus is life in the peoples Republic of New Jerkey.
The problem are the horrible people that govern these once beautiful places. Mt Laurel is just a piece of paper that greedy j.e.rks take advantage of. Responsible, good willing politicians should strike a balance and not just throw their towns under the bus so they gather the favors of some cheap developers. We know everything is going to sh.!t already but you’d expect these people to try and resist a little, instead they’re all in the sack. Of course they also take advantage of the d.u.mb rsidents who only look to have their grass green and don’t give a da.m.n about their town. When they encounter Paterson like issues it will be too late.
My gosh!!!!! What if that was the real reason why the place closed. I only was in there once or twice with the original owners but the new owner seemed like he had a lot of pride in that place and took it serious
We called them in late 2019 and asked if we can have a small party area for about 20-25 people for my son’s Christening and order family style. They told us to book a time slot and we can order individual dishes off of the menu and sit in the main dining room.
check
We have been dining at Sicilian Sun for decades as well. It was my first and last stop on all of my business trips to the area once I moved to NC. I do not agree with some other posters that Jim and Billy didn’t run a great restaurant for many years that they owned it after the family sold the business. The food was always excellent although sometimes when we experienced imperfections the staff was always there to make it right. I’ll miss Donna and many of the other servers and wish everyone the best. Our last dinner was this past Christmas when we did our normal catering and also a dinner at the restaurant…my wife and son got to dine one more time in April. We do hope someone reopens the location soon.
Ate at Sicilian Sun three times and was treated rudely by the owner each time. The man has no sense of customer service. I don’t want to see a business fail but if you have a business and treat the customers poorly, you cannot expect to stay in business.
I agree. The woman behind the counter was also rude. And i brought it to their attention. Did no good.
They were also cutting corners on the food. My chicken parm had clearly been pre-made an microwaved to warm it up which made in rubbery.
I ate there a couple times a few months before the closure. The truth is the food was OK, not great. For example, the chicken parm was cleary prepared earlier and microwaved to heat it up.
But the big problem that made me not wanted to go back there was the woman who was behind hte counter whenyou came in. She was obnoxious beyond belief. And too lazy to take you to your table. SHe’d just point and screech at you.
Good riddance.