Moorestown Mall Seeks Outdoor Seating for Restaurants

In the not-too-distant future, you may be able to sit outside of the Moorestown Mall and enjoy a cool cocktail or glass of red wine.

Mall owner PREIT has applied to the township zoning board for a variance that will allow outdoor seating at three new restaurants: Osteria and Firebirds Wood Fired Grill (which both already have liquor licenses reserved for them), as well as the Corner Bakery, which will open next to Pei Wei, in the former Pizzicato location. 

Township community development director Tom Ford said outdoor seating is prohibited by ordinance in the Specially Restricted Commercial (SRC) zone, which the mall and East Gate Square are both a part of. However, a number of other restaurants have received variances to permit alfresco dining, he said.

Haddonfield attorney Matthew Madden, who will represent the mall at a zoning board hearing next Tuesday, July 16, told the Courier-Post he doesn't foresee any trouble getting the necessary approval.

“I never count my chickens, but there shouldn’t be any issues,” he said. “We’ve been very thorough in what we’ve submitted to the board so far and township officials have been pleased.”

PREIT spokesperson Judy Trias said construction on both Osteria and Firebirds is expected to begin soon. A barricade has already been erected around the future site of Firebirds—across from Chipotle—and one will likely be put up around Osteria within the next few weeks, she said. 

Both restaurants are scheduled to open before the Christmas holiday (possibly November), according to Trias, as is the new Regal Cinemas theater that's been under construction the last several months. 

"(The openings) should be all within weeks of each other," she said.

As for the other two restaurants—which will use the other two liquor licenses purchased by PREIT—Trias said a "very exciting announcement" is coming soon regarding at least one, and possibly both, along with more retail.

Stay tuned to Moorestown Patch for more details as they become available.

The zoning board will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, in the IT room at Moorestown High School.

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