By AUBRIE GEORGE
A California-based family restaurant and entertainment facility is getting ready to make its first mark on the East Coast at the Moorestown Mall.
John’s Incredible Pizza, which has 11 existing locations on the West Coast, approached the township this summer in hopes of building its 12th outpost at the Moorestown Mall.
The company plans to build a 900-seat restaurant that will occupy 5,000 square feet of existing space in the mall, Tom Ford, the township’s director of community development, said.
At last week’s council meeting, officials said the location would go up somewhere between the existing Boscovs and Sears department stores.
John’s Incredible Pizza locations offer multiple-themed dining rooms, an all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta, soup, salad and dessert buffet, small amusement rides, and video and ticket-dispensing games, according to a press release from the company.
Ford said the new location would bring a “boost” to the Moorestown Mall, with the company investing $8 million to $10 million into the project.
A location in Moorestown would create 180 new jobs for a facility that will serve an estimated 4,000 guests on weekends, according to the press release.
Township Manager Chris Schultz described the venue as a mix between Chuck E. Cheese and Dave & Busters. He said the establishment does not operate like a traditional arcade. Instead, families are required to purchase access to the food buffet in order to have access to the games and rides.
Councilman Greg Gallo, who is a member of the township’s planning board, said the company is well established and that the addition of the establishment would be “a nice pick-up” for the mall. He said the planning board was in support of the project.
At the planning board’s request, Council introduced two ordinances on first reading last week to alter existing land development code and allow for the new business to come in and operate. One ordinance alters the township’s code to allow the establishment as an acceptable zoning use in its proposed location. Another measure revises the township’s games code to allow for arcade games in the establishment that dispense tickets.
Should the company be allowed to proceed, they estimate that construction of the new facility would begin in March with a nine-to-10 month time period for completion, Ford said.
Both ordinances introduced last week will be up for a final adoption during Council’s Dec. 13 meeting.
