In 1958, the then-widowed Frances Lyle decided she wanted to leave the business, but no buyer could be found because the restaurant had no liquor license and operated on a special zoning permit that had to be renewed annually, said Vierling. The three-acre property eventually was sold to a developer who built four houses on it. These days, real estate agents apply the label to an area that extends to Prospect Avenue on the east, Forest Avenue on the west, Oradell Avenue on the south, and up to but not including Soldier Hill Road on the north. It wasn't that formal, but it was a nice place. That's an apt analogy about the neighborhood as a whole.
Residents say there's little formality and that fences between neighbors are few.
Children are allowed to cut through back yards, and their parents organize progressive dinners, in which each course is served at a different family's home. Over the years the borough has proposed installing curbs and sidewalks, arguing that it was dangerous to have children walking on the street and that curbs can prevent cars from leaving the roadway. They felt that adding sidewalks would just bring more traffic into the neighborhood, and they thought not having them added to the aesthetics. The lack of sidewalks, however, doesn't keep residents from strolling. Even though the neighborhood itself is not home to any stores or restaurants, she and her husband enjoy that they are a short walk from a number of the hometown establishments on nearby Kinderkamack Road, including a jazz coffee house, an ice cream parlor, and a gourmet shop.