10 Vintage New Jersey Favorites That Should Come Back

I recently took a trip down memory lane and once I started that journey, I couldn't stop.

Having grown up here in the great Garden State, I couldn't help but think of simpler times. It wasn't that long ago that there were half a dozen department stores that you could shop at (compared to having to pick between just Walmart and Target now), there wasn't a red light every 500 feet, and taking a drive on any toll road meant you had to scramble to find change to pay the toll.

With that in mind, I assembled a list of ten things that really should make a comeback here in New Jersey. Let me know if you agree.

Traffic Circles

It's time for traffic circles to make a comeback in New Jersey.

Traffic circles were beautifully simple. There were no red lights, just free-flowing traffic. If you were in the circle, you just went. If you were waiting to go into the circle, you did just that. And it worked for decades... then one day, it was decided for us that they would make the circles "better" and this is the garbage that we deal with now:

And, quite possibly, the worst roadway design in the history of New Jersey:

• 12 Roads in New Jersey That Drivers Absolutely Hate

Drive-in Movie Theaters

Wouldn't it be great if drive-in movie theaters were as common as regular movie theaters? You load up the family into your SUV or minivan, pull into a drive-in, break out the lawn chairs, and enjoy a movie under the stars. It's sad that the state where drive-ins got started only has one in operation.

• 8 Closest Drive-in Movie Theaters Near New Jersey - 2025 Guide

Boardwalk Movie Theaters

Speaking of theaters, how about movie theaters right on boardwalks in New Jersey?

While one or two remain (the Moorlyn in Ocean City recently reopened), gone are the days when just about every seaside town in New Jersey had a couple of movie houses on its boardwalk. You'd spend the day on the beach, and when the sun went down, you watched the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Life was good.

• Do You Remember the Point 4 Theatre in Somers Point?

Two Guys and Bradlees Stores

If you grew up in New Jersey in the 70s, 80s, and/or 90s, maybe you remember stores like Bradlees, Caldor, Two Guys, and Jamesway, just to name a few. And we can add Sears and K-Mart to that list, too.

• 15 NJ Stores You Can Never Shop at Again

Doo-Wop Motels in The Wildwoods

Sure, quite a few Doo-Wop-era motels are still thriving in the Wildwoods, but it seems like every year one or two more get lost to the wrecking ball. Sadly, once these are gone, they're gone forever.

• 26 Pictures of the Glorious Neon Motel Signs in Wildwood Crest, NJ

Garden State Parkway Toll Baskets and Tokens

While just about everyone enjoys the convenience of E-ZPass in New Jersey, the time-honored tradition of digging around in your car to find the right amount of loose change as you quickly approached a Garden State Parkway toll plaza has faded into history.

• 17 Things You Likely Don't Know About NJ's Garden State Parkway

Phone Booths and Pay Phones

Long before your cell phone was attached to your hand 24 hours a day, if you wanted to make a call, first you had to find a pay phone or a pay phone, and then, much like digging up change on the Parkway for the toll, you needed a small handful of nickels, dimes, and quarters.

• Yes, a Few Payphones Persist in South Jersey

Drive-in Restaurants

While a handful of drive-in-style restaurants can still be found in New Jersey — places like Weber's Root Beer and Stewart's — they're certainly not as common as they used to be. While Sonic has modernized and expanded the concept, there's something about the charm of visiting a smaller eatery like these, where you pulled in, flashed your lights, and burgers and root beer floats were delivered right to your car window.

• Closed NJ Restaurants: Diners, Bars, Chains Gone Forever

Neighborhood Corner Stores

Long before Wawa and QuickChek stores were every 300 feet in New Jersey, chances are, your neighborhood had a little corner store. Inside, you could get everything from popsicles to bait for fishing to deli meat, candy, and more. And there's a good chance you and the people who worked there knew each other by name.

• Wawa Workers Reveal the Worst Things Customers Do

Old Gas Stations

While we enjoy handing our debit cards to an attendant at a modern gas station, back in the good ol' days, gas pumps weren't quite as modern. Not even close.

• Where to Find $1.99 on a Gas Pump in New Jersey