The location would be the fifth stand alone location in New Jersey, with plans to open in the fall.
Come this fall, Marlton residents might have a much shorter drive to get their fill of crab fries.
Officials announced today that well-known Philadelphia-area sports-bar Chickie’s & Pete’s plans to open its newest location at the former Champps site at Marlton Crossing Shopping Center on Route 73.
The Champps site closed in August after more than 20 years due to the bankruptcy of the sports-bar chain’s parent company.
Pete Ciarrocchi Jr., owner of Chickie’s and Pete’s, was on hand at the site to announce his restaurant’s new location, which would be his fifth stand-alone site in New Jersey, not counting those along the boardwalks.
Ciarrocchi said he was looking at spending more than $3 million to remodel the Marlton location, with plans to open sometime in September or October.
With the restaurant so close to the intersection of the heavily traveled Route 70 and Route 73, Ciarrocchi compared the location to being at Main Street and Main Street or Broad Street and Broad Street in Philadelphia.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than that,” Ciarrocchi said.
With the work needed to remodel the former Champps site and then staff the new Chickie’s & Pete’s location, Ciarrocchi said he expects nearly 200 new jobs.
While there are no plans to alter the shape of the building, Ciarrocchi said the interior, bar area, outdoor area and parking lot would all change.
According to Ciarrocchi, plans also include allowing customers to drive and park around the entire the building, instead of parking only available on the building’s sides and back as it stands now.
“A lot of people came to Champps, and it can’t look like Champps,” Ciarrocchi said.
Mayor Randy Brown described the announcement as another great day for the township, and said it would only add to the nearly $400 million of redevelopment projects ongoing throughout town.
Brown also spoke of his nearly 20-year friendship with Ciarrocchi and Brown’s desire to have Chickie’s and Pete’s come to town for many years.
“He’s a first class guy, and to add a guy like him and an organization like Chickie’s & Pete’s to Evesham Township only improves what we’re trying to do here,” Brown said.
David Vendor, of the Brixmor Property Group that owns Marlton Crossing, also described the intersection of Route 70 and Route 73 as an iconic location with tremendous demand.
With the closure of Champps, Vendor said he had never seen as much interest in a vacant property as he did with the Marlton site.
“Everywhere I went in the community it was ‘Are you guys bringing Chickie’s & Pete’s to Marlton?’ It was so wonderful,” Vendor said.
