I don't write this as a local. Not anymore. I do write this with the memories of a kid who went shopping with his parents at PathMark and bypassed Pizza And and Bagels Plus to come here and stock up for the grandest Christmas parties the Pasta Triangle had ever witnessed.
There was Seagram's 7 for the egg nog, Dekuypers for the gift baskets, Brotherhood Holiday wine for the table, the occasional case of Brookdale sodas for the kids, Kahlua for holiday sombreros, Miller Chill for my redneck uncle's Christmas present... and quarters from the owners so I could go play Street Fighter behind the bagel shop while my parents had fun.
Kelly's was there to grow up with me. When I came home from college, it's where I bought the white zinfandel to go with the Land O Lakes chedarella I'd have during my incredibly adult wine-and-cheese nights. It's where I'd find Brooklyn Double Chocolate, Samuel Adams Boston Lager and several other "weird beers" that my dad would shake his head at before eventually nicking about half the pack. It was where I could finally get my mom her bottle of amaretto and my dad a gift-boxed bottle of scotch and put them under the tree.
The years went on, I moved away, and I'd only see Kelly's when I'd come home for Christmas. It's where I'd make the family ice run and where I'd end up when the bottle of Finlandia that had bin in the basement for 25 years miraculously ran dry because the adults could drink vodka again. Sometime when I wasn't looking, the Pathmark closed up shop, the bank went away, the gift shop was no more and the hairdresser bolted. Even the "new" KFC didn't think this was a great place to be anymore. Kelly's stuck it out.
It left its wood-paneled little corner shop for the liquor warehouse you see today. For its trouble, it gets all the outgoing traffic from a Shop-Rite that may not be Nutley Park, but is at least Belleville's own. Hey, you can even stop at the Pizza Hut on the way out if you want to see if people still sit in Pizza Huts anymore.
I'm writing this review because Kelly's grew up with this old man. I'm out in Oregon now, but my cousins are still in Jersey. However, I discovered that I could order from Kelly's online and pay in advance. With their help, I made sure my cousins got the Holiday wine and Dekuyper's cordials our family's enjoyed for years... and sent them off in reusable Shop-Rite bags with more personal gifts tucked inside.
Despite my best intentions, I couldn't get back for Christmas this year. But in recent years, I've been developing a soft spot for my old hometown, especially around the holiday. I remember pulling up to that McDonald's across the street after a long day of Christmas Eve errands with my sister and getting a small stack, only to have a worker sigh audibly when we asked for honey (points for consistency). I remember the many iterations of streetlight decorations throughout the town and the years when we'd get enough snow for sledding beneath the high-tension towers.
I remember watching A Christmas Story and thinking how much Ralphie's town reminded me of Belleville. Being able to access a small, familiar corner of it--if only through a website--made this holiday season just a bit better and left me feeling just a bit closer to home.
I don't know who owns the place now, but I thank you for your hospitality and wish you and yours the best. read more