The following biographical sketch was produced using artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes.

Matthew Weinstein was born on April 8, 1886, in Mitchell, South Dakota, to Saul and Louise Karpes Weinstein. By 1900, at age fourteen, he began his working life as an apprentice engineer. He was a machinist by 1905, transitioning to the burgeoning automobile industry by 1910 as an automobile machinist. Weinstein quickly established himself in Paterson, New Jersey, a city undergoing rapid industrial growth. In 1908, he founded the Eastside Garage, pioneering the local automobile dealership market. He continued to expand his automotive ventures, erecting the City Hall Garage in 1913 and opening the Model Garage in 1915 on the site where the Alexander Hamilton Garage later stood. He engineered the construction of this latter garage and built a structure at 1000 Market Street, a location that still hosts an automobile dealership today.

Weinstein moved to Wyckoff, New Jersey, in 1924. By 1930, he had shifted from the auto industry, where he was a service manager, to managing a restaurant and bar. In 1929, as the Great Depression began, he converted a former dairy barn, originally built in 1876, into a distinctive tavern and restaurant named “The Barn.” This establishment, located behind his home at 359 Sicomac Road, quickly became a local landmark. Though rumors of alcohol service during Prohibition were never documented, The Barn received Wyckoff’s first liquor license in 1934, following the repeal of the 18th Amendment.

“Matt” Weinstein cultivated a warm, hospitable atmosphere at The Barn, known for its “matchless steaks” and rustic interior. The building retained its original hand-hewn beams, hand-split shingles, and wooden pegs, complemented by kerosene lanterns, oxen yokes, and cow stalls repurposed as drinking nooks. Its guest register attracted stage celebrities, government officials, business leaders, and foreign diplomats. Weinstein was active in local civic life, a charter member and supporter of the Wyckoff Chamber of Commerce, and an active member of the New York City Elks Lodge, where he helped organize the Peg Club, a Paterson Elks branch. He married Jeanette Lafferty around 1907, and they had a son, George. In 1920, he married Frances A. Bates, who was also involved in The Barn’s operation as an owner and bookkeeper. They had three children: Lillian Marguarite, Matthew Frances Jr., and Robert Curtis.

Matthew Weinstein died on October 22, 1951, at Barnert Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey, at the age of 65. He was buried in Cedar Lawn Cemetery. His passing prompted widespread condolences, with Mayor Roger Van Blarcom remarking, “There was only one Matt; they don’t come any better.” His legacy rests on his ingenuity in the early automobile industry and his enduring contribution to Wyckoff’s social scene through The Barn, which his family continued to operate for decades.

From Oct 23, 1951, page 34 - The Herald-News at Newspapers.com: [509]

Matthew Weinstein

Matthew (Matt) Weinstein, the operator of The Barn, Wyckoff Tavern, died yesterday in Barnert Hospital, Paterson. He entered the institution on Saturday. His home was at 359 Sicomac Road, Wyckoft. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Frances Bates Weinstein; a daughter, Mrs. Charles (Lillian) Siwaci, of Wyckoff; two sons, Matthew, of Lakeland, Fla., and Robert, of Wyckoff; a brother, Benjamin, of Ridgewood, and two sisters, Ida, of Passaic, and Alice, of Ridgewood.

From Oct 25, 1951, page 1 - The News at Newspapers.com: [510]

Matt Weinstein Dies

WYCKOFF — Death came suddenly Monday morning to Matthew Weinstein of 359 Sicomac Avenue, beloved proprietor of The Barn. He died at the age of 68 at Barnert Hospital, where he was taken on Saturday.

From a wide area, this week came messages of condolence to the Weinstein family and tributes to “Matt,” who moved to Wyckoff in 1924 and, over the span of years, won countless friends with his genial hospitality and winning personality. Characteristic of the esteem in which he was held was the remark by Mayor Roger Van Blarcom, “There was only one Matt; they don’t come any better.”

Funeral services will be held today at 2 o'clock at the Richardson Chapel, Market Street, and E. 23rd Street, Paterson, with Rabbi Ahron Opher officiating. Burial will follow in Cedar Lawn Cemetery.

Mr. Weinstein's reputation in Wyckoff was built upon his warm grace at his famed Barn, the 170-year-old frame building he transferred into a tavern and restaurant in 1929. A friendly welcome was always given to those who stopped to sample Matt’s matchless steaks. He was proud of the fact that The Barn’s guest register read like a list of Who’s Who, containing names of stage celebrities, notables of the worlds of business and government, and foreign diplomats.

Habitues of The Barn claim no one could equal Matt’s skill as a chef or host. He received great pleasure in supervising beefsteak dinners and clambakes, proud that his food was the best. When he established The Barn, he retained the rustic atmosphere of the ancient building. Its interior is described thusly in the “Story of Wyckoff:”

“A favorite rendezvous, the tavern owes its appeal to its genuine barn-like atmosphere. Still visible are the ancient hand-hewn beams and hand-split shingles pinned together with wooden pegs, and around the walls hang kerosene lanterns, oxen yokes, feed bags, and butter churns. Cow stalls serve as drinking nooks, and the bar is part of an old milk wagon.”

Many of his Wyckoff friends did not know Mr. Weinstein was one of Paterson’s pioneer automobile dealers before moving here. He established the Eastside Garage on Williams Street in 1908 and, five years later, erected the City Hall Garage on Union Street. In 1915, he opened the Model Garage on the present Alexander Hamilton Garage site. He later engineered the construction of this latter garage and erected a building at 1000 Market Street, the location of a present Pontiac dealer.

He was an active member of the New York City Elks Lodge and was an organizer of the Peg Club, a branch of the Paterson Elks Club. Last week at the annual Elks dinner, he was host to Mayor Van Blarcom and Township Committeeman Jacob Flaker.

Mr. Weinstein was a Wyckoff Chamber of Commerce charter member and one of its most active supporters. At the Chamber meeting Tuesday night, members stood in silent tribute to Matt and sent an appropriate floral piece to the funeral home. Another who gave warm tribute was Mayor Louis Bay II of Hawthorne, a close friend for many years who assisted the family with funeral arrangements.

Surviving are his wife, the former Frances A. Bates; one daughter, Lillian Marguerite, the wife of Charles Sawicki of Worcester, Mass.; two sons, Matthew Francis Weinstein of Lakeland, Fla., and Robert Curtis Weinstein of Wyckoff; one brother, Benjamin Weinstein of Ridgewood; and two sisters, Ida of Passaic and Alice of Ridgewood.