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RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Rutherford has been a dry town for more than a century.

Even though many restaurants are BYOB, the borough just handed out its first liquor license.

Song'E Napule is known for its traditional Neapolitan pizza. All of the ingredients are imported from Italy.

For the first time, customers can order a variety of cocktails and other alcoholic beverages to go with their favorite dish. The trattoria and pizzeria is the first in the borough to be awarded a liquor license.

"I think it's amazing. I mean, amazing. People love a drink when you eat the pizza with a beer or wine - amazing wine," owner Ciro Iovine said.

A little over 50% of voters approved the non-binding referendum in Rutherford. Officials say the move will give the borough a big boost, especially as businesses try to recover from the pandemic.

"There will be a nice array of restaurants that you can still do BYOB, which some of us love to do sometimes, but also I think this will increase the quality of and the status of restaurants that come into our town," Rutherford Councilwoman Maria Begg-Roberson said.

Rutherford hasn't awarded a liquor license since the late 1800s. Some residents say it's hard to believe it has taken so long.

"I think it's going to be really fun to be able to get a drink in my hometown of Rutherford which I've always had to travel for," resident Ally MacConchie said.

Iovine paid $300,000 for the license, which cost a lot more than other states. Official said that's because of New Jersey's antiquated liquor laws.

The manager says there has been an uptick in business since getting the license on May 17.

"It's much more people coming in, and the vibe has changed a lot. I think we are offering a new service to the town," Pietro Caldarelli said.

Borough officials said they've got five more liquor licenses available to bid on, and they're hoping that process will bring more restaurants to the borough.

Gov. Phil Murphy is pushing to change New Jersey's liquor laws so that more businesses can bid on them.

Christine Sloan

Christine Sloan is an Emmy Award-winning reporter, who covers New Jersey for CBS 2 New York. Sloan re-joined the station in January 2023. She also worked at CBS 2 New York from 2004 to 2016.

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By TAPinto Hasbrouck Heights/Wood-Ridge/Teterboro Staff

RUTHERFORD, NJ – Priscilla Escamilla had 13 assists, eight digs, and four service aces, but it was not enough has Rutherford defeated Hasbrouck Heights, 25-19, 25-14 in an NJIC non-divisional girls volleyball match in Rutherford Friday afternoon.

Cate Finan had 13 assists and 11 digs to lead the Bulldogs, while Cecelia Davidson had 18 service points, including two aces.

Samantha Russo had five kills and five digs, while Mackenzie Riordan had four kills and three digs for the Lady Aviators.

Hasbrouck Heights falls to 0-2 with the loss, while Rutherford improves to 1-1

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Few experiences in rock compare with seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in New Jersey. That’s why fans from all over the globe descended on East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium on Aug. 30, Sept. 1, and Sept. 3. Anticipation ran high because seven years ago they delivered some of the most memorable nights in history of the band at the same venue, culminating with a four-hour extravaganza that spotlighted Springsteen’s first three albums.

At that point in time, Springsteen was still grabbing signs from the audience and playing “Stump The Band.” The set varied wildly from night to night. He’s taken a very different approach with this tour. Most likely drawing from his Broadway experience, he’s using his songs to tell a thematic story about friendship, loss, grief, and how “age brings perspective and the fine clarity one gets at midnight on the tracks, looking into the white lights of an oncoming train.”

To accomplish this, he’s carefully crafted a set and varied it little throughout the tour. And while he largely stuck to the basic structure throughout the MetLife run — including powerful moments like “Last Man Standing” into “Backstreets” that are the heart of the show — he also cracked it up at times to make room for big surprises. The final night had the most deviations, including seven of the eight songs on Born to Run. Here are ten of the highlights.

“Sherry Darling”All three nights eschewed the standard tour opener of “No Surrender” by kicking things off with “Lonesome Day” into “Night,” but he’d done that earlier on the tour. Night one didn’t feature a unique moment until nine songs in when he broke out “Sherry Darling,” which they hadn’t played since the end of The River tour in February 2017. It was a joyous rendition that had the entire stadium singing along.

“Atlantic City”Three songs later, he brought out “Atlantic City” for the third time on the tour. It was an intense arrangement that brought the 1999/2000 tour to mind, and he paired it with “Johnny 99” for a great Nebraska two-shot. It briefly felt like an alternative world where the fabled electric version of the album came to pass.

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“Darkness on the Edge of Town”The second night’s printed setlist called for “Letter To You” to follow “Prove It All Night,” which has been standard all tour, but Springsteen called out a rare audible with “Darkness On The Edge of Town.” The “I’ll be on that hill” final section has rarely sounded quite as intense.

“Spirit in the Night”The biggest surprise of the second night took place nine songs in when the group kicked into the familiar opening of “Spirit In The Night” from Greetings From Asbury Park. Much like “Sherry Darling,” it’s a song created for a hot New Jersey evening. Everyone in the stadium sang along to the tale of Crazy Janey, Wild Billy, G-Man, Hazy Davy, and Killer Joe.

“Seven Nights to Rock”This tour has featured an unusually small number of covers with the exception of “Nightshift,” which is a perfect showcase for veteran backup singer Curtis King. But near the end of the second night, right after “Rosalita,” they played “Seven Nights to Rock.” The 1956 rockabilly classic was originally recorded by Moon Mullican, but it’s been an E Street Staple since the Rising tour in 2003. This was the second time they played it this tour.

“Two Hearts”The final night at MetLife featured the most unique setlist of the entire tour. It’s the only night all year where he didn’t play “Ghosts” or “I’ll See You In My Dreams” from Letter to You, leaving behind only the bones of the standard set. The first surprise came four songs in when they played “Two Hearts” for the first time all tour, featuring the “It Takes Two” coda that was standard at the start of the reunion era in 1999.

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“Something in the Night”Two songs later, out came “Something in the Night.” Songs from Darkness On The Edge of Town have been at the center of Springsteen shows for the past 45 years, but this is one you only hear on selection occasions. The old-timers in the audience were thrilled to take another drive down Kingsley Street.

“Jungleland”Almost nothing gets a Springsteen audience screaming like pianist Roy Bittan and violinist Soozie Tyrell kicking into the opening of “Jungeland.” Prior to the last night at MetLife, the Born to Run epic had only been played this tour at Madison Square Garden. Jake Clemons delivered a note-solo sax solo at MetLife that would have been his uncle Clarence very proud, and the chilling “poets down here” coda brought the entire stadium to a hushed silence. It was magical. The only thing that could have possibly improved it would have been if they’d started it with “Meeting Across The River,” meaning every single track on Born to Run would have been played at some point throughout the night. Still, seven of eight Born to Run songs isn’t too shabby.

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“Detroit Medley”The “Detroit Medley,” where the E Street band mashes up “Devil With The Blue Dress,” “Good Golly Miss Molly,” “C.C. Rider,” and “Jenny Jenny,” has been a staple of E Street Band shows going back to 1975. It’s a relative rarity these days, and this was only its third appearance this year. It fit seamlessly in the spot between “Rosalita” and “Dancing in the Dark.”

“Jersey Girl”Every single show of this tour has wrapped up with Springsteen playing an acoustic version of “I’ll See You in My Dreams” from Letter To You. It closes out the narrative of the night about saying goodbye to old friends, and accepting that loss is a part of life. But the finale at MetLife was an especially joyous affair where nobody felt like saying goodbye, and “I’ll See You in My Dreams” might have felt out of place, especially since he didn’t play “Ghosts” earlier in the evening to set up the theme. (He played a mere two Letter To You songs at this gig. At opening night in Tampa, he played six.) Instead of ” I’ll See You in My Dreams,” we got “Jersey Girl” for only the second time of the tour. (The first was in Newark.) It had everyone singing “sha la la la la, la la la la” as they headed to the exits.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It was a sort of homecoming as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played their first of three concerts at MetLife Stadium on Wednesday.

The 73-year-old's last concert at the stadium was seven years ago.

The Boss is back in his hometown, playing his iconic songs of the working men and women at MetLife Stadium, from "The Promised Land" to "No Surrender" from his best-selling album "Born in the U.S.A."

"Great to be in New Jersey," Springsteen told the crowd.

Before the concert, Springsteen fans tailgated in the parking lot, barbecuing and blasting music from their cars.

Fans say Springsteen's songs, often speaking of his Jersey roots, have been a part of their lives.

Kathy and Bob Young remember their first Springsteen concert in the early '80s.

"She could not see and we ended up, and I ended up standing on her seat and my seat. She saw the whole show on my shoulders," Bob Young said.

Wednesday's crowd was mostly Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, many bringing their kids.

It was a first concert for Liz Kelsey and her three children together, from Yorktown Heights, New York.

"When we had these three, we decided we're going to make them Bruce fans. We are going to play his music. We're going to make them know about Bruce," Liz Kelsey said.

"I feel like it's all we listen to when we go to the Jersey Shore every summer," Sara Kelsey said.

Springsteen and the E Street Band play two more shows at MetLife on Friday and Sunday.

The Boss had to postpone his Aug. 16 and 18 concerts in Philadelphia due to illness. They have been rescheduled for August 2024.

Christine Sloan

Christine Sloan is an Emmy Award-winning reporter, who covers New Jersey for CBS 2 New York. Sloan re-joined the station in January 2023. She also worked at CBS 2 New York from 2004 to 2016.

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Rutherford is no longer a dry town.

The borough of some 19,000 residents has awarded a liquor license to Song'E Napule, the popular pizzeria owned by Naples-born Ciro Iovine. It is the first business to receive a liquor license in town since the late 1800s.

"Rutherford is no longer a dry borough," said Bob Kakoleski, the borough administrator.

Kakoleski said that after a non-binding referendum measure in November 2020 was approved by a small margin of the borough's voters — "It was not favored by an overwhelming majority, more like 54% of voters said yes" — the borough this past December finally was able to auction one of the six liquor licenses that it can sell to restaurants. (COVID-19 slowed everything down.)

New Jersey's antiquated liquor license laws date back to Prohibition-era thinking. The state allows one liquor consumption license per every 3,000 residents in a town; Rutherford has around 19,000, therefore six licenses. Because of the cap, licenses are expensive in areas with high demand. The average is thought to be about $350,000 — though some are as low as $50,000 or as high as $2.3 million.

Iovine was the only bidder in Rutherford, offering $300,000. The minimum bid the town allowed was $150,000.

"He's probably kicking himself in the pants," Kakoleski said.

Iovine, who opened his Rutherford location in December 2021 (he has two others in New York City), could not be reached for comment. But in an Instagram post, he seemed thrilled.

Embedded content: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsHehI6MR1D/

"Proud to receive liquor license from the Rutherford Chamber of Commerce," the post said. "We are really happy to be the first business in Rutherford to own a liquor license since the late1800s. Thank you Rutherford."

There aren't any bars in Rutherford, and with the very recent exception of Song'E Napule, every restaurant is BYOB. Locals walk across the tracks to East Rutherford for bars, like The New Park Tavern and the Blarney Station Pub.

More:Liquor licenses in New Jersey cost $350K and it's crippling the state's dining scene

More:Now open: Song'E Napule, famous NYC pizza joint, expands to Rutherford

Saddle River is now the only dry town in North Jersey; there are several others in the state, including Ocean City and Wildwood Crest.

Over the years, there have been efforts to overturn the state's liquor license laws, many arguing that it hurts businesses, downtowns and New Jersey's dining scene. But efforts in the past have been thwarted again and again.

The reaction in Rutherford to its first restaurant liquor license?

"It's mixed," Kakoleski said. "Rutherford liked being a dry town. It liked being different. It's a conservative community."

But, he added, the makeup of the town is changing. "People from Hoboken, Jersey City, even from Brooklyn, are moving into town. We have a train station, and our proximity to New York City is a draw, too."

And, perhaps, restaurants with liquor licenses also will draw people.