Family Restaurant Draws Local Fishers, Builds Sense of Community

Hamburg Turnpike-based has created a place for avid fishers to cast out their passions – pun intended.

Eroded rock and poison ivy made it impossible for anyone to fish near the river. Over the past year, however, the McCobb’s team has worked diligently to beautify the area surrounding the Ramapo River -- replacing rock, cleaning up vegetation and trimming trees to make an area accessible for adults and children to cast a line.

Finally, the McCobb’s Aquatic Center has been unveiled and has received an overwhelming response.

“We never dreamed of getting the response we have,” Dean Mamakos, co-owner, said. “We’ve done an inspiring thing out there, and everything fell into place. The end result has been transformative.”

Business went up 40 to 45 percent in June, and they had a solid July, which is when business typically lags because people go on vacations. There is no cost to fish on the river.

“McCobb’s is becoming more of a destination spot; people are drawn to the nature surrounding this place,” Spero Mamakos, co-owner, said. “There are very few waterways and forests in this area. Down there, you have all types of wildlife.”

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection stocked the Ramapo River with trout last May. There’s a variety of other aquatic life as well.

“People think that they’re only gonna catch trout back there, but there’s also catfish, sunnies, pike, small bass, and all other types of aquatic life,” Spero Mamakos said.

Antiques adorn the walls of the quaint eatery, which contains a tricycle from the 1930’s and a popcorn machine from the 1950’s, as well as old school fishing poles and a wagon from when the Mamakos brothers were children.

When customers found out their neighborhood hamburger joint was to create an area for fishers, Dean Mamakos said they were shocked.  

“People would ask me, ‘Why are you guys spending the money to do this? Does it cost anything?’” Dean Mamakos said. “McCobb’s now has a sense of place.”

The only restriction to fish is that fishers must have a fishing license; otherwise, the Aquatic Center is open 24/7.

“Eventually, we’d like to host fundraisers out there, to help give back to the community who has kept us here for 71 years,” Spero Mamakos said.

It’s come a long way since the original roadside’s conception.

McCobb’s was established in 1940 as the “Maple Snack Bar.” It was a roadside hot dog stand that had a chili sauce people would travel from far away to taste. The restaurant has been in the Mamakos family for two generations – since 1962 – and still sells their traditional “All the Way” hot dog.

“The chili was and still is the plasma of this place,” Spero Mamakos said. “I don’t remember the founder’s name, but his nickname was ‘Frenchman’, and when we bought the place, we bought the original recipe that we still use today.”

The chili is trademarked and sold throughout the United States. It makes about $100,000 a year alone for the family-owned business.

The restaurant, which was seasonal in its early years, was a local hangout for teens in the 1960’s and 1970’s, who went for lunch before going to Sun Tan Lake or Pleasureland, two summer lake hot spots at the time.

“People who are now married and have kids met at this place,” Spero Mamakos said. “People had simple pleasures back then.”

Since then, McCobb’s has made menu changes to meet consumer demands, while refusing to sacrifice quality food. They reject the “fast food” mentality of most chain burger joints today that rely on processed ingredients that are oversaturated in fat and cholesterol.

“We are not fast, and we won’t apologize for it,” Dean Mamakos said.

They’ve constructed an ice cream bar in the past few years, stocked with fresh Gelotti’s Ice Cream, of Totowa, each day. They’ve also started serving breakfast.

Constantly evolving, they’re looking to offer healthier options in the future, such as whole grain rice, beans, corn, ribs and different summer salads, Spero Mamakos said.

But the Acquatic Center will remain one of the best things the co-owners did, they agreed, and they plan to work hard to maintain the grounds.

 “McCobb’s family restaurant now has a sense of place,” Dean Mamkos said.