The Bobby Ray’s Black Horse Tavern in Mt Ephraim is back under construction, not letting the events of 2020 change their plans! What has changed things up a bit is… what was hoped to be a remodel has turned into a full rebuild, with full use of a new lower level basement area! Currently at the site you can see the raised floor in place… raised to make room for the lower level.
Bobby Ray owns a popular restaurant and bar in Pennsauken New Jersey, where he took what as a old timers bar and through a series of remodels and expansions has turned that Pennsauken location into a favorite spot for young and old. Last fall Bobby Ray started the expansion to Mount Ephraim, purchasing the Guiseppe’s location on the Black Horse Pike next to the Walgreens.
We posted back in November 2019 on the new restaurant and that time it was hoped to be a remodel… has now turned into all new construction! Many readers have messaged us at 42Freeway, curious about the status, especially when we all saw more and more of the old building disappear! Worry no more… it’s full steam ahead!
42Freeway has a fan in Bobby Ray (hey, we’re fans of his also!) and we have been chatting with him about the progress of the Mt Ephraim location. In his own words…
Yeah the full rebuild was a surprise but not unexpected. I knew the building was in terrible condition and I was hoping to salvage as much as I could but every time we took another little piece down it wasn’t going to make it. However I saved all of the beams that were still in good shape which were plenty of them. And we’re going to make the bar out of those beams. Also we will utilize a lot of the old wood for shelves and other decor. I save the old golden Giuseppe’s sign that was out front and I’m going to hang it somewhere, and backlight it so it will still be visible most likely in the basement. I will put a lot of the older relics that we uncovered in the basement area. Once you see the pictures you’ll see how big the basement is going to be.
Mount Ephraim went through a similar “upgrade old bar with all new construction” when the Spread Eagle opened up about 4-5 years ago as all new construction, and guess way… I am hearing of a THIRD new bar for Mt Ephraim in the works. More on that very soon.
As you can see, there is still a long way to go and who knows how “other” things progress through the fall, and impact construction… but we’ll be reporting more on the Bobby Ray’s Black Horse Tavern progress!
Bobby Ray’s Black Horse Tavern
13 S. Black Horse Pike
Mt Ephraim, NJ 08059
Pennsauken’s FB Page