Business & Tech

Construction of Moorestown Mall Osteria Underway

Award-winning chef Marc Vetri took to Twitter to make the announcement last week.

You can't see it (yet), but construction is underway at the Moorestown Mall Osteria.

Chef Marc Vetri—founder of the original Osteria on North Broad Street in Philadelphia—posted a photo to Twitter last week showing a group of people sitting around a small table inside an empty space at the mall, with the caption, "Construction begins at Osteria Moorestown!!! BOOM."

Vetri announced last fall—coincidentally, also via Twitter—he would be bringing the acclaimed Italian eatery (pronounced “O-stuh-ree-a”) to Moorestown. The restaurant, one of four new alcohol-serving restaurants coming to the mall, is expected to open before the Christmas holiday, possibly in November, according to PREIT spokesperson Judy Trias.

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The restaurant is located on the end of the mall closest to Boscov's, between Payless ShoeSource and Aeropostale. The only other announced restaurant, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, is also under construction on the other side of the mall, across from Chipotle. Announcements about the other two fine dining restaurants are anticipated soon.

The original Osteria opened in 2007 and has been at or near the top of most "Best Of" lists ever since. Philadelphia Magazine named Osteria its No. 1 restaurant in 2008 and 2012, and it’s landed in the top 15 every year since it opened. (It was ranked No. 13 this year.)

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An "osteria" is essentially an eatery serving Italian-style food, as well as wine. Vetri's Philadelphia Osteria specializes in “homemade pastas, thin crust pizzas or wood grilled meats and fish," according to its website, and features 100 different Italian wines. (Click here to check out the full menu.)

In an interview with Moorestown Patch in January, Vetri said the Moorestown Mall Osteria would be virtually identical to the Philly spot. The 5,000-square-foot space will accommodate 121 seats inside and 26 outside (now that the mall's request for an outdoor dining variance cleared the zoning board).

Stay tuned to Moorestown Patch for more details on Osteria and the other Moorestown Mall restaurants as details become available.

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