Cacia’s Bakery in Haddonfield appears to have closed its doors without any fanfare after two years in business.
A “closed” sign has been posted on the front door of the Italian bakery at 26 S. Haddon Ave., and the store was dark during a visit last week. Another sign advertises the 1,100-square-foot building and the equipment inside for sale.
Cacia’s Bakery in Haddonfield has not made any public announcement about the closure, nor has the business responded to calls or emails requesting comment.
Leonard Guerriero, who owns the Haddonfield Cacia’s, according to deed records, also did not return requests for comment on why the bakery closed.
But the Cacia’s name has expanded across South Jersey over the years, with current spots in Williamstown, Cherry Hill, and Hammonton that sell Italian bread, strombolis, hoagies, cannoli, and more.
Sam Cacia, a third-generation owner of the South Philly location, said his family taught Guerriero how to bake before he became the private owner of the Cherry Hill and Haddonfield locations.
Cacia said the closure in Haddonfield was due in part to the tough parking situation and competition with sit-down restaurants downtown.
“When you ride around the block looking for a spot, it becomes a bit of a challenge. It just came to, like, there wasn’t enough demand,” Cacia said. “It’s a shame. [He] tried to bring the product to a different set of people and it didn’t work that way.”
Guerriero and co-owner Steven Santore opened the downtown Haddonfield bakery in the summer of 2024, NJ Pen reported, after their Audubon location was demolished by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection due to groundwater contamination. The bakery was across the street from the Haddonfield post office.
The pair purchased the Haddonfield property for $375,000 in 2023, according to deed records, from the owners of Spice C, a noodle joint in Chinatown.
The storefront previously occuped by Cacia’s in Haddonfield is now on the market.Sarah Nicell
MSC, a Philly-based real estate brokerage firm, is managing the property sale. Danny Wolf, senior vice president at MSC, said the property hit the market in August and is listed for $495,000. The price includes the equipment inside the bakery, including a double Blodgett pizza oven.
Wolf said the property already has potential buyers, though he declined to provide further details.
This fall’s restaurant openings reflect an industry hedging its bets: established operators expanding into the suburbs and repurposing familiar spaces, and newcomers pursuing narrowly drawn concepts built around omakase, caviar, Korean barbecue, cocktails, and live-fire cooking.
I count about five dozen restaurants in the region’s pipeline, with Italian concepts (no surprise), all-day service, and experience-driven dining recurring throughout the list. In addition to 60 restaurants opening between now and late December, two other restaurants are expanding: Lovat Square in Chestnut Hill is adding dinners and Palm Vintage across from City Hall is adding nighttime sushi service.
By comparison, last year’s fall roundup covered 53 restaurants. All of those opened except for three that are now a full year behind schedule: Adda in Fishtown is shooting for October, Ayat near Rittenhouse Square is aiming for November, and Brunch Bulls in Point Breeze is targeted for December. (Although this year has seen its share of closings, especially among longstanding restaurants, each of last fall’s restaurants is still open.)
Brand new and notable
Aogami (4343 Main St.): Underground sushi is coming to Manayunk as chef Tom LoMonte joins chef Moon Krapukthong to offer a 16-course omakase in a 20-seat BYOB setting beneath Krapukthong’s Yanako and neighboring Chabaa Thai Bistro, starting Sept. 25. LoMonte — a veteran of Zama, Izakaya by Yanaga, Pod, and Yanaga Kappo Izakaya — will lead the omakases at 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; reserved sushi-bar seatings will run Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays alongside hand rolls and à la carte service. LoMonte describes the atmosphere as energetic and less formal than typical omakase counters. Upstairs, Yanako will continue serving rolls, sushi platters, udon, tempura, and yakitori.
The Buttery (1099 Germantown Ave.): Malvern-based bakery and cafe the Buttery is preparing a Philadelphia location at Piazza Alta in Northern Liberties, near Scusi and Terra Grill. It recently opened a Bryn Mawr location and expanded its original Malvern operation into dinner service with Neapolitan pizza and shareable plates. An opening date has not yet been shared.
Nick & Nora’s Oyster Dive (560 Stokes Rd., Medford): Michael and Jeniphur Pasquarello (La Chinesca, Piccolina) are bringing a raw bar and American kitchen to a corner space with a large deck at Ironstone Village. The broader menu will include steak frites, burgers, fish, vegetables, and small plates, says Michael Pasquarello, who hopes to open in 60 to 90 days.
Chef Chaz Brown (left) is partnered with his brother Clifford Brown (center) and John Skeele in Rumblefish, 1700 N. Third St.Mike Prince
Rumblefish(1700 N. Third St.): Chef Chaz Brown is targeting November for this 900-square-foot, fast-casual Caribbean fish-fry restaurant at Third Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. Brown — a Trinidadian American chef whose resumé includes Nobu, Le Bec-Fin, Fatty Crab, and television’s Top Chef — will focus on invasive species such as lionfish, snakehead, green crab, and Chesapeake Bay blue catfish when available. (The catfish turned heads at the recent Oxtail Exchange at Forman Arts Initiative.) Brown uses gluten-free corn flour with Trinidadian spice blends and serves the fish on po’boy-style rolls baked by Angelo’s Bakery in Conshohocken. The mostly takeout operation will have counter seating, a 25-seat covered patio, slaws, fries, sea-moss drinks, and Solo Kola Champagne.
Pennsylvania suburbs
Alessandro’s Enoteca (915 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr): Alex Fiorello’s third restaurant will bring a bar-focused Italian concept to the former Enoteca Tredici space in Bryn Mawr Village in mid-to-late October. Fiorello and culinary director Matt Arcomone, whose resumé includes Osteria, Vetri, and Palladino’s, are planning house-made pastas, wood-fired pizzas, live-fire cooking, and dry-aged meats. It’s intended to have a stronger evening and bar scene than Fiorello’s Wayne restaurants.
Bruzi (281 Montgomery Ave., Bala Cynwyd): Two couples with Calabrian roots plan to open this Southern Italian restaurant in the former Aldar Bistro in late fall. Expect house-made pastas and Calabrian dishes such as fusilli with slow-cooked meat sauce, baked lamb, and grilled tuna, plus cocktails and an opening list of about 100 Italian wines.
Capperini (137 S. Easton Rd., Glenside): Eastern Montco will get an upscale Italian-Mediterranean destination with a liquor license from Ilya Vorobey and partners including members of the team behind Capri in Queen Village. Vorobey is aiming for October or November.
Casa de Fehu, 482 Jacksonville Rd., Hatboro.Michael Klein / Staff
Casa de Fehu (482 Jacksonville Rd., Hatboro): Hatboro couple Anthony Shalamov and Anastasia De Roy are developing this polished restaurant with European-inspired cooking and an upscale atmosphere, possibly with a tie-in to a local brewery that would allow alcoholic drinks. Shalamov is targeting an October soft opening.
Cecilia (266 E. Fourth St., Bridgeport): The team behind Blue Bell Inn and the Copper Crow is just about ready to open this contemporary American bar-restaurant in the extensively renovated former Taphouse 23. The roomy property includes a large patio and a wood-burning oven. The menu emphasizes familiar American dishes, positioning this as an all-purpose neighborhood destination.
Donatelli’s (1 Washington Ave., Newtown): Restaurateur Habib Troudi, who owns Panache and Ristorante Castelloin Blue Bell, is behind a top-to-bottom overhaul of the former Rocco’s at the Brick in downtown Newtown. He said he is hoping to open the Italian steakhouse in October.
Rendering of the Garden by Pieri Winery, 127 E. Elm St., in Conshohocken.Courtesy of Christina Pieri
The Garden by Pieri Winery (127 E. Elm St., Conshohocken): Winery owner Christina Pieri and restaurateur Brian Pieri (StoneRose, Bar Lucca, Cerdo) are targeting a mid-October opening of their year-round indoor-outdoor restaurant beside the Schuylkill River Trail, an offshoot of Christina’s Coopersburg winery. A wood-fired kitchen will serve seasonal American food, including brick-oven pizzas, focaccia sandwiches, salads, steaks, and fish, at lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. The property will include a covered patio, fire tables, a turf area, and pickleball and bocce courts.
The Hungry Hub (11 S. Orange St., Media): Media native Cassidy Moretti and her mother, Glenda, are taking over the former Rivalry Cafe with a family-run breakfast and lunch operation. The Hungry Hub also plans later hours and a late-night menu, broadening its role beyond that of a conventional daytime cafe. An Oct. 1 opening has been announced.
The Iron Oven (58 S. York Rd., Hatboro): Alex Nalbandian’s Southampton bar-restaurant — known for an expansive American menu, cocktails, craft beer, brunch, and dishes ranging from wings and burgers to flatbreads and entrees — is adding a second location in eastern Montco: the former Ross & Co. He’s aiming at November.
Lazy Dog(160 N. Gulph Rd., King of Prussia): The California-based bar, known for Rocky Mountain lodge imagery and a broad American menu, is targeting late 2026 at the King of Prussia Mall.
Luna (129 E. Butler Ave., Ambler): FineLine Hospitality, which recently opened Academy Grill in Fort Washington, is behind a stylish revamp of Dettera in downtown Ambler. Chef Marie Lavizzo-Mourey will base her menu on the 20-plus countries bordering the Mediterranean. The project is on track for fall.
Martini & Roz(523 W. Lancaster Ave., Wayne): Fearless Restaurants is turning Wayne’s former Bertucci’s into an ambitious, 300-seat Southern Italian restaurant named for founder Marty Grims’ parents, Martin and Roslyn. Menu will include crudo, oysters, steaks and chops, wood-fired pizzas, house-made pastas, and charcuterie. It will feature two open kitchens, a cheese cave, a tasting counter, and extensive outdoor seating.
Maru (2922 Conestoga Rd., Glenmoore): David Backhus and the team behind the former Oori restaurants are in the early days of a fast-casual Korean-inspired restaurant at their former Collective Coffee & Bakery. Think Korean fried chicken sandwiches, wings, and tenders, supplemented by mochi doughnuts and specialty Collective coffee.
Nudy’s Cafe (122 Park Ave., Willow Grove): Prolific suburban breakfast-and-lunch operator Ray Nudy hopes for late September for his latest diner, across from Marshalls in Willow Grove.
Old Friend (166 E. Lancaster Ave., Wayne): Childhood friends Larry Kagan and Chas McFeely are behind this contemporary American grill, with former Fork executive chef Sam Henzy leading the kitchen. The 86-seat restaurant will center on live-fire cooking in a Josper oven, with dry-aged fish, poultry, and larger proteins intended for sharing. Its compact wine list will be closely tied to the food. A late-fall opening is planned in the Apartments at Wayne Station.
Opus (201 Birch St., Kennett Square): Square Roots Collective will open this 125-seat New American restaurant Sept. 11 in the former temporary home of Hank’s Place, next to the Artelo hotel. Executive chef Matthew Anderson, formerly of Longwood Gardens and Winterthur, plans seasonal dishes, such as Kennett Square mushroom bisque, butternut squash agnolotti, herb gnocchi, and dayboat scallops. The two-story space includes a cocktail lounge, terraces, and work by local artists. Profits will support community projects and nonprofits.
Salt (840 W. Lancaster Ave., Devon): Rich Kim of North Wales’ acclaimed Salt predicts late December for his redevelopment of Devon’s former La Jonquille and Shiraz property into a second Korean barbecue concept, followed in 2027 by Yugo, a carousel sushi restaurant, upstairs.
The Still on State (18 W. State St., Doylestown): Only days open at the Doylestown Inn, this Irish pub-inspired bar/restaurant fills the former Hattery Stove & Still space; it’s paired with an on-site microdistillery called the Tilted Brim.
Taco Heart (120 Coulter Ave., Ardmore): Nano Wheedan is bringing his South Philadelphia breakfast-taco shop to the Ardmore Farmers Market, its first expansion beyond its East Passyunk-area home. Expect Austin-style flour tortillas and breakfast tacos built around eggs, potatoes, beans, bacon, brisket, and house salsas. Opening is set for Oct. 5.
Top Dog Cocktails (110 E. State St., Kennett Square, and 2012 Frankford Ave., Fishtown): Ken Smuckler’s cocktail company plans two vinyl listening rooms this fall inspired by Japanese jazz kissas. Kennett Square’s 750-square-foot space partners with local music venue Kennett Flash, while Fishtown’s 350-square-foot flagship — arguably the neighborhood’s smallest bar — will feature a 15-seat bar, two-turntable DJ station, and retail.
Tusk (50 N. Main St., Doylestown): Mike and Joy Grafenstine, owners of Roberts Block in Glenside and Bonnet Lane Family Restaurant in Abington, are taking over the former Water’s Edge wine bar, combining the martini-and-wine-bar airs of Roberts Block with approachable upscale American comfort food. Target is October.
Vintner’s Table (24 Cricket Ave., Ardmore): Andrea and Marco Folino, behind Kutztown’s Folino Estate Winery, are opening a third location of their Italian-inspired wine bar, salumeria, and lifestyle boutique in downtown Ardmore in October.
New Jersey suburbs
Akira 70 Omakase (249 Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill): Ming “Frank” Zheng is expanding his Japanese holdings — he owns Akira Sushi in Voorhees and Moorestown — with an omakase experience in a former fur salon.
Banjara Indian Bistro (687-689 Berlin-Cross Keys Rd., Sicklerville): Vaneet Chopra, whose family operates Cross Culture in Haddonfield and previously ran Banjara in Chestnut Hill, is bringing the Banjara name to Sicklerville; its dine-in starts Thursday.
Freckled Jawn Brewing(1003 N. Evergreen Ave., Woodbury): Woodbury residents John Wagner and Colleen Gibson are taking over the former Eight & Sand Beer Co., which closed in June after 10 years. Targeting the first week of October, the brewery will introduce new branding and a fresh lineup of approachable beers, emphasizing natural and locally sourced ingredients when possible.
Irishtown Steaks (155 S. Burlington St., Gloucester City): Donkey’s Placealumnus Dave Murphy is targeting Halloween for his steak shop, joining recent Gloucester City entries Lillo’s and Pudge’s Pub. Murphy will use rolls from Boaggio’s, which has a bakery in town.
Penny’s Bagels (212 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield): Chris Fetfatzes and the Happy Monday Hospitality Group (Wine Dive, Grace & Proper) are developing this long-delayed bagel shop in downtown Haddonfield, now with an October target.
Pizzeria Cusumano (872 Haddon Ave., Collingswood): Announced back in September 2021, this passion project from South Jersey’s Sal Cusumano is finally about to start offering his Roman-inspired squares and neo-New York rounds, but “I don’t want to box myself into a certain style.” Cusumano, a third-generation pizzaiolo, is planning a small shop with limited seating. This week, he said it will open in October for sure.
Philadelphia
Adda (1700 Frankford Ave.): New York’s Unapologetic Foods — behind Dhamaka, Semma, and the original Adda — is bringing its energetic Indian cooking to Fishtown, across from the 19125 post office. Expect regional dishes in an informal setting, continuing the restaurant group’s practice of pushing beyond familiar Indian American standards. Originally expected in fall 2025, the Philadelphia location is now targeting an October opening.
Ayat (2021 Sansom St.): Abdul Elenani’s New York-based Palestinian restaurant — first announced in spring 2024 — is looking at a November opening in the former Roxy Theater near Rittenhouse Square. Ayat is known for generous portions of mansaf, maklouba, mezze, grilled meats, and other homestyle Palestinian dishes.
The bar at Bar Caviar, 256 S. 16th St.Kenneth Schutz
Bar Caviar (256 S. 16th St.): Opening in early October in the Dwight D Hotel in Rittenhouse, this bar will pair caviar and seafood with 50 varieties of Champagne and a full wine program in a setting that’s more neighborhood than hushed luxury lounge. Executive chef Greg Vassos’ contemporary American menu, informed by classical French technique and Japanese precision, will feature raw-bar selections, caviar-focused dishes, and seasonal small plates. The restaurant also will operate Parallel, a caviar program emphasizing careful sourcing and extended maturation. In 2027, Vassos plans to follow with Fall Line, a Mid-Atlantic-focused tasting-menu restaurant.
Brunch Bulls (1638 W. Passyunk Ave.): Brothers Derrick “Dee” Long and Jarrick “Jakk” Long are behind this all-day brunch/dinner/dessert restaurant in Point Breeze. They say they’ll be open by December.
Call Your Mother (262 S. 19th St., 1500 Frankford Ave., 12th and Sansom Streets): The lively, Washington-based “Jew-ish” bagel chain is making a three-location push into Philadelphia, starting this week with its Fishtown debut. Menu includes bagel sandwiches, schmears, latkes, coffee, and deli-inspired specials.
Carolyn’s Modern Vietnamese (2015 Walnut St.): This week, chef Carolyn Nguyen opens her deeply personal successor to Revolution Taco, which she co-owned in the space for a decade. Her menu brings together her family’s Vietnamese cooking, the seafood boils and Southern food of her Louisiana childhood, French culinary technique, and the freewheeling flavor combinations that defined her earlier ventures. The 33-seat restaurant serves dinner, and alcohol, in a spare, contemporary dining room.
Corte (1175 Ludlow St.):Corio partners Ryan Mulholland, chef David Feola, and James Smith are taking over the former Mulherin’s Pizzeria at East Market, between Iron Hill Brewery and Mi Vida. Feola will lead a menu built around house-made pastas plus proteins, vegetables, and small plates cooked in the large Mugnaini wood-burning oven. Mulholland will oversee daily operations and oversee an Old World-leaning wine list and cocktails inspired partly by forgotten recipes from century-old books. The dark-wood, earth-toned restaurant is targeting a fall opening.
DiDi (3748 Lancaster Ave.): DanDan owners Kevin and Catherina “Cat” Huang say they are “within a month or two” of opening their fast-casual pan-Asian concept at the Triad apartment building in Powelton Village. DiDi will join Kabobeesh, Karak Cha House, Shibam Coffee, Two Locals Brewing, and other businesses in the growing complex at 38th and Lancaster.
Divers Club (733 S. Fourth St.): Queen Village is in line to get a neighborhood wine bar from Susan Freeman, Chris Fetfatzes, and Heather Annechiarico (Grace & Proper, Wine Dive) in a former hair salon that sits on the same stretch as Famous 4th Street, Southwark, Ambra, and Fitz on 4th. Fetfatzes describes the mood as “dark, scrappy, and European — somewhere between a Paris backstreet wine bar and a graffitied Berlin hangout.”
Eggcetera Haus (625 S. Sixth St.): Husband-and-wife team Rey Tamaka and Vina Kencana soon will turn the former Redcrest Kitchen into an all-day bar-restaurant. Tamaka, previously the chef at an Old City brunch restaurant, plans breakfast, lunch, and dinner, moving from specialty coffee and morning dishes into pastas, steaks, cocktails, and comfort food at night. The couple expects daily service, giving the Queen Village-Bella Vista border another full-day neighborhood option.
Field Day (923 N. Second St.): James Beard Award-winning bartender and author Danny Childs and his wife, Katie, have a fall opening targeted for their casual regional cocktail bar in Northern Liberties, next to Cescaphe Ballroom. Childs’ drinks will use locally farmed, foraged, and fermented ingredients. Executive chef Melissa McGrath, known for her work at the idled Sweet Amalia Market & Kitchen, will offer Pennsylvania Dutch-inspired snacks, sandwiches, and tomato pies. Highballs, house-made sodas, boozy gelati, and walk-in seating will help keep the mood informal.
Habibi Supper Club (1515 E. Passyunk Ave.): Miled Finianos is giving his itinerant Lebanese dinner series a permanent home on East Passyunk — possibly by the end of year — serving late breakfast and lunch before he offers ticketed, multicourse suppers.
HYO (1222 Walnut St.): Nightlife veteran Justin Jordan plans an October opening for this Korean tabletop barbecue restaurant behind Hearsay, his indoor-outdoor sidewalk bar and listening lounge. Guests will enter HYO through a phone booth inside Hearsay. The restaurant is part of Jordan’s multilevel entertainment complex, which also includes Celine and the forthcoming Chancellor Room event space and karaoke lounge.
Jean (161 W. Girard Ave.): Emmett chef Evan Snyder and partner Julian van der Tak are going upstairs with a 15-seat tasting menu restaurant opening this fall. Snyder and chef de cuisine Antonio Pizzo will prepare a 12-course menu centered on a 7-foot wood-burning hearth, drawing on Algeria, Tunisia, coastal Morocco, and the southern Mediterranean for culinary influences. A tagine will roast throughout dinner before being served family-style.
Kato (1832 Frankford Ave.): Mei Meichef-owner Jay Ho is taking over the former Izakaya Fishtown space for a restaurant inspired by his Taiwanese father and the food Ho grew up eating. Influences from Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese cooking will broaden the menu. Ho, who hopes to open in late fall, plans to retain the front bar while replacing the rear sushi counter with additional seating that can double as a private dining area.
Lovat Square(184 E. Evergreen Ave.): Former Four Seasons sommelier Damien Graef and journalist Robyn Semien opened this Chestnut Hill wine shop and tasting room in February, offering small-production bottles, wines by the glass, and light fare. The couple, who also own Brooklyn’s Bibber & Bell wine shop, will debut a full dinner menu by the end of September.
Macaluso’s (3101 S. 13th St.): Realtor Joel Gruenke and restaurateur Mark D’Andrea, long-ago roommates at Valley Forge Military Academy, are looking at an early October opening of this white-tablecloth Italian restaurant at 13th Street and Packer Avenue, near the sports complex. D’Andrea’s family owns RoadHouse in Staten Island, N.Y. Gruenke says the moderately priced menu will stick to traditional Italian cooking and offer a full bar. Parking will be available across the street.
Mylar Bar (1636-38 S. Ninth St.): Hospitality veterans Liv Arterbridge and Gina Piccari are turning the former Dino’s Party Center into a festive neighborhood bar inspired by the building’s history. They promise something nostalgic, playful, and deliberately unserious. Drinks will include martinis, punches, classics, and draft beer. Chef Colin White, formerly of Sally and Emmett, will oversee shareable “party snacks,” larger plates, and desserts available late.
Nippy’s on South (1312 South St.): Nurse and first-time restaurateur Nikia Peterson has purchased the former Ms. Tootsie’s building for an ambitious restaurant and bar. Peterson plans a polished setting with seafood towers, steaks, Asian and Caribbean influences, a substantial happy hour, and weekend brunch. The project will revive a prominent South Street property that had remained closed since restaurateur KeVen Parker’s death in 2021.
O’Morrey’s (1720 Sansom St.): Chefs Biff Gottehrer and Kenjiro Omori are developing a cocktail bar on the former site of Genji, the Japanese restaurant created by Omori’s father. The name is a cheeky rendering of the Omori family name. Plans call for a comfortable neighborhood bar in the spirit of the Ripplewood, where both chefs work, with cocktails and a serious food component. Their second joint project, Tako Taco, is months away at the former Bing Bing Dim Sum in South Philadelphia.
Palm Vintage (1414 S. Penn Square): Houston Yang and Mike Beja, who opened this day-to-night cafe and cocktail bar across from City Hall in the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, are close to expanding into a nighttime scene with cocktails, sushi, oysters, caviar, and light food in a lush, tropical-inspired room meant to offer an escape from Center City.
Panco (2300 S. Croskey St.): Chef Ryo Igarashi, whose background includes Tokio Global and Maru Global (noted for its takoyaki balls), is behind a corner shop in West Passyunk whose menu will focus on Japanese cutlets. He says it’s opening soon.
Philly Curio (2240 Frankford Ave.): Tattoo Arts Convention founder Troy Timpel is creating an intimate Kensington restaurant-bar around his private collection of curiosities (think tribal masks, skeletal displays, taxidermy, and glass-topped tables containing preserved animals). Inspired partly by Savannah’s Alligator Soul, Timpel has discussed a Cajun-Creole menu with small plates and unconventional proteins such as rattlesnake. Drinks are expected to include cocktails, wine, bottled beer, and limited drafts. Target is November.
Philly Po’Boy (102 W. Berks St.): Brothers Chris and Greg Lynch are bringing a taste of New Orleans to the storefront beneath the Berks station of the Market-Frankford Line. Chris spent years cooking in New Orleans, while Greg’s Philadelphia background includes Starr Restaurants and LMNO. Plans call for classic powdered-sugar-dusted beignets, gumbo, and a mix of classic and specialty po’boys like fried shrimp, oysters and roast beef “debris,” plus fries, Creole potato salad, and café au lait from coffee roasted by Applied Arts in New Orleans.
Santé Social(1546 E. Passyunk Ave.): Sommelier Daniel Solway is giving his roving dinner series a permanent home across from the Singing Fountain. The approximately 30-seat space will function less like a conventional restaurant than a flexible hospitality venue, hosting wine dinners, tastings, classes, collaborations, private events, and some walk-in service. Cocktails are being developed with Danny Childs of Slow Drinks and Field Day, while changing chefs and collaborators may shape the food programming.
Somedays Bakery (1601 Walnut St.): Hand-laminated croissants are the foundation of this Queens-rooted bakery, which deals in sandwiches, salads, soft serve, and coffee. It’s targeting the end of the month.
Thalassa (918 N. 28th St.): Matt Maltepes is looking at late October or early November for his Greek-inspired cafe in Fairmount that will serve baklava, croissants, and house-made ice cream in flavors that change weekly. Savory offerings will include small plates such as feta grilled cheese with honey, avocado toast, and bagels with cream cheese. The drinks menu will feature European-style coffee preparations, including frappes and Freddo espresso.
Looking ahead
Two major projects are now on the docket for January, as the owners don’t want to compete with the holiday-season madness:the Pelican Club, Stephen Starr’s flashy Greek-themed restaurant taking shape in the former Devon Seafood Grill on Rittenhouse Square, and the yet-to-be-named “punk French” restaurantthat chefs Justin Bogle and Arthur Cavaliere are creating at the former Winnie’s Manayunk.
The long-closed Mermaid Bar in Mount Airy will retain its name under the new ownership of pizzaiolo Dan Gutter and business partner Alex Carbonell of Circles & Squares and Pizza Plus. The project, announced earlier this year, is aiming at a summer 2027 rollout.
The developer of an affordable housing apartment complex in Voorhees expects the same heavy demand from potential tenants that he experienced with a similar complex his company opened nearby in April.
Hundreds of potential tenants fill the waiting list for available apartments at the 81-unit Victory Commons, a $30 million project that held a grand opening on April 30 at 1223 Haddonfield-Berlin Road, saidNicholas J. Cangelosi, regional vice president of The Michaels Organization, the Camden-based national developer of rental properties.
Cangelosi said he expects far more applicants than openings when his firm opens 120 affordable housing apartments on the 6.6-acre site of the now-vacant L&L Redi Mix concrete company at 600 and 602 Centennial Boulevard.
Centennial Housing Associates LLC, owned by Michaels, is scheduled to appear before the Voorhees Planning Board on Sept. 9 for preliminary and final site plan approvals for The Oaks at Centennial, which would feature 120 apartments built in two phases. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. after a 6:45 caucus at the Voorhees Township Municipal Building.
The $50 million Oaks at Centennial project is included in the fourth round of the township’s affordable housing commitment.
A third Michaels project in Voorhees, a $23 million project with 60 affordable units on Sheppard Road, has been approved by the planning board and awaits financing approval by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, Cangelosi said.
The total of 261 units developed by Michaels in the town will be sought because families want to live in Voorhees, he said.
The now-vacant concrete plant on the Voorhees property will be demolished to make way for the apartment complex.Neill Borowski
Rent for the affordable units will be paid by the tenants, whose incomes must fall under a maximum amount.
Many of the Victory Commons units have been rented to “essential workers” in the community who are employed in retail, healthcare, and schools, Cangelosi said.
“They’re the essential backbone of the community,” he said. “They get to live close to where they work,” he added.
Monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit at the proposed Oaks development for a family earning 60% of Area Median Income would be $1,587. Rent for a one-bedroom unit would be $1,323 and $1,834 for three bedrooms.
In the developer’s application to the Planning Board, traffic consultant Shropshire Associates LLC of Atco estimates The Oaks would generate 43 extra trips during the morning peak hour and 60 extra trips during the afternoon peak hour.
New Jersey’s elected leaders are focused on the shortage of housing. Gov. Mikie Sherrill in April signed an Executive Order that called for a housing plan to be delivered in September.
“We can’t make New Jersey more affordable without making housing more affordable,” Sherrill said in a statement when she signed the order. “With this Executive Order, we are aligning every tool at our disposal to accelerate housing production and make it easier for families to put down roots in the communities they love,” she said.
70and73.com is a hyperlocal news site focused on South Jersey, including the communities of Cherry Hill, Evesham, Mount Laurel, Voorhees, Medford, Medford Lakes, and Moorestown.
Pearl Jam’s concert at the Wells Fargo Center in April 2016 is legendary among fans because the band played its 1991 debut album Ten in its entirety.
The performance happened after Eddie Vedder was struck by the idea during the sound check for the show. The venue had surprised him by hanging a Flyers-style banner made by Native Colors Flag Co. in Haddonfield marking the band’s 10th sold-out performance in a South Philly arena.
“I saw that number, and it was like, ‘I think we gotta do it,’ ” Vedder said with a smile that night, after the band had finished playing Ten from start to finish for only the second time in its career.
Now, Pearl Jam is releasing Ten Live, a three-sided vinyl LP that captures live versions of the 13 songs on the album, which includes songs that have long been centerpieces of the band’s repertoire, such as “Even Flow,” “Alive,” and “Jeremy.”
The live album recorded April 29, 2016, in the building that is now known as Xfinity Mobile Arena comes out Nov. 27. That’s Record Store Day Black Friday, the holiday season day on which music retailers put limited-edition vinyl exclusives on sale in shops in Philly and around the U.S.
In 2020, Pearl Jam made a video stream of the entire 32-song 2016 concert available through Philly-based music platform nugs.net. That release was timed to promote PJ Votes, a voter mobilization initiative ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
At the time, Pearl Jam guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready spoke to The Inquirer about the band’s special relationship with Philadelphia. That dates back to a 1991 show at J.C. Dobbs on South Street (now Nikki Lopez), and the final four shows at the Spectrum in 2009 before that venue was demolished the next year.
“I remember playing Dobbs, and it was the strangest stage I’ve ever been on,” McCready recalled. An oversize column on one side of the stage made it difficult to see an entire band at the defunct South Street club. “I’ll never forget that.”
Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie (left) talks with Eddie Vedder (center) of Pearl Jam, and Bradley Cooper (right) before the Philadelphia Eagles play the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, on Nov. 20, 2016. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
During the October 2009 Spectrum shows, which ended on Halloween with the band dressing up like Devo and playing “Whip It,” McCready said “in four nights, we tried to play every song we’ve ever written.”
“There’s something about Philadelphia,” Vedder said during the Ten show.
“It seems tough, and intense. I get the City of Brotherly Love. But I also know brothers beat the [stuffing] out of each other! So to see all these intense people … release themselves and open up and celebrate and seem to love each other, it’s really powerful.”
The Pearl Jam banner at the Wells Fargo Center on April 29, 2016.nugs.tv
At one point in the show, Vedder looked up to see the Bruce Springsteen banner in the rafters with a number 56 much larger than Pearl Jam’s 10. He then did an impression of the Boss: “Hey Ed, I hear you’ve got a little banner up there. You’ve got some catchin’ up to do. Call me in 20 years.”
”I think there really is a tangible difference in the level of engagement. I mean, since we started playing Philadelphia and over into New Jersey, it’s … insane. Things are generally sort of twice as big there.
“Some of it has to do with the longevity, I think. There’s a consistency with talking to fans, and then having them turn their kids on to the music. It’s magical, and I don’t want to know too much about it. I just want to honor it. It feels real.”
A version of the 2016 Ten show, which includes covers of Pink Floyd, Wayne Cochran, the Dead Boys, Neil Young, and the Who, can be streamed on YouTube. And a pro-shot video of the concert can be rented or purchased on PearlJam.com, where the Ten Live vinyl can be preordered.
Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam perform during their Dark Matter World Tour stop at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 7, 2024.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
The seeded roll is a staple of Sarcone’s Bakery.Michael Klein / Staff
The seeded-roll question is part of the crowded field of never-settled cheesesteak disputes: Which cheese is correct? How finely should the beef be chopped? Should the onions be diced, sliced, or chopped?
Tourists vs. locals
Earlier this month, Jim’s began offering seeded rolls as an option for the first time since it opened in 1976. Pat’s, which made news in February when it began offering them after 96 years of plain rolls, abandoned the experiment after only a few weeks.
Seeded rolls tend to be crustier, and the toasted sesame adds a faintly nutty flavor. Plain rolls are generally softer and milder, putting more emphasis on the beef and cheese.
At Jim’s, owner Ken Silver said he added seeded rolls to his Liscio’s bread order to give customers a choice. “For the most part, it’s a tourist thing,” Silver said. “Our local base is almost all plain.”
Silver said Jim’s made the change “for the same reason we added chicken and Cooper Sharp [cheese]. People expect it from what they see on social media.” Overall so far, he said, seeded is outselling unseeded, 6 to 1.
At Pat’s, those expectations did not translate into sales.
A cheesesteak on an unseeded roll at Jim’s South Street.Matt Rourke
Owner Frank Olivieri began offering seeded rolls in February, shortly after the death of his father, Frank P. Olivieri, who had resisted changes. The younger Olivieri initially said the limited-time offering would likely be permanent.
It lasted a month.
“If I got in 400 [seeded rolls] a day, by the end of the day, I was throwing out 390 of them,” Olivieri said. “Not that I’m the barometer to judge everybody else by or what influencers think you should eat, [but] not everybody who comes to Pat’s Steaks wants the [seeded] rolls.”
How the old guard rolls
Pat’s recently switched its bread supplier from Aversa to Corropolese, and offers plain rolls only now.
Geno’s Steaks, across Passyunk Avenue, also has been firmly seedless since Joey Vento opened the shop in 1966. “It’s never crossed my mind,” said Geno Vento, who took over after his father’s passing in 2011. “We have our customer base, and I don’t feel that we need to change the roll [baked by Liscio]. I feel like it’s more of a trend right now. And they might put [cheesesteaks] on rye bread next. You never know.”
Geno’s concession to the new generation is Cooper Sharp, which the shop buys in sauce form and heats up — as an option.
At the old-school Dalessandro’s in Roxborough, owner Steve Kotridis said he began offering seeded rolls a few years ago “when it became a fad,” though he estimated that only 3% of customers order them. Dalessandro’s uses a softer Amoroso roll for cheesesteaks and a sturdier, seeded Aversa for hoagies, both with and without seeds.
For newer cheesesteak shops, however, the seeded roll has become all but de rigueur — a style that predates social media but has been amplified by it. Famously, Donkey’s Place in Camden has served its distinctive cheesesteaks on poppy-seeded round rolls for more than 80 years.
Louis Sarcone Jr. at the century-old Sarcone’s Bakery credits Bobby Toner of the now-closed JR’s Deli with helping establish seeded bread as a hoagie standard in the 1980s, after Toner began buying Sarcone’s seeded loaves.
Sarcone said Primo Hoagies, founded in South Philadelphia in 1992, spread the style widely as it expanded into a 120-unit chain. Sarcone supplied Primo for years before it started using parbaked rolls supplied by another bakery.
By 2024, Sarcone said, 90% of the rolls he baked were seeded, up from 75% a decade earlier.
John Bucci Jr. said John’s Roast Pork began serving cheesesteaks on seeded rolls in 1987, after its supplier, Vilotti, went out of business. Bucci’s father, who was terminally ill, left the choice of a new bakery to his son. “JR’s had started making their hoagies on seeded bread, so, I figured, why not try [it] on a cheesesteak?” Bucci said.
John’s initially bought its seeded rolls from Carangi and later switched to Sarcone’s.
Now a cheesesteak roll
The seeded roll’s rise as a defining feature of the modern Philadelphia cheesesteak came later, accelerated by Angelo’s Pizzeria.
Owner Danny DiGiampietro, whose wife is Louis Sarcone’s niece, used Sarcone’s seeded rolls when he opened the first Angelo’s in Haddonfield in 2013. After moving Angelo’s to Ninth and Fitzwater in 2019, DiGiampietro began baking his own bread.
As Angelo’s fame grew, its crusty, sesame-seeded rolls — an image widely broadcast on social media and emulated by other shops — helped define the newer-generation cheesesteak.
Del Rossi’s cheesesteak is served on a house-baked seeded roll.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
At Del Rossi’s, owner Nish Patel said cheesesteak orders were roughly split between plain and seeded rolls when he took over in 2020. Since he began baking his own rolls in 2024, virtually all have gone out on seeded bread.
“We barely get any requests for unseeded,” Patel said.
The contrast with Pat’s could hardly be sharper. There, Olivieri said, almost nobody wanted the seeded option.
Jim’s now finds itself somewhere in between — offering the roll that has come to signify a Philadelphia cheesesteak to many, while continuing to sell mostly plain rolls to its longtime clientele.
“People expect it from what they see on social media,” Silver said.
Four Green Cats Cafe, which has brought authentic European flavors to Mount Laurel for the last seven years, is about to get a bigger home.
Started as a farmers market stand in 2019, the Rancocas Woods café, whose owners have Czech Republic roots, has become a destination both for South Jersey locals and within the broader Czech diaspora.
Now, with the building’s lease expiring at the end of the year and business that owner Nadia Vasa says has been more popular than ever, she’s soon planning to move her offerings of handmade Czech delicacies to a new, larger location in Haddonfield.
Mila and Nadia Vasa posed for a portrait outside of Four Green Cats Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Mount Laurel. Nadia is moving the cafe to a larger location in Camden County.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“To continue to provide the customers authentic food and entertainment, we need a bigger space,” Nadia Vasa said in Czech, translated by her husband and business partner, Mila Vasa.
The new spot at 18 Tanner St., the former home of Sang Tong Thai, has both a larger kitchen and dining area to provide enough space to expand their menu and to continue to host musical performances, comedians, and other live events.
The expanded menu will undoubtedly include the staples that Four Green Cats has become known for: Bohemian doughnuts, traditional kolaches, apple strudel, babka — all handmade with flour imported from Europe.
Chimney cakes on display at Four Green Cats Cafe. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Soon to be equipped with a full-service kitchen, the Vasas hope to add new breakfast and lunch offerings in addition to Nadia’s traditional Sunday night dinners.
Once complete, Nadia envisions the new location as embodying the character of classic European cafés of the past that could have been found on street corners from Vienna to Paris.
The Vasas are aiming to open the new location sometime in September and will run both locations concurrently until their Rancocas Woods lease expires, they said.
And while they never wanted to leave Mount Laurel, they hope that the community they’ve built over the years will make the move with them.
The exterior of Four Green Cats Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Rancocas Woods in Mount Laurel. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“We’re hoping some of our customers follow us,” Mila said, but he knows that they’ll inevitably lose some of their regulars, especially those who currently live close enough to walk to the café.
More than just a coffee shop and bakery, Nadia sees Four Green Cats as a window into the world that raised her.
Owner Nadia Vasa holds a plate of Czech sandwiches at Four Green Cats Cafe. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
She makes every decision thoughtfully and with cultural authenticity at the forefront, from using her great-grandmother’s recipes to decorating the walls with her grandfather’s art, she said.
“It’s culture that no one gets here unless you fly home,” Mila said.
The interior of Four Green Cats Cafe. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Customers have traveled from across the country to get a taste of their European roots without having to cross the Atlantic, Mila said.
Over the years, the business has also developed a relationship with the Czech embassy in Washington, he said, which will routinely send traveling musicians and artists to Four Green Cats to experience a taste of the Czech Republic.
The interior of Four Green Cats Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026 in Mount Laurel. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
More than once, he said proudly, traveling Czechs have raved that Nadia’s food is better than what they have at home.
“Now, she has the room to do what she wants to do,” Mila said.
Several weeks ago, The Inquirer food desk deliberated on declaring a sandwich of the summer, after the New York Times designated Italian piadinas their pick for said title (a phenomenon that seems mostly confined to Brooklyn). Personally, I think the designation is pretty silly. Why?
The hot dog is the sandwich of the summer. It always has been, but it’s especially true now.
Hot dogs at Royal Tavern’s Dog Days of Summer special, held annually in July. (A few dogs remain on the menu in August.)Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The boom times won’t necessarily end after Labor Day, but, for many people, hot dogs have a season, and it is summer. After all, nearly half of the 100 million hot dogs made annually by Dietz and Watson, Philly’s homegrown deli meat maker, are sold between May and August, according to Lauren Eni Canseco, Dietz’s vice president of brand strategy and fourth-generation family owner.
Food handlers packaging Black Forest Uncured Knockwurst at Dietz and Watson plant Philadelphia in 2025. Dietz and Watson produces and distributes deli meats, cheeses, and other specialty food products.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
That the hot dog is the sandwich of the summer, here or anywhere, seems so obvious, it almost shouldn’t even need to be verbalized. It’s ballpark food, barbecue food — summer food.
The one major hitch? The enduring, irreconcilable debate over whether a hot dog is a sandwich. This is well-tread ground among hot dog enthusiasts, a subset of civilization that is fiercely opinionated and quite vociferous.
To give both sides of the argument equal air time, I asked several local glizzy authorities — makers, avid consumers, etc. — to weigh in. Is a hot dog a sandwich? Here’s what they said:
Craig LaBan, Inquirer restaurant critic: Technically, yes. As much as a hoagie, or hot roast beef, cheesesteak or cutlet can be a sandwich. You put sausage on a bun and call it a sandwich. Hot dog is a sausage, so …That is not to say hot doggery is the same thing as eating a peanut butter and jelly. … and it’s true hot dogs can absolutely exist on their own — in a pot of beans or Korean Army soup, baked into a croissant, wrapped in a blanket, in which cases they are not a sandwich. So … now that I rethink it, a hot dog is NOT a sandwich, but it can become one.
Standard hot dog with ketchup and mustard, hot dog with pepper hash, and hot dog with fish cake and pepper hash at Johnny’s Hots on Aug. 17.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Chris Barnes, owner of Lucky’s Last Chance: A hot dog is a hot dog! It’s unique and perfect and one of one. Anyone who says otherwise probably also likes ketchup on it.
Jen Zavala, owner of Juana Tamale: Yes, a finger sandwich.
Sandwiches are commonly considered a complete meal. One hot dog is a snack. You need two or three to make a meal.
Sandwiches are usually portable, packable. Something you can put in a Ziploc, bring for lunch, or save for later. This is not a pleasant or regular practice with hot dogs, they are designed to be eaten immediately.
Sandwiches are usually COLD, unless advertised as a “hot sandwich.” Hot dogs are almost NEVER served cold.
Hot dogs and sandwiches are best purchased from different sorts of vendors. You probably wouldn’t want a hoagie from your favorite Center City hot dog lunch cart; and you probably wouldn’t want a hot dog from your favorite Philadelphia deli (I’ve tried) — unless it was Famous 4th Street.
I’ve been painting and writing about hot dogs for almost 20 years. Poring over old articles, menus, going back to the early 1900s. Very rarely, or maybe even never, have I seen a hot dog historically referred to as a sandwich.
An assortment of classic hot dogs with mustard and ketchup writing at Ortlieb’s in Northern Liberties.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Nic Macri, chef at Royal Tavern: Considering a hot dog is a hot dog without the bun, I am going to say no. I’ll tell you what is not a hot dog — a sausage in a hot dog roll!
Pierre Li Peters, aka @theehotdogsummer: A hot dog is not a sandwich because it’s an entirely different art form. A hot dog is a hot dog, even when it doesn’t look like the classic Nathan’s frank we all imagine. For example, a corn dog could be considered a part of the hot dog family but doesn’t really fit into the sandwich category … The beautiful thing about the hot dog community: It’s not limited in being classified as a sandwich; creativity flourishes due to unique characteristics shaped by the regions that enjoy them.
Lauren Eni Canseco, Dietz & Watson VP: A hot dog CAN be a sandwich, but it can also be an ingredient, an entree, or a snack! If it’s a high-quality, high-protein dog, the possibilities are endless.
Retro wall decor at Dietz & Watson pop-up store at Fifth and South Streets in 2019.JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Emilie Dormer, aka @glizzygirliez: In my heart, I don’t consider a hot dog a sandwich. A hot dog feels like its own category entirely. There’s something culturally distinct about it that gets lost when you simply call it a sandwich. That said, if you forced me to place it into one of the traditional food categories, I’d have to admit that yes, structurally, I guess that it probably qualifies as a sandwich. Bread, filling, handheld … the evidence is unfortunately there.
Ralph Stollenwerk, artist and hot dog illustrator: I think a hot dog is as much of a sandwich as a hoagie. Nobody officially calls it a “hoagie sandwich,” [just] as nobody calls it a “hot dog sandwich,” but it is meat held between bread. I’m calling it a sandwich, but I would NEVER call it a sandwich in public.
As for me, I pretty much agree with Stollenwerk. You can quibble with my headline, but the substance of the argument is undeniable: The hot dog is the sandwich of the summer, even if the “sandwich” is silent.
Camden County officials announced a $400 million master plan Tuesday to protect the county’s network of rivers, lakes, and streams such as the Cooper River.
They are hoping voters will approve a referendum in the fall to help pay for itover the next decade.
That waterway network is threatened by aging infrastructure, stormwater runoff, industry, and changing regulations that have left it degraded. A comprehensive plan is imperative, officials said.
An ultimate goal, they say, is that residents may one day be able to swim safely in Cooper River Lake without a health risk.
“Repair. Replenish. Recreate,” County Commissioner Jeffrey Nash said. “Those three words summarize the generational change that Camden County is about to embark on to improve the quality of our water bodies.”
County, state, and local officials made the announcement at the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority headquarters in Camden, backed by representatives from various environmental groups and nonprofits.
To raise the money, officials are assembling federal, state, and government grants and loans, as well as help from private nonprofits.
Voters could be key
But they also said a planned voter referendum on increasing the county’s open space tax to $0.03 per $100 of assessed property value is key to secure permanent funding. Voters will weigh in on Election Day, Nov. 3.
The rate would nudge up from $0.02. That means someone with property assessed at $500,000 would pay $150 a year toward open space, up from the current $100.
Waterways that would see increased protection include:
Cooper River Lake,which spans Camden, Pennsauken, Cherry Hill, Collingswood, and Haddon Township.
Kirkwood Lake in Lindenwold.
Atco Lake in Waterford Township.
Pennsauken Creek,which runs through Pennsauken, Maple Shade, and Cherry Hill.
Big Timber Creek, which spans multiple towns.
Evans Pond and Wallworth Lake in Cherry Hill and Haddonfield.
Nash said the county’s populationgrowth over the last 100 years can be attributed to people drawn to the waterways. But increasedpopulation also resulted in the need for moresewer lines and attention to aging infrastructure.
“We stand at a crossroads, and we have a choice to make: Either we’re going to shrug our shoulders and pass this problem on to the next generation, or we’re going to do something that is generational,” Nash said.
The cost breakdown
The plan calls for:
$200 million to fix aging combined sewer systems that overflow during storms.
$75 million for dredging and other methods to reduce sediment.
$50 million for rehabilitation of sanitary sewer systems across multiple towns.
$50 million to restore recreational lake areas.
$25 million for green infrastructure.
And it includes an unspecified amount for continued planning, monitoring, and management.
Scott Schreiber, executive director of the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, called the plan “a comprehensive strategy that addresses every major factor affecting the health of our rivers, lakes, and streams.”
He said it represents a new way of thinking about water quality by coordinating across towns, rather than planning by one municipality at a time.
“Water doesn’t recognize political boundaries or municipal borders,” Schreiber said.
The biggest chunk of money will go to address combined sewer overflows (CSOs), which are now antiquated. A combined sewer system collects rainwater runoff and household sewage into one pipe. Normally, it can transport all of that to a sewage treatment plant. But storms can bring so much water that they can exceed the system’s capacity. When that happens, untreated stormwater and wastewater flow intobodies of water, such as the Delaware River.
Schreiber said projects are being designed and built to capture and treat much more stormwater before it reaches the Delaware.
Separately, money will be used to repair and rehabilitate aging sewer systems, reducing leaks and groundwater infiltration that pollutes waterways.
He said the infrastructure money will also be used to install rain gardens, permeable pavement, and bioswales, which are typically sloped channels covered with vegetation and designed to capture or slow stormwater.
The county will start a regular dredging operation to remove decades of accumulated and contaminated sediment in lakes and ponds to improve aquatic habitat, restore ecological function, and create overall healthier waterways.
And the county plans to restore recreational lakes by improving public access, bolstering shorelines, and boosting overall water quality.
Officials plan to finance part of the plan through the New Jersey Water Bank, an independent state authority that provides low-interest loans for water quality infrastructure projects.
However, Schreiber said, the voter referendum will be key. If voters approve it, the referendum would provide $7 million per year that could be used to pay off that debt and pay for other improvements.
‘Vibrant waterfront communities’
Don Baugh, founder of the nonprofit Upstream Alliance, which has helped Camden County build its first water trail, called the master plan a major step.
“I feel like I should pinch myself,” he said. “This is the dream of restored waterways, swimmable waterways, kids playing in the water, and vibrant waterfront communities.”
Daniela Solano-Ward, mayor of Collingswood, one of five towns that border Cooper River Lake, said the new coordination by the county is vital.
“Collingswood can do very little to alter our geographic reality,” she said. “We are bordered by Cooper River to the north and Newton Lake to the south. Ultimately, protecting urban watersheds has fallen to local government. But with 35 municipalities in Camden County, the weight of this lift is too heavy for any one of us to shoulder alone.”
Nab a table at Collingswood’s Sabrina’s Cafe at 11 a.m. on a Sunday without a wait? Good luck with that.
A dinnertime walk-in at one of the town’s many vaunted restaurants might be easier. On a weekday, you’ll practically be a shoo-in.
Despite its reputation as a South Jersey dinner destination — owing to longtime red-sauce staples like Villa Barone and Il Fiore and newer fine-dining joints like Hearthside and June BYOB — restaurant owners on Collingswood’s popular Haddon Avenue say business isn’t booming on weeknights.
With thinner margins brought on by the higher costs of food, supplies such as to-go containers, and labor, it’s getting harder for some of these spots to get by.
The Camden County town of 14,000 is hopping with energy on weekend days thanks to the beloved Saturday morning farmer’s market, a bevy of city-organized events, and Collingswood’s variety of stores. But the energy on Haddon Avenue often fizzles come evening.
Business owners of all types point to one main reason: Collingswood is dry.
“During the day on Saturday when we’re prepping, there are people walking around everywhere, but on the weekdays after 5 o’clock, there’s just nobody walking around,” said Dominic Piperno, chef and owner of Hearthside, which opened on Haddon Avenue in 2017.
People walk along Haddon Avenue in Collingswood. Elected officials and business owners say the town needs more experiential businesses.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Piperno said weekday evenings have become increasingly quiet in the past few years. There was a boom just after COVID-19 restrictions lifted, when folks were happy to get out of their homes, but it didn’t last. He and other Haddon Avenue restaurant owners say inflation and the rising cost of living are partly to blame, with disposable income for many out the window.
Giovanni Barone, whose family has owned and operated Haddon Avenue Italian restaurant Villa Barone for 32 years, thinks the town could make some changes to support restaurants. He motioned toward nearby Haddon Township, which has long allowed alcohol sales and on-site consumption.
There, “on a weekday night — Wednesday or Thursday, for example — I drive down the street and it’s packed,” Barone said. “We’re losing a bit of that piece of the pie.”
A thriving daytime scene
Yet amid the challenges, Collingswood’s share of Haddon Avenue is experiencing a wave of new businesses filling long-vacant storefronts and injecting fresh daytime activity.
Kaival Patel of John’s Friendly Market in nearby Haddon Heights is preparing to open a convenience store-like concept in Collingswood with a deli case and prepared foods in the former Wawa space, likely this summer.
The business was courted by Collingswood Commissioner and Deputy Mayor Amy Henderson Riley. She campaigned with Mayor Daniela Solano-Ward on the promise of ensuring downtown continued to welcome diverse business owners and shoppers of various income levels. James Maley, a commissioner since 1989 and Collingwood’s mayor from 1997 until Solano-Ward took office, continues to serve as a commissioner.
“We’re replacing Wawa in our own way,” Patel said. “We’ve heard that people used to get their groceries from Rite Aid next door that closed, too, so we’re going to try to add groceries as much as possible.”
Nearby, a bank that has sat empty for years is primed for a new life as a three-storefront building topped with condos, said Keller Williams real estate agent Pat Ciervo. The parking lot will become public parking, Ciervo said — a perk for that end of downtown.
Charm bar and permanent jewelry studio Chatterbox celebrated its first anniversary July 4. Business has been good for owners Douglas and Nikki Coleman. People are eager to support a Black- and family-owned business, Douglas Coleman said.
Douglas and Nikki Coleman at their business Chatterbox in Collingswood.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
“Weekends have been very steady for us,” he said. Weekday business fluctuates, “but this has become a destination for people, just the store in itself. We’ve had people come from Boston and Virginia.”
Lindsey Ferguson, Collingswood’s director of business and community development, praised the store.
“We have loved the addition of Chatterbox because, simply, their business model includes waiting for your jewelry, so people then walk around and shop” at other businesses on the avenue like suburban birding store House Finch or Occasionette gift shop, she said.
Ferguson would like to see more so-called experiential businesses like Chatterbox and nearby pottery-painting studio All Fired Up! And she’d like to add nighttime businesses “that can kind of lift everybody up.”
Ends of the Earth, a cigar lounge that recently debuted in Collingswood’s former fire station, is open until 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday — a welcome evening addition, according to Ferguson.
Ferguson said the chasm between daytime and nighttime foot traffic along Haddon Avenue dates to the pandemic years, when some businesses began closing earlier.
But that lack of deep overlap between so-called daytime and nighttime businesses has left Collingswood’s restaurant scene in the lurch.
The inside of Douglas and Nikki Coleman’s business Chatterbox in Collingswood.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
‘Let’s not mess this up’
Liquor was prohibited by ordinance in Collingswood in the 19th century, dating back to its Quaker roots.
Now Collingswood’s three-person Board of Commissioners, which includes Henderson Riley and Solano-Ward, is considering a resolution to put liquor sales on the ballot in November.
“It’s a conversation we need to keep having as a community,” Henderson Riley said. “It would be an influx of cash into the town that would be up to voters to decide.”
In 2015, Collingswood voted to allow craft breweries, and now Raccoon Taproom operates on Haddon Avenue under a state-issued limited brewery license. The license allows operator Swedesboro Brewing to serve beer in the taproom.
Chef-owner Dominic Piperno (left) with line cook Christopher Ross at Hearthside in Collingswood in 2023.Michael Klein / Staff
Henderson Riley said officials are concerned about how to equitably distribute the restaurant and retail liquor licenses. Collingswood would receive up to four, based on its population, which isn’t enough for all of its dinner-serving establishments. And if they are auctioned to the highest bidder, Ferguson noted, out-of-town restaurant groups could come in and create even more competition for licenses.
“We want to keep restaurants open. We want to keep our downtown thriving,” Henderson Riley said. “We see neighboring towns that are open a little later than us, and the main reason is liquor.”
And as a result, Henderson Riley said, the restaurants in those neighboring towns have a lower price point for their food.
Nearby Haddonfield is also a dry town but allows businesses to operate under state-issued manufacturing licenses — not just for beer — and is now home to a brewery, a winery tasting room, and a distillery. Piperno, of Hearthside, sees how these businesses help feed the area’s restaurants, even if the restaurants can’t sell alcohol.
“My wife and kids and I will walk Haddonfield at night, and like on a Monday, Tuesday, it’s jamming,” Piperno said. “It just has helped that downtown a lot, especially with younger families.”
Piperno said Fridays and Saturdays at Hearthside are still “jammed,” but “it’s really hard to survive this industry with just two really busy nights.” The restaurant plans to relocate to Haddon Township in 2027, where it will have a liquor license.
“It’s a bittersweet thing for us because we love Collingswood,” Piperno said, “but something has to change.”
Still, for Collingswood, much already has. Former Mayor Maley is owed much of the credit, says Henderson Riley, the deputy mayor.
The downtown pocket park with a “Collingswood” sign.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Henderson Riley recalled Maley’s efforts to attract new homeowners by incentivizing converting former duplexes into single-family homes, and appeals to Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ population to move across the bridge.
“Part of what drew us here was what he used to call the Collingswood story,” Henderson Riley, who has lived there for 15 years, said. The businesses and restaurants that germinated from it are the basis of Haddon Avenue’s reputation today.
Nikki Coleman, of Chatterbox, grew up in Cherry Hill and has watched throughout her life as Collingswood’s downtown transformed from a dingy strip into a robust retail scene. She has shared her observances with her husband.
“This has been a great case study for how to take a town and really bring a certain dynamic to it that I think a lot of other small towns wish they had,” Douglas Coleman said. “I don’t know if we’re doing anything wrong, but it’s more of a ‘Let’s not mess this up.’”
Mini golf is an underrated nostalgic summer staple. The rainbow array of golf balls, the sun-bleached artificial turf, the tilting windmills, and fiberglass volcanoes will transport you right back to childhood, melting ice cream cones and all.
It’s easy to find Putt-Putt courses dotted up and down the boardwalks of the Jersey Shore, but South Jersey has its fair share of miniature fareways, too. Many offer more than just mini golf, with homemade ice cream, arcade games, amusement park rides, and driving ranges for adults. Two courses are indoors, for big fun even when the sun isn’t shining.
Big Swing boasts not one but two mini golf courses. (For the second, “Go left at the volcano,” the attendant tells me.) Both are light on props and heavy on banks, curves, hills, elevation gains, and drops, making for some genuinely tricky shots.
Best hole: No. 8 on the waterfall course starts at the top of a hill, with three options to get to the bottom, including two mystery chutes — one that could land a hole in one, and another that spits out on a separate landing.
Other amenities: Golf simulator, golf lessons, driving range
Price: $7 per adult for both courses, $6 for children 12 and under
Inside Monster Mini Golf in Cherry Hill, N.J.Courtesy Monster Mini Golf Cherry Hill NJ
Year-round
Don’t let a rainy day (or a brutally hot one) stop you from hitting the links. Monster Mini Golf offers 18 holes of spooky-themed, indoor, glow-in-the-dark golf, with locations in Cherry Hill and Turnersville. Black light illuminates the dark interior, which is decked out with weird Jersey scenes rendered in glowing paint, and monstrous animatronics that come to life as you move around the course.
Best hole: Tie between hole No. 8, which is presided over by an enormous, glowing talking skull and No. 9, where players can spin a wheel to add a random, extra challenge to their turn, like playing with one arm behind their back or with their eyes closed.
Other amenities: Arcade, mini bowling alley, laser maze, laser tag (at Turnersville location only)
Players play rounds at Pleasant Valley Miniature Golf on Route 73 in Voorhees on June 30, 2026.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
April 1 to Halloween
Opened in 1972 and now run by the son of the original owner, Pleasant Valley is a throwback mini golf course with all the wacky obstacles you could dream of. The fiberglass Liberty Bell and giant sombrero, built by the owner, have been there since the 1970s. Guest-favorite hole No. 12 features three gophers driving classic cars in circles. Conveniently located on the way to Atlantic City, it’s got a classic charm you won’t find at every course.
Best hole: “The sombrero,” owner Brian Whelan says. “It’s very difficult, very easy to have the ball fly out of the sombrero. Big risk, big reward there.”
Other amenities: Ice cream and water ice
Price: Before 6 p.m., $10 for adults, $9 for kids 10 and under and seniors; after 6 p.m., $12.50 for adults, $10 for kids and seniors
Previously known as the Golf Farm, Voorhees Golf Land reopened last year under new ownership after a yearlong closure. In addition to 18 holes of mini golf, Golf Land sports the region’s only pitch-and-putt course. That’s 18 holes of golf that are just 20 to 50 yards long, “not quite the size of a par three,” owner Diana Hennefer says, so it’s a great option for people who don’t have the time or mobility to play a full round of golf, or who just want to practice their short game.
Best hole: No. 18 has a wishing well in the middle. “It’s probably the trickiest one,” Hennefer says. “It’s also the prettiest, most picturesque one.”
Other amenities: Pitch-and-putt course
Price: Mini golf: $8 for adults, $6 for kids; pitch and putt: $15 for adults, $10 for kids
A water feature at Serene Custard and Miniature Golf in Vineland, N.J.Courtesy Ari Dendrinos
Come for the challenging, hilly course, and stay for the vintage custard stand serving homemade ice cream. Built in 1959, Serene Custard still boasts its original mid-century signage and is celebrating its 67th season this year. The 18-hole mini golf course is a newer addition, featuring tough terrains and lush landscaping. “You sort of don’t even feel like you’re in South Jersey when you’re on the course,” owner Ari Dendrinos says.
Best hole: No. 9 takes place entirely within a huge man-made cave.
Other amenities: Custard stand serving ice cream, water ice, and some savory snacks
The Funplex at Mount Laurel has way more than just mini golf. There’s a waterpark, indoor and outdoor rides, a bowling alley, and more. But don’t sleep on the two mini golf courses, Adventure Cave and Lost Lagoon, both of which offer 18 holes of obstacles, including a few multilevel designs.
Best hole: At No. 19, if you get a hole in one, your next game is free.
Other amenities: Waterpark, indoor and outdoor rides, bowling, arcade games
Price: $42 on weekdays and $49 on weekends for access to all attractions; $46 and $54 when purchasing at the gate
The Jersey Devil wants to ensure you never have to miss a mini golf fix. Despite the posted hours, this course operates on the honor system, making putters and golf balls available every day, all year round, so you can play even when no one is working. Just drop $5 in the box at the first hole to enjoy putting on these long greens, which provide a challenge to kids and adults alike.
Best hole: Hole No. 12 features a sharp bend and splits in two before converging.
Other amenities: Driving range, picnic area with cornhole, and firepits
Price: $8 for adults, $7 for 6- to 16-year-olds, free for 5 and under
