The Manor in West Orange is closed??!?!!
I was about to call about reservations for my family and read they are permanently closed as of July 2023 citing rising inflation and the pandemic.
This is truly sad as my wife and I were married there and it was such an iconic New Jersey establishment. I remember getting a letter from them on our 1 year anniversary and inside was a $100 gift card asking that we celebrate the occasion with them. Of course, we did and was as wonderful as always. Such a classy place is no more. Very sad.
ConsigliereI agree with you Consigliere. I have pictures celebrating one of my Birthdays at the Manor. My Birthday is on Christmas Eve - it was so beautifully decorated for Christmas. I was not there often but the few times I was it was very special. It will probably be difficult to find something that comes close to The Manor. It may be out there but I sure don't know where?? In any event, I hope you find a wonderful place where you will enjoy a lovely atmosphere, great food and great service with your Family.
Mrs. Pipes OLD news.... they were struggling since they re-opened post pandemic, as other restaurants have since the pandemic. The closing was all over the news when they did final wedding, etc.
Shelley Stebbins I know long before they closed last summer, I wanted to hit the lobster buffet again and when I inquired for reservations I discovered that it had been discontinued. I felt at the time that was simply foreshadowing what was coming. Sadly I did read last year I was correct. It was a bummer but as I always state, nothing is forever....
Greg Awww, man, the lobster buffet! I remember when it was about $30 per person for all the fresh, main lobster you could eat. I used to skip most of the other stuff and just load up on lobster. I think I ate six lobsters, one night. Ahhh..the good old days.
Guilty-Remnant You can thank Phil Murphy for this. The prolonged fauxvid garbage lockdowns forced about a 1/3 of small and mid-sized businesses to close forever.
Calico696 I think Harry Knowles is long gone...do not even know if any of his family still owns the place.
If you are looking for a quality, and I mean quality catering place, check out the Park Savoy in Florham Park or their other establishment in the New Brunswick area, the Park Chateau. Top notch,
and if you miss and or need chandeliers, there is always the Crystal Palace in Millburn.
good luck.....
New2this Harry passed in November of 2021 at 97 years old. The Manor/Pleasantdale/Highlawn were wonderful customers for many many years and greatly missed.
JrzyGirl88 Labor shortages and rising good/supply costs indirectly related to the pandemic have also affected businesses, in addition to having to close for in person services and things like that
I honestly can not blame the family for deciding to retire. They lost both parents within a few years of each other and are into their 70's now themselves. The restaurant/catering business is not what they once were and they went out at the top of their game.
Two businesses operating at the same address (111 Prospect Ave, West Orange) received more than $2.2M in pandemic forgiven loans.
https://data.courierpostonline.com/paycheck-protection-program-loans/?state=New+Jersey&searchtext=+Manor%2C+west+orange
They had an estimated annual revenue of just over $1M. If true, the taxpayers kept that place afloat for 2 years.
Maybe the businesses just ran their course? This was a high dollar cost dining location. There are lots of smaller, cost effective businesses thriving through and since the pandemic. Maybe people just have less desire to spend $75+ for a buffet meal?
emaxxman From my point of view our eating / dinning habits have significantly changed over the past years. I am 55 years old and I would never ever dine at a restaurant of this type. This style of dinning would be something my grandmothers generation would have enjoyed. It might have been amazing but simply there is only so much market share to be had and the business ran it’s s course.
LibertyThinker I loved going to the Manor. Had my wedding, confirmation and prom there. Growing up, my family would go to the buffet and for special occasions. It was an over the top iconic New Jersey institution that will be greatly missed. Too bad they could not hang on just a little longer, because catering businesses have rebounded.
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