124 E. Kings Hwy
Maple Shade, NJ
After many years of looking for a space in the Garden State,
the Iron Hill group settled on a convenient location in Maple Shade. Years
ago, a spot in Marlton was almost procured, but the deal fell through last
minute and the partners decided to continue their growth in the Commonwealth
of PA where they opened several more restaurants in Phoenixville and Lancaster.
They hope to continue expansion in the upcoming years and would consider
another location in NJ if the deal was right. All the principals are originally
NJ residents and know how difficult the business environment is here. They
hope that their quality product will change the way people perceive brewpubs.
The Iron Hill chain of brewpubs is one of the best in
the world as I see it. They have a great passion for good food and beer
and show it at all times. Their menus are filled with gourmet cuisine at
reasonable prices. They have amassed a group of brewers second to none
and make a wide variety of styles. Each of the 8 locations brews a core
beer list of popular styles and then each brewer can show off his prowess
with the seasonals. Many people comment that the core list is a little
bland, but those beers are well made and certainly better than the mass-produced
swill that is so ubiquitous today. Non beer geeks expect to find something
that they will drink when they enter an establishment like this. As a matter
of fact, I'm sure that many a convert has been made with the crossover
beers.
On one of my other pages, I posted photos of the brewery
being moved into the building. That was in May. Well, on July 20, 2009,
the venue opened officially to great fanfare and lots of people! It is
the first real brewpub to be opened in NJ in the last 10 years. Here are
some pics of the happening!
Owner Kevin Finn and Mayor ________
The bar before the festivities began
If you've ever been to an Iron Hill, the first thing you'll
notice is the consistency of everything Iron Hill....the architecture,
the decor, the beer list, the service and the menu. They do like to update
the menu several times a year to keep a fresh perspective on the food and,
as I mentioned, the brewers can formulate their own specialty brews.
The one design change they made here is to make the bar
area larger and the dining rooms more segregated in the back. They expect
to do a brisk bar business during the week and will keep the noise of the
bar away from the diners. As you can see in the above photo, there are
lots of 2 and 4 top tables where you can enjoy your drinks and food while
watching the multitude of TVs around the room.
Of course, our main interest is the beer and brewer Chris
LaPierre is one of the best. He has proven his skill at the West Chester
location for many years. Chris is originally from the Garden State and
looked forward to returning. Though he still lives in Philly, his commute
is a little easier. Larry Horwitz from North Wales moved over to
his spot at WC and Vince Desrosiers, the former assistant in Media, was
promoted to the North Wales position. Congrats, Vince!!
One thing that was incorporated into this new location
was an automatic growler filler. Victory was the first in the area to buy
one when they renovated the brewpub last year. It is a VERY expensive piece
of equipment, but has been found to be a coversation piece and significantly
increases growler sales and decreases waste. People will buy a growler
just to see it work! It is fully automated and counter-pressure fills the
jug in just a few seconds and with no waste! Isn't technology grand!
Well, be sure and stop by here when you're in the area.
A large parking lot can accommodate several hundred cars, so there's no
problem there.
Also very easy to find just off of Rtes. 38 or
41. Visit the IH website for
further directions and check out Chris' blog.
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