The beloved Kaminski’s Sportsbar & Restaurant in Cherry Hill is developing a significant upgrade, as their popular side outdoor patio is being rebuilt into an all-season space.
The former outdoor only patio closed in Mid-May of this year, ahead of demolition and a full new rebuild.
For the new enclosed patio, the walls will have windows all around, and management will be able to open the space up on nice weather days, or close the glass for when the temperatures become more extreme.
Honestly I don’t have a ton of information on what the final project is to look like… in fact it surprised me when I drove by yesterday to see the entire patio was being redeveloped from the ground up!
NOTE: Yes they had a small but highly publicized kitchen fire 2 couple weeks ago. they were closed for a few hours. That small incident has nothing to do with this massive addition which likely was being planned since early last year.
It was lunch time as I drove by so I stopped in for a sandwich and a beer which consisted of a delicious roast pork sandwich.
I chatted briefly with a member of the management team, but honestly I didn’t push him too much with questions.
Honestly, I wasn’t going to put anything online about this until they got closer to opening… but realizing that Kaminski’s has been open in Cherry Hill for over 50 years and likely everyone within 25 miles of the place has probably eaten in there at least once.. Well I decided to let people know that exciting updates are coming! Share what I know!
If you were unfamiliar with Kaminski’s… it’s one of those places that when folks ask “who has the best roast beef sandwiches?”, their name is always near the top of everyone’s list!
But they are much more than that, and honestly their website explains the restaurant very well so I’ll borrow from them…
We are well known for our enormous portions, hand carved roast beef, outdoor patio, and exciting nightlife. Kaminski’s Sports Bar and Restaurant is also the top spot for all your sports needs, and offering over thirty TVs to watch your favorite football & baseball games, UFC fights, boxing, etc. all year long.
Kaminski’s Cherry Hill Website
Kaminski’s Sportsbar Restaurant Cherry Hill and Patio
Today the beloved restaurant and bar is known as Kaminski’s Sports bar & Restaurant, but most still call it by its original name… Kaminski ‘s Ale house.
At one time there were three locations also including Vineland and Mount Holly!
Today Kaminski’s Cherry Hill is owned by the same family who own Deptford’s Adelphia restaurant and Runnemede’s Phily Diner and Sportsbar.
From what I can see looking at newspaper archives, Kaminski’s Cherry Hill opened in 1971.
Very quickly they became an iconic South Jersey dining and sports watching location…
A 1976 Courier-Post article about a Budweiser company strike featured Kaminski’s and how they planned to accommodate customers if the strike took place.
A 1987 article on the Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup season took the writer to Kaminski’s to capture the local fan’s excitement for being in “the Cup”… and also their quiet disappointment in losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the seventh game.
And for many years Kaminski’s has offered a patio off the left side of the restaurant building, adjacent to the main bar area.
it was a very popular place to dine, drink or see live entertainment.
I’ve eaten many a meal on that patio, saw several friend’s bands perform on the patio… and also got up for a song or two myself!
The former patio was a nicely constructed paver-based system with surrounding low wall, and some waist-high columns which had a lamp on top. They even incorporated a couple fire pits into the paver design.
One big challenge with the former patio design was Mother Nature.
Cold, heat and rain are not an outdoor patio’s friend!
At times management would put up a tent structure over top of the patio to protect it from the elements… extending the season into colder months by also adding in some portable heaters.
Mostly the tent worked but I can tell you I have a memory of seeing one of my friend’s long-ago bands playing there during a very heavy rain storm, and with the music equipment placed along the ground inside the tent, it was very difficult for the band to keep everything dry including their performers!
And the extreme cold of winter would also impact the use of the patio.
So the reality is, well it’s clear to me why the owners have decided to significantly upgrade that patio experience, and take control of the weather impacts.
From what I could see in my visit yesterday they have gone back to square one and poured a new concrete patio foundation base, and now crews are actively working on framing out the building addition.
It seems they may also be adding a wider entrance into the main bar area noticed by a large opening as I sat and had my lunch
Things appear to be moving fast now. While I don’t have an expected reopening date, but I would think we are back in the patio this fall..
… and feeling a heck of a lot more comfortable!
Links and Location
Kaminski’s Sportsbar & Restaurant
1424 Brace Road
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
856-428-2555