Home Care In Pennsauken Township, NJ

Double Nickel Brewing in Pennsauken NJ is moving towards becoming a Brewpub, which means adding a full kitchen and offering food to customers!

This also means they’ve acquired a full New Jersey State “33” retail consumption liquor license, and will have the option to serve wine and spirits!

As part of the conversion into a brewpub, Double Nickel appeared before the Pennsauken Planning Board to gain approval to add a full kitchen within the brewery, which features a large pizza oven.

Overall it’s expected that things mostly stay the same at the brewery, just with the addition of tasty fresh made food.. featuring pizza!

Operating since the Fall of 2015 in Pennsauken Township, Double Nickel Brewing opened with a traditional New Jersey limited brewery license, which meant they could make beer on site and have a tasting room, but they were not allowed to sell food or bring in any other alcohol products.

When the conversion to a “restricted brewery” license is complete, Double Nickel will be able to cook and sell food within the building from a new kitchen, as well as offer wine and spirits for sale (if they choose to do so).

Due to the requirement to purchase a more expensive full retail consumption liquor license, brewpubs are much more rare in South Jersey.

From what I see, there are 6 operating brewpubs in South Jersey; Iron Hill in Maple Shade and Voorhees, Tun Tavern in Atlantic City, Avalon Brew Pub in Avalon, and Mudhen in Wildwood. Ark Brewery in Lumberton is positioned to be a full brewpub but they have not started brewing beer as of yet.

For Double Nickel, they already have a large and attractive tasting room space where they can accommodate a new kitchen addition within the existing building.

The building totals 20,000 square feet and is located within the Twinbridge Center Industrial Park. They have a unique driveway access point, which is from the Route 73 South exit ramp which leads to Route 130 South.

inside, the building is surprisingly large with a large, high ceilinged open tasting room with bar which looks into the equally large brewery area… which is protected by interior glass windows.

The tall ceilings have allowed them to have a second floor mezzanine loft on the far end, which is available for private parties. This two-story segment smartly allowed Double Nickel to but additional facilities on the first floor, such as restrooms and additional lounge areas.

There are multiple distinct seating areas at Double Nickel… I counted 7 areas but it may be 8 depending on how you count the multiple outdoor areas. Beyond the large main tasting room there is the mezzanine space, a separate lounge area, another large table seating room and multiple outdoor areas.

In terms of full tasting room size, Double Nickel is clearly in the same “larger brewery” category as Bonesaw in Glassboro, or Tonewood in Barrington.

The tasting room space also features a connected dedicated merchandise area.

On the outside wall (opposite of the bar area) are large exterior garage-style window doors which can be rolled up (opened) to a semi-private outdoor patio area.

It appears that the plans for the new kitchen placement will alter some of the entrance options that customers have today. Currently I think many enter the brewery on the side entrances at the front corner near the driveway entrance to the parking lot. Based on plans submitted to Pennsauken Township, that interior corner of the building is where the new kitchen and pizza oven will be developed.

Which likely means the core Tasting Room entrance will be at the front (long) side of the building via doors that are adjacent to the large garage doors.

I reached out to ownership on social media as well as stopped in last week to chat with them further on their plans, but they were unavailable to comment.

Double Nickel Brewpub

As mentioned, Double Nickel has been operating up to this point under a traditional New Jersey “limited brewery” license, which means that they can produce beer and offer their own beer for sale within the on–site tasting room but they cannot sell food, or sell other alcohol products which were made off site.

New Jersey does offer an expanded “restricted brewery” license option which opens which enables the brewery to sell food and other alcohol products… which requires the brewery to also acquire a traditional (and typically expensive) New Jersey State retail consumption alcohol license.

Public Notices from earlier in the year show the plans to acquire an existing unused Pennsauken Township retail consumption license, and a town resolution from June of this year regarding license renewals, show a renewal of the license in the name of Double Nickel.

Effectively brewpubs in New Jersey are operating under two licenses… a brewery and a bar. Consider a brewpub to be a traditional New Jersey bar/restaurant which can also brew their own beers and seltzers.

In the same month as that full liquor license renewal, Pennsauken Township Planning Board granted approval for Double Nickel to renovate the existing 20,394 square foot limited brewery to include kitchen facilities within the existing footprint of the building, in order to operate as a restricted brewery (brewpub).

Looking at the Double Nickel plans for the new kitchen which were submitted to Pennsauken planning board, it’s location is going to be in that front corner which functions as an entrance from the side parking, into the main brewery taproom area.

It appears to be a full kitchen with fryers and grill but clearly the signature item is a large pizza oven which is shown on one of the diagrams as large and round… which makes me believe it will be a wood burning oven.

The current merchandise sales area will remain where it is today, and the front area of the kitchen wall will form an “L” with that merchandise area.

A portion of the kitchen will be open to the tasting room, but protective glass will rise off a newly installed counter space.

Likely this means the end of BYOF.. Bring Your Own Food, which is allowed in New Jersey limited breweries.

The plans also call for adding twelve additional parking spaces, which will be along the back of the building. Additionally a temporary extended patio are at the front of the brewery which sits on 6 parking spaces will have to be removed. It’s really only allowed as part of the extended COVID pandemic dining policies that were put in place, and would have to come out soon anyway.

All told the brewery will have 107 parking spaces around the perimeter of the building.

I am not fully clear on Double Nickels plans regarding wine and spirits, which they would be able to sell as a brewpub.

Links and Location

Double Nickel Brewery (Soon, a Brewpub) 1585 Route 73 Pennsauken, NJ 08110

Current Hours (as of Aug 2023)

The township is set to manage a trio of major construction projects in the next few years that will radically transform its municipal and recreational campuses.

Throughout his upbringing in Pennsauken, Township Administrator Tim Killion remembers regular discussions about creating a community center in the township.

And since his election to the municipal government, Killion began working with his fellow council members to explore ways to make that vision a reality.

Thanks to an influx of state and federal cash, the township suddenly has an opportunity to do just that.

Pennsauken, which was among the Camden County towns hardest hit by the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, won a $10 million local grant from the federal Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program, as well as a $5 million legislative grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA).

The township will devote that $15 million to the construction of a 25,000-square-foot, two-story community center that will integrate into the municipal recreational complex off Westfield Avenue.

“Without the support from the state, and the recognition that a town our size needs something like this, it doesn’t happen,” Killion said. “It’s absolutely huge for our township and for our residents.”

The project will not only provide Pennsauken residents with a place to gather, but it will also function as a hub for important initiatives, from public health to community programming. It’s the kind of facility that the township would have used for COVID-19 testing — instead of its fire stations and municipal parking lot — had it been available during the pandemic.

“In 2020, we realized that if we wanted to be able to help the community, we really had limited options to send someone somewhere in a crisis,” Killion said. “That really solidified for us to get to work on this.

“We have about 35,000 residents and that’s not including the businesses here,” he said. “If there’s a health crisis, we don’t want to be unprepared. We don’t want to be in a situation where it’s more difficult to get information out to people.”

Pennsauken Mayor Jessica Rafeh said that building a community center is “the first thing people told me they want” during her election campaign.

“This is an exciting thing for Pennsauken,” Rafeh said.

“Community centers bring people together, and they offer residents a lot of great things.

“It’s just not geared for one age; this is going to be a spot for everything.”

The community center will include an outdoor amphitheater, an onsite café, basketball and pickleball courts, and multi-purpose rooms that can be used for education, party rentals, or similar needs.

Some of the spaces will feature indoor and outdoor flexibility to allow for different seasonal uses.

Pennsauken has contracted with SSP Architects of Somerville for the design work, and will bid the remainder of the project in the coming months. The build-out isn’t expected to be completed before 2025.

At the same time as the community center project is underway, Pennsauken will also be undertaking a $28-million redevelopment project at its municipal complex on Route 130. The township will redesign its public library and incorporate the new structure into a combined building that will also house a new municipal government complex. RSC Architects of Hackensack has been contracted to design the new library.

That project is supported in part by $9 million in NJ Library Construction Bond Act funds; the remainder will be handled through municipal bonding. The new facility will be constructed concurrently with the community center project, and will free up the current municipal building for additional redevelopment. The old library will be demolished to make room for parking at the new facility.

Killion believes it could open the door for some mixed-use development or private construction of additional residential units on the 23-acre parcel.

“We want to make sure that we’re providing resources for our residents that are going to make their lives easier and connect the community more and more,” he said.

“These buildings are an example of that, but they’re going to be the actual physical representation of us providing to the community what we need as we go into the coming decades.

“Our library and municipal building are 60-70 years old; a community center, we never had,” Killion said. “It’s a generational asset for Pennsauken and our residents.”

“We’re all really super-excited because everything we’re building is what the residents need, and every building is going to offer something,” Rafeh said. “Everybody has different visions; when we put them together and mix them, we get a great project.”

PENNSAUKEN — A new landscaped monument with a clock tower, fountains and advertising on Route 38 gives more identify to Pennsauken, a sprawling township stretching from Camden and Airport Circle north to the border of Camden and Burlington counties.

The modern tower carries not only the time and the Pennsauken name but also a digital display that periodically flashes the local government seal, township events, local announcements and third-party advertising as a result of a public-private partnership between the township and Catalyst Experiential, a visual and digital communications company.

The landscaped signage upgrades a dilapidated property that included a deteriorating 1960s building painted bright purple. The Newtown Square, Pennsylvania-based Catalyst Experiential purchased the land to build the tower, which rises in a man-made pond with three fountains and a border of boulders, shrubs and evergreens.

The sign, on almost an acre near Mansion Boulevard and Route 38, is double-sided so it's visible to all traffic. The township is using the welcome tower free of charge.

Read More: Huge eyeball will be tourist attraction at Jersey Shore museum

"We want to thank you for coming into our town and building something beautiful and for taking property that didn't look great and making it into something spectacular and functional," Mayor Marco DiBattista said at an unveiling event Tuesday.

Amanda Toton, Catalyst Experiential vice president of development, said the 62, 20-foot tall evergreens planted on an elevated berm along the rear of the property also serve as a traffic sound barrier for adjoining residential properties.

"The site was in need of transformation and we formed a private-public partnership to create this aesthetically pleasing site with natural elements," said Toton.

The company also is building a similar welcome monument in Pennsauken on Route 70 at the site of a former rug store.

Pennsauken owns a more traditionally mounted billboard on nearby state Route 130 at the Airport circle, where Routes 38, 70 and 130 converge in the township.

Carol Comegno loves telling stories about South Jersey history and our military veterans. Her book, “The Battleship USS New Jersey: From Birth to Berth” is the definitive history of the battleship. If you have a story to share, call her at 856-486-2473 or email [email protected].

The Digital Monument Signs in Washington Township and Pennsauken are again under construction to complete the projects, with a goal to have them fully functioning in the next 6 weeks or so!

The sign construction and full utilization has probably been delayed about a year.

These signs are being developed by a private company, Catalyst Experiential. To get an update we heard directly from a member of the executive team there who explained the remaining steps and timelines for the three mostly completed signs.

And let’s be clear upfront. None of the delays are being attributed to any of the Townships’ Government or Departments.

Three Signs in Play Here. Another for Washington Township is to Come

There are 2 signs in Pennsauken (Rts 38 and 70) and one in Washington Township on the Black Horse Pike.

A second sign is also planned for Washington Township further South on the Black Horse Pike. That property currently still has a closed gas station which needs to be demolished. We will have an update on this site at a later date.

There are also projects in various states of completion for Marlton and Mt Laurel. The Marlton sign has been covered by A View From Evesham (2021 article).

Yes, we have multiple projects that are moving full steam ahead (and one just completed in N. Jersey)

Catalyst Experiential – Executive Team member to 42Freeway.com

So the first thing people will ask is… why the delay?

From earlier conversations we know that pandemic impacts on construction projects in general as well as material supply chain issues played a big part in the halt of the projects.

There’s probably more to the story. The sign on Rt 38 was actually functioning for a bit before being turned off and the Washington Township digital screen was removed recently for additional work. But honestly I didn’t press for details on that.

I am much more interested in moving forward with the current status and expectations of signs being turned on.

We covered the Washington Township digital signs back in March 2021, and in that post also had some details on the two Pennsauken signs.

Catalyst Experiential – Digital Monument Signs

Feel free to scroll a bit for the updated status on the 3 signs, but I thought we’d take a minute explain what these signs are.

At it’s core Catalyst Experiential is in the advertising business… the billboard category.

Catalyst Experiential builds attractive “monument” signs for towns and government entities which both brings interesting information and advertisements to public, but also improves the look of a local commercial area. They develop the signage in an attractive frame and setting which can feature stonework, water features, plants and even small ponds!

Digital signage has taken billboards to the next level.

Smaller businesses looking to advertise can purchase much smaller time frames and customizable “images per hour” rates making this type of billboard accessible to many more businesses!

So not only can the new digital monuments an attractive addition to more local roadways and commercial districts, they also give businesses… smaller businesses… more options to reach their customers.

Washington Twp Vertical Sign – September Completion!

As mentioned back in March 2021 we reported here about the vertical sign going up on the Black Horse Pike in Washington Township, next to the Whitman Dr jug handle.

I was a little slow on that article, and by the time I posted and shared the story of the Black Horse Pike signs, the core steel framework was in place and the black digital screen was installed.

We reported that as part of the development agreement, Washington Township will have time slots allocated for it’s use to promote town events and other information.

Work continued for several months to install the stonework frame on the signage and other interior features.

And then worked stopped.

And readers started asking questions… to which I didn’t have answers to!

The Black Digital Screen is Gone!

Over the last weekend several readers noticed the large black digital screens were dismantled… REMOVED!

And this raised questions on the future of the signs.

Simply we are told.

… along with some of the work completing the site structures, we are taking the opportunity to install some new electric components.

Catalyst Experiential – Executive Team member to 42Freeway.com

In our email conversation the following additional details were also discussed specific to Washington Township Vertical sign.

For the Washington Township Vertical project we are currently working on the water feature – we just installed the water tank into the structure, and in about three weeks will be installing the major sections of the main structure. The entire structure will be completed in September.

Catalyst Experiential – Executive Team member to 42Freeway.com

So while we’ve all been focusing on the now missing large black screens… we weren’t aware that othe construction elements have been worked on also.

And it seems in about 3-4 weeks there should be much more visible additions to the project.

But the Oreck Vacuums Sign Is in the Way!

When traveling South past the new digital monument sign there is a previously installed smaller sign for the rear shopping center, listing Oreck Vacuums as the most prominently at the top.

From the perspective of cars at the traffic signal it does block a small portion of the new sign at the bottom.

When asked if they were removing that “Oreck Vacuums” sign…

Yes! We designed a new sign for a different location that will reflect the same design and building materials as the Monument.

Catalyst Experiential – Executive Team member to 42Freeway.com

There will be an additional town meeting and approval for the new smaller sign (for the shopping center)

Washington Township – BHP at Tuckahoe Rd

For clarity I thought I’d mention here the 2nd sign for Washington Township.

It will be a lower vertical sign in the location of the closed gas station across from the House of Brews restaurant.

This sign has not started development and in fact, construction signage has been in place since last year. The fencing has been in place for Ricco Demolition to get the ok to start bringing down the gas station.

Pennsauken Signs – Rt 38 and Rt 70

That leaves us with the two signs in Pennsauken, which many probably think at least one was in Cherry Hill.

The two Pennsauken signs seem to have a little more real estate space available to them so they were designed with more elaborate water features, including ponds.

The pond on Rt 38 is actually quite large! In 2021 it did have a Grand Opening event and was displaying images. In my visit earlier this month, while the screen was dark, the water fountain features were operational.

Both Pennsauken projects will be live this month—there might be a little site work left on Pennsauken 70 to complete the fountain and refresh the living wall.

Catalyst Experiential – Executive Team member to 42Freeway.com

THIS MONTH!

I recently stopped at the Route 70 sign. As of August 4th it too was missing the digital black screen. It also had construction fencing in place around the smaller pond which at the time was dry. This fits into the status update from Catalyst Experiential that some additional water feature work was being completed.

Links and Locations

Catalyst Experiential

Website

Washington Township – Whitman Jug Handle5581 Rt 42Washington Township NJ

Next to the new Modwash Car Wash which is next to Chick-Fil-A

Washington Township – Tuckahoe Rd and BHPNot Developed!3441 Rt 42Sicklerville NJ

Corner Gas Station property across from House of Brews.

Pennsauken Rt 385324 Rt 38Pennsauken NJ

Just past the back of Harbor Freight & Restaurant Equippers

Pennsauken Rt 705407 Marlton Pike WPennsauken NJ

At Mansion Blvd, next to American Red Cross. Directly across from Bishop Eustace Fields

Over the weekend I put together a video regarding the large Digital Ad Monument Signs that are popping up in the Delaware Valley, to explain “What’s the Deal?”. A simple background on the signs and mostly who is paying for their development?!

The video is linked at the bottom of this article.

If you were unfamiliar with what I am speaking about, well first look at the photos I provide here in this article… but the general idea is they are large and nicely designed monument style signs with large digital screens.

Digital Ad Monument Signs – Their Purpose

The core purpose of these signs is they are simply a modern-day stylized digital version of the classic billboard. Not only are they a new concept, we are seeing them being approved and developed along roadways which previously did not have (many) billboards.

It’s not a long video (link at bottom), and actually I get right to the core point early in the video, and that is…

Your taxpayer dollars did NOT pay for these signs.

In reading the comments on Facebook from my prior coverage, it seems many are assuming that these signs are town projects, funded by taxpayer dollars. But that is not the case.

The signs are a project of a private company/developer, who spent their own money to acquire the property, demolish any buildings that were on the property, and of course build the signage and other associated landscaping elements.

Which is really no different than a company building a new convenience store, dollar store, storage unit, whatever.

The towns do still need to approve the digital monument signs, but tax dollars are not being used for the construction. (Some will ask about PILOT tax breaks that some towns offer on new construction. I do not know if that is a factor with these signs)

Honestly, I can understand the confusion regarding “Who is paying for these signs” in that they are unlike any other billboard that we have seen for the last 100 years of the American car and road culture.

They are also highly designed to be more attractive.. similar to something we would expect from a town sponsored monument…

And we typically don’t see many billboards along the busy local commercial corridors or roadways such as Route 38 or the Black Horse Pike… so some residents assume the towns are building themselves.

Digital Ad Monument Signs – Industry Evolves

Something did change in the billboard industry.

What I believe is happening with the introduction of this newer billboard concept is, simply it’s been historically tough to get billboards approved in these local highly-traveled commercial areas because traditional billboards are wide, the structures are typically not very attractive, and the area surrounding classic billboards are usually not nicely kept up after being developed.

So with new digital display technologies becoming less expensive, what the ad companies are doing now is putting together much more attractive sign structures built around the digital screens, which include interesting landscaping/water features as well as adding elements that identify and promote the town.

In Pennsauken for example the Route 38 sign at the very top has a large clock which is something frequently used by townships to beautify spaces, at the bottom of the sign it clearly lists Pennsauken Township… and they have a large lake with waterfall and fountain features.

Similarly the new Washington Township sign that is erected in the Whitman Square area on the Black Horse Pike has across the top of the sign frame in large letters “Washington Township”, and at the bottom has the actual Washington Township logo seal.

There are other facets which can be added into the proposal to the towns.

This could mean the Township is allocated display time on the signs to promote events in the town, or in one case the developer is actually building an expensive building for the town!

Well I covered the core of it here but for more details and some extra specifics on the signs in Washington Township and Pennsauken check out the video below!

Those Digital Ad Monument Signs, What’s the Deal? Who Paid To Build?

Direct Youtube link that will appear in a new window, or watch embedded below.

Links and Locations

Prior Coverage:

Catalyst Experiential (Digital Sign Developer)

Area Sign Locations:

Washington Township – Whitman Jug Handle5581 Rt 42Washington Township NJ

Washington Township – Tuckahoe Rd and BHPNot Developed!3441 Rt 42Sicklerville NJ

Pennsauken Rt 385324 Rt 38Pennsauken NJ

Pennsauken Rt 705407 Marlton Pike WPennsauken NJ

Mount LaurelRT 73 (east of the Turnpike)Mount Laurel NJ