Introduction
Licensed in 1934 after the repeal of Prohibition, the Village Cafe was located at 697 Sylvan Street. It was not far from the New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyards. Joseph A. Ragan operated the bar in the 1930s as, appropriately enough, Joseph Ragan’s Saloon. He had sold the bar sometime after; by 1943 Frank & Stella Bil operated the bar as the Village Cafe, from 1943 through the early 1970s. They lived on premises with their children, Geraldine and Kenneth.
Frank Bil was born in Camden NJ on December 4, 1914 to Michael and Mary Bil. Michael Bil had emigrated from Poland in 1908. In 1930 the family lived at 676 Master Street in Camden, where Michael Bil was employed as a carpenter. By 1943 Frank Bil owned and operated the Village Cafe at 697 Sylvan Street. Frank Bil passed away in June of 1970. The Village Cafe closed shortly afterwards.
Both sides of the 600 block of Sylvan Street were razed many years ago. No sign of the Ragan’s Saloon is visible today.