Anthony Venutolo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: N.J.'s LOST BUSINESSES

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Anthony Venutolo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

ICONIC BRANDS MADE BY JERSEY, LOVED BY THE COUNTRY

When one thinks of the world's great business capitals, New Jersey doesn't usually jump to mind. That said, we've had our share of whales — retail behemoths, manufacturing giants and and cultural innovators — that have called our fair state home.

Some of these businesses were born-and-bred here. Others planted their flag in our cities and employed thousands to build some of the most iconic American products of the last century.

And while they're now forever gone from our landscape, one constant remains: They left this great state with incredible memories. Let's look back at some of the powerhouse operations that once called Jersey home.

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Anthony Venutolo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

BALLANTINE BREWERY

In 1840, Peter Ballantine opened a brewery on Front Street in the Ironbound section of Newark and incorporated it as Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company. It was the city's largest industrial employer with 4,500 workers brewing four million barrels a year of Ballantine Ale and Ballantine IPA.

By the mid-60s, lighter beer with less alcohol was getting the lion's share of the market and in 1972, it was sold and the brewery was closed. Currently, Ballantine's Ale and the IPA is brewed by Pabst.

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Anthony Venutolo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

BROOKDALE SODA

Chances are if you grew up in Northern Jersey and are around 40, you'll probably remember Brookdale Soda, the Clifton-based soda company who delivered bottled soda to your door like the milkman and sold roughly 3 million cases a year.

By the late '80s, owner Joe Pieretti sold the company to a local businessman and by 1989 the manufacturing plant went under. For more on the lore of Brookdale Soda, visit this meticulously-detailed fan blog dedicated to the soda.

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Founded in 1968 and based in Montvale, Pathmark was the beloved chain of supermarkets in the northeast with stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and Maryland.

By the '80s, it was the nation's 10th largest supermarket chain and Woodbridge would eventually be home to its corporate headquarters and distribution facilities. In 2000, bankruptcy proceedings would start. Last November, all stores either closed or were sold to Acme, Stop & Shop, Key Food or Wakefern (aka ShopRite).

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Anthony Venutolo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

SINGER SEWING MACHINES

While not bred in Jersey, the Singer Sewing Machine Manufacturing Co. scooped up 32 acres of land in Elizabeth at First and Trumbull streets in 1873 and opened its first mass-production factory in the U.S. For decades, the factory operated and employed a large number of local residents.

While still in business today, the '70s were a tough go. In 1982, the Elizabeth facility closed and the remaining 560 workers at the 1,400,000 square-foot factory were laid off.

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BAMBERGER'S DEPARTMENT STORES

The Garden State titan of retail - Bamberger's grand department store on Market Street in Newark was once considered to be one of the largest in the country with its massive 14-story structure encompassing an entire city block.

After healthy expansion in the '60s and '70s throughout the Garden State and Philadelphia, the company was eventually re-branded as Macy's. The Newark flagship, however, closed in 1991.

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NO NAME HATS

Orange was once considered the Hat Capital of the World and what helped them gain that moniker was the No Name Hat Factory started by the famed Stetson hat manufacturing family. Founder John Batterson Stetson was born in East Orange and No Name Hats predated the legendary Stetson Hat Co.

Orange had 21 hat-making companies by 1892 and 35 by 1900. The Great Depression would eventually take its toll on the bulk of the hat factories and the No Name factory at Mitchell and South Jefferson streets would eventually close in 1926. In 2003, it was largely destroyed in a fire. Stetson is currently headquartered in Texas.

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LIONEL TRAINS

While it was founded in New York City, the Lionel Corporation built a mass-production train plant in Hillside/Irvington (the same building sat in two towns) in 1929 and business boomed for decades. At its peak, the factory would employ 2,000.

By 1969, the rights to the trains were sold to General Mills following Lionel’s bankruptcy. After mounting financial strife, the Hillside plant would eventually close in 1974. They're currently headquartered in Concord, North Carolina.

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PETER PAN | POWER RECORDS

Peter Pan and its subsidiary Power Records specialized in children's music as well as the iconic book-and-record sets of the '70s. The label was started in 1948 and owned by the Synthetic Plastics Company located on the corner of Komorn Street and Saint Francis Street in Newark.

While Power Records was retired in 1977, the company, now called Inspired, develops film, television and video programming, music and audio content as well as books and print publications and is headquartered in Roseland.

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TWO GUYS

Two Guys from Harrison was founded in 1946 by brothers Sidney and Herbert Hubschman in Harrison. Eventually the chain was shortened to Two Guys upon expanding to more than 100 locations nationwide.

The "stores within a store" sold everything from housewares to food to bedding and jewelry. They even had pinball arcades and mini bowling for the little ones. By the late '70s, the company started to see an economic downtown and the chain was liquidated in 1982.

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KRAMER GUITARS

Kramer Guitars were a force in the '70s right behind Fender and Gibson. They were founded in 1976 with their headquarters at two factories in Neptune. Such esteemed axemen like Eddie Van Halen, Steve Stevens and Richie Sambora all used Kramer guitars.

The '90s were tough on Kramer and production problems in Jersey coupled with competition form Fender and Gibson put a strain on their finances. By 1991, they ceased production and went into bankruptcy a year later. They were acquired later in the decade by Gibson in Nashville.