Tree Tavern
About us
The Tree Tavern started as a tavern and restaurant on Crosby Place in Paterson, New Jersey. It was a landmark location in Paterson through the 1950s and 1960’s right in the heart of the city. Louis Priore founded the Tree Tavern in 1926. It was named the Tree Tavern because there was a live tree growing in the foyer. Louis’s daughter Rose met and married Frank Francia in 1943.
Frank joined the business and soon took over the helm of Tree Tavern. They froze the very first Tree Tavern Pizza in 1954 which makes it one of the first frozen pizzas ever sold in a supermarket. The business prospered for many years as both a restaurant and a frozen pizza company. The restaurant was ultimately closed so the Francia’s could focus on the retail business. We acquired Tree Tavern Pizza in 1992.
The current location of The Tree Tavern Wine Bar has a long history of its own. It is located on a site that has been a tavern for many years. The early history is not very clear, but it has been a tavern since 1923. We do know that the reason it is located so far off the main road is due to the now removed commuter train station that was just a couple hundred yards away from our location. The Golden Age Club is on the old Midvale Train Station site. People would come home from their commute and walk to our location. When we first took over the property, we found old distillery equipment and a few bottles of moonshine! So, we believe it kept running during Prohibition days. The Pallavicini’s ran the establishment for many years when it wasknown simply as Polly's. Andrew Hack bought the business about 40 years ago and ran it as Andrew's Hideaway for 25 years. We purchased the property from Andrew in 2002 to open The Tree Tavern.
As of 2023 the restaurant at 17 Park St. is 100 years old! Continuously operated through 3 owners, Prohibition, World War II, Korean War, Viet Nam, all the middle east conflicts, stock market crashes, pandemics etc. None of these catastrophes and events stopped the continuous operation of this place. Congratulations to the 3 owners who made it through, The Pallavicini’s (1923-1979), The Hacks (1979-2001) and Michael Ryan (2002-2023).