Odds 'Very Good' of New Restaurant in District 611 Space

Developer Jim Brandenburger explains why the Riverton eatery didn't work, and strikes a hopeful note as he looks toward the future.

Developer Jim Brandenburger is confident he can bring a restaurant back to Riverton in the space recently vacated by District 611—just not the same one. "I think the odds are very good that a restaurant like it will reopen (in that space)," he said Monday, a week after the founders of District 611 announced the Broad Street eatery would be closing its doors after six months in business. According to Brandenburger, the restaurant struggled because it offered a "first-class" experience, which came with "first-class expenses," and the establishment simply wasn't doing enough business to sustain itself. "The concept would have been really successful if we had had more daytime traffic," he said. "We couldn't survive on just Friday, Saturday and…

•  8 Comments
• Photos (1)

District 611 in Riverton Closes

The Broad Street restaurant, the creation of a trio of Stephen Starr alumni, opened last fall.

After roughly six months in business, District 611 in Riverton is closing its doors indefinitely. According to a statement posted on the restaurant's website Monday, the eatery is shutting down due to a number of factors. "Though the Riverton community has been nothing short of amazing in terms of its support, our concept is simply no longer sustainable in its current set-up," the statement reads. "With a large number of menu items being offered outside of the brick oven pizza and two fully functioning kitchens, the operation is pretty massive." Those issues are compounded by the limited customer traffic—"a natural downside of operating in the suburbs"—and "major limitations on the option for pursuing a liquor license," since Riverton is a…

•  27 Comments
• Photos (1)

Edgar Stern

4:06 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

4:05 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 Why are some restaurants so noisy? Do they purposely construct them to be that way?   more ›

New Homes for Sale in Cinnaminson This Week

Find homes for sale in Cinnaminson on this page every week, from our partners at Zillow.

More Cinnaminson Real Estate Listings >>

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Business Owners Team Up to Address Redevelopment Concerns

'We're a group of people just looking to defend their livelihoods,' says Cinnaminson Riggins owner John Feghali.

John Feghali and his fellow business owners aren't looking for a fight. They're just worried. Feghali, owner of Cinnaminson Riggins, and others have formed a small coalition of business owners who are coming together over concerns with the township's potential redevelopment plans. The formation of the group comes on the heels of last week's decision by the planning board to recommend that large sections of the township along Route 130 be designated as areas in need of redevelopment. Feghali understands the township's interest in making Cinnaminson more commercially vibrant and redeveloping properties that are "rundown or not maintained properly," he said. "(But) I maintain a nice, clean property. There's no reason to come and ruffle people…

•  15 Comments
• Photos (1)

Cinnaminson Restaurant Feeding Families for 20 Years

'A lot of my customers were kids. Now they come in with kids,' says D'Angelo's Pizzeria owner Maurizio Randazzo.

In today's turbulent economic times, 20 years of being in business is nothing to sneeze at.  Maurizio Randazzo, owner of the eponymous Maurizio's Ristorante and D'Angelo's Pizzeria, both in Mainline Shopping Center, is celebrating the latter's 20th anniversary this year.  Randazzo, a native of Sicily, said he's been in the restaurant business for 34 years, working his way up from "getting my hands dirty" as a dishwasher and doing prep in the kitchen, to now running his own businesses. He previously operated a pizzeria in Pennsauken. "When I started (D'Angelo's), I had some experience," he said. "Now I have a lot more experience." Randazzo, a Moorestown resident, said his loyal customers, above all, are what keep him in business. "I see the…

•  7 Comments
• Photos (2)

Triboro Site's Future Unknown Following Demolition

The vacant former auto dealership came down last week, but Cinnaminson Mayor Ben Young says they haven't heard from the developer since last fall.

More than six months after a developer pitched plans to turn the Triboro site on Route 130 into a mixed-use property, the vacant former auto dealership has been demolished.  Mayor Ben Young said demolition of the building itself only took a few days to complete. By the end of last week, the longstanding former auto dealership—which Young estimated was built in the mid-1960s—was reduced to a pile of rubble. That doesn't mean demolition is entirely complete however, Young added, and noted some of the complicating factors that might tie up development of the property: the fact that it straddles both Cinnaminson and Delran, its state highway frontage (necessitating Department of Transportation involvement), and the large water supply line …

•  59 Comments
• Photos (3)

John

3:03 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2013

I can think of several options, batting cages, minature golf, penny arcade, chicken holiday, but who knows, we already have vacant properties that can be used for something....oh well...   more ›

House Hunt

Cinnaminson Home with 'Beautiful Views' Ideal for At-Home Professional

Also, check out this 5-bedroom, 2.5-bath home in a 'desirable' part of Cinnaminson.

In the market for a new home? Or just nosy? Check out these homes for sale in Cinnaminson and Moorestown.

• Photos (5)

Business Owners Upset with Redevelopment Recommendation

One business owner says he feels 'insecure' as a result of the planning board's decision, despite assurances that the redevelopment designation could be a positive for existing businesses.

The Cinnaminson Planning Board recommended Tuesday that large sections of the township along Route 130 are in need of redevelopment, to the dismay of a handful of business owners who worry they could get pushed out by future development. Attorney Douglas Heinold explained that declaring an area as being in need of redevelopment is intended to make it more attractive to potential developers.  "It gives the governing body"—i.e., township committee—"more flexiblity in determining uses for that zone, and it gives (the committee) the ability to offer incentives," Heinold said. Among the incentives the township could offer is a PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) agreement.  The ultimate decision of whether to designate a property as an area in …

•  35 Comments
• Photos (2)
• Documents (1)

What Does Moorestown Mall Have in Common with the Space Needle?

Think you know your mall history? It's the Moorestown Mall's 50th anniversary. Catch up on the last half century here—and learn a little more about its future.

There’s been so much talk about the Moorestown Mall’s future lately, it’s easy to forget it has quite a history as one of the region’s oldest malls. Opened in 1963, the mall was built on farmland that had been in the Roberts family from the early 1700s through at least the 1800s, according to Stephanie Herz, vice president of the Moorestown Historical Society. The Society’s records don’t indicate who owned the property in the 20th century.  However, according to researcher Bill Archer, who works with the Historical Society, in the years before the mall was built, it was an apple orchard. A Federal-style brick farmhouse (circa 1820s/1830s) sat on a small hill facing Lenola Road, roughly where Macy’s now stands, Herz said. The mall—the …

• Photos (5)