By Stephen Appezzato
LITTLE SILVER – After a 116- year run, Sickles Market is closed.
This week Sickles shoppers stumbled upon a sign posted on the Little Silver store’s locked front door that read, “So sorry, we are closed. Further Updates Will Be Shared Soon. Have a Nice Day.” The news comes a month after the company shut down its commuter-centric Red Bank location, which opened in 2020. Currently, Bottles by Sickles, the company’s liquor store located in the Anderson building on Monmouth Street in Red Bank, remains open.
Days before Sickles Little Silver closed, a lawsuit was filed against the business on behalf of Metrovation Anderson, LLC, the company that owns the Anderson Building. In the complaint, Metrovation Anderson alleged Sickles Market breached its lease agreement for the Red Bank location and owes “no less than $324,355.12” in accumulated rent and late fees. In February, Metrovation Anderson filed to evict Sickles Market from the Anderson building for the same reason.
The area institution served up smiles and fond memories alongside fresh and organic food, plants, gifts and more for its loyal shoppers for decades.
Sickles’ Little Silver location dates back to 1908, but the family-owned business has far deeper roots in the area.
Owner Bob Sickles Jr. is a descendant of the Parker family, believed to have continuously owned the property at 1 Harrison Ave. in Little Silver and the surrounding land since 1663. The Parker family acquired the land during the Monmouth Patent. At the time, King Charles II provided the land to Peter Parker of Rhode Island. According to the business’s website, Parker later moved to this area and married into the Sickles family.
The Parker family’s land was farmed for centuries. In 1908, husband and wife Harold and Elsie Sickles, who acquired the land from Harold’s mother’s family, started farming the property, selling fresh-grown produce to surrounding businesses. In 1945 Bob Sickles Sr., son of Harold and Elsie, entered the family business, eventually opening a farmstand to provide local produce to residents.
The business endured through the decades, amassing a loyal following along the way. In 1978, Bob Sickles Jr., a horticulture graduate of the University of Vermont, followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the family business.
Until the 1990s Sickles was only a seasonal farm stand. Sickles’ retail business was formed in 1999 when the family wanted to offer its goods year-round. At this time its memorable building was constructed alongside a new greenhouse.
Online, the Sickles family received an outpouring of support from loyal shoppers who seemed blindsided by the closing.
“Very sad to hear. Many generations of my family including myself shopped there. Fond memories of working there also back in the day of opening the garage doors to open. The Sickles are a wonderful family and I wish them the best. Hope they can reopen. A nice store to shop for fresh produce and plants,” wrote one resident on social media.
“I hope that Sickles can find their way and reopen in the future. I will sorely miss them and my garden will greatly miss them,” another wrote.
Sickles is a longtime supporter of The Two River Times; over the years, family members contributed to the paper, writing food-related columns.
The article originally appeared in the March 14 –March 20, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
