'History in the Making' at Osteria Moorestown

For the first time in nearly a century Thursday, a restaurant in Moorestown served its own alcoholic beverages.

Prior to the passage of the 2011 liquor referendum, Moorestown had been dry since 1915—a distinction it held onto even after Prohibition ended. That same year, Charlie Chaplin released The Tramp, the House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote, and Babe Ruth hit his first home run.

Osteria, the acclaimed Italian eatery made famous by award-winning Philadelphia chef Marc Vetri, now holds a place in history as the first Moorestown restaurant to sell alcohol since then.

The significance of the moment was not lost on Osteria Moorestown general manager Martin Cugine, who paused at the beginning of Thursday night’s friends and family cocktail party to mark the historic occasion.

“It dawned on me. I grabbed the staff and I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, mark this moment. This is the first time since before prohibition we are serving drinks at a bar in Moorestown, New Jersey,’” said Cugine, who previously worked as general manager at Vetri’s Amis on 13th Street in Philadelphia.

But the opening of Osteria—which technically doesn’t officially open until Monday—is about more than just a chance to sit on a bar stool and sip a cocktail. It signals a sea change in the evolution of the Moorestown Mall.

“It’s not just about liquor. It’s not about pouring a glass of wine,” remarked PREIT CEO Joe Coradino. “This really marks the beginning of the transformation of Moorestown Mall … It’s quite simply history in the making.”

Though Coradino said he doesn’t particularly like the word “mall.”

“I don’t think mall’s a great word for what we’ve done here,” he said. “We’re going to use it … I would call it a transformed dining and entertainment destination. We’ve created a brand here. This is different than a mall.”

PREIT similarly transformed the Cherry Hill Mall several years ago, bringing in a plethora of new stores and restaurants. Standing outside Osteria Moorestown following a ribbon-cutting Friday, Coradino compared the two malls and, gesturing over his shoulder at Osteria, said, “We have all these great restaurants at Cherry Hill. This outdoes it.”

Coradino declined comment on the potential fourth new restaurant—with Osteria, Jose Garces’ Distrito and Firebirds Wood Fired Grill three of the mall’s four liquor licenses have already been scooped up—but said it would be “very cool.”

“Because we’re always trying to outdo ourselves,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of prospects. We’re no longer sitting in a situation where we’re saying, ‘How do we get the next one?’ We’re picking from a list.”

Jake Der Hagopian and Seth Broder, who campaigned vigorously on PREIT’s behalf to get the referendum on the ballot, were also all smiles standing outside Osteria Friday.

“This obviously is a major asset to our community,” said Der Hagopian, who’s chair of the township Economic Development Advisory Board.

Broder, a former councilman, called Osteria a “perfect fit” for Moorestown and said, “(The opening) justifies all of the hard work everybody put in to make it a reality.”

If you’re looking to get a table at Osteria opening night, good luck. Cugine said they already have a couple hundred reservations, and anticipates they’ll end up doing around 300.

Cugine’s looking beyond the opening however, past the customers who may be coming in just for the novelty of it.

“If the welcome is correct and the service is warm and the food is right, and you felt like you just dined with friends that night, then you’ll come back,” he said. “I want to see all those faces over and over again.”

Visit osteriaphilly.com to take a look at the menu and book your reservation on OpenTable.