I think it opened as Cubby's sometime in the mid 1970's ? Everyone laughed when that place opened on such a gritty "rustbelt" of a street, but his business plan was to cater to truckers, contractors, and employees. And since it is the major north-south artery in Hackensack, there's a lot of drive-by traffic that might stop in.
Bobby Egan, the owner of Cubby's is almost a mythic figure in Hackensack. Both for his excellent work in diplomacy with the North Korean Government, and for standing up to abuse from local authority figures. I eat there occasionally just as a way of thanking him for his great efforts.
I believe that Egan was the FIRST person to put forth a legal challenge against the police, boldly putting himself and his business on the line for what is right. We see now HOW MANY people are filing litigation, for all sorts of reasons. At first, many people thought Egan was the trouble-maker, and he does have a little roughness to his personality. But when you look at the sheer number of people filing lawsuits, one has to look objectively and say "Hey, who is the common element here". Egan, at the time was a Hacknesack resident. Unsure if he is still here. Hope he is.
As for the guy across the street, I think his name was spelled Wherle. He lived on Maple Hill Drive. Does anyone know if that property is still undergoing remediation of contamination.
I can't speak for the quality of food at Pete's Luncheonette because the place looked like a dive compared to the new restaurant there now, so I never ate there. Wasn't there another restaurant there after Pete's, and before the current owner ?
