Pals Cabin to Close After 81 Years

After 81 years in West Orange, the restaurant that was a favorite of Babe Ruth, Pals Cabin is expected to close its doors next week.

The restaurant has hired A.J. Willner Auctions to sell off everything inside the local landmark when it closes June 1, owner of the auction Harry Byrnes told Patch Saturday. The auction is scheduled for Monday, June 10 at the restaurant at 11 a.m.

The possibility of the restaurant closing was first feared by residents when CVS applied for variances for the building and property at a West Orange Zoning Board meeting in October 2012.

At that time, one of the co-owners, Marty Horn Jr., said the restaurant was not closing. 

"We are not selling the property," he said last year. "We are investigating the possibility of redeveloping the site."

However, Horn told The Star-Ledger in March Pals Cabin was paying $20,000 utilities a month and nearly $200,000 in property taxes a year. The article claimed the restaurant was near closing.

Yet, the next day, the restaurant responded to the article on Facebook saying, "there is no scheduled closing date at this time. Pals is open everyday and will be for the foreseeable future."

The owners could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday afternoon.

Pals opened in 1932, when friends Martin L. (Marty) Horn and Bion Leroy (Roy) Sale joined forces. It started off as a modest hot dog stand, 10-by-12 feet, in the midst of the Great Depression.

Over the years, the Horn family has continued to operate the popular restaurant. The third generation of Horns, Don, Jr., Peter, Jimmy and Marty, currently own the restaurant.