Have you ever walked past a retail space in an old, residential walk-up and wondered what kind of shops and businesses have occupied that storefront over the past century or more? I know I’m guilty!

When I came across this snapshot on Etsy (Photo Credit: SoulsInSilver on Etsy), I immediately wondered what the exterior of this confectionery shop looked like. With an address written on the back, it was easy to find out if the building even existed anymore. The names Margarete and Albert Bischoff were also jotted down.

This is 465 Central Ave. in Newark, NJ. The interior image of the store shows the street numbers above the chamfered (corner) entrance. You can also see trees outside the door and window. These trees were in a small green space that still exists across the street.

The 1920 city directory listed Albert Bischoff under confectionery stores at this address. (I don’t believe the shop was here for very long.) The directory also included Bischoff under his name with his home address, 4 5th. The street that passes the building on the right is N. 5th Street. Therefore, I’m assuming 4 N. 5th Street would have been the side entrance at that time.

Thanks to a Facebook post I found (Growing Up in Newark), I discovered Albert Bischoff had an earlier store that sold ice cream, soda, and candy at 410 Springfield Avenue. Here are a couple photos of that store.

I wasn’t able to find anything on Bischoff’s location on Springfield Avenue. From the photographs, I would estimate these photos were taken around 1905-1910.

410 Springfield Avenue still stands. This Google Street View was captured in October 2025. Unfortunately, without some intervention, the building’s days seem numbered.

Here’s a screen shot of the interior of the space from 2024. This business appears to have moved to a new location since then. I can’t help but wonder if any trace of the beautiful tile floor from Bischoff’s days can be found under those vinyl planks.