The Deptford Uno Pizzeria location on Hurffville Road will close after this weekend, with the last full day of operation being Sunday July 28th. I am not aware of another tenant set to take over.
This news came as a surprise to employees of the Hurffville Road restaurant and bar, who state they were notified just yesterday.
This closing decision appears to be a situation more tied to the lease agreement between the local franchise operator and building property owner (landlord), and is not a decision from the Uno corporate offices.
Uno Pizzeria & Grill Is a deep dish pizza focused restaurant that offers an expanded menu including steak, chicken, burgers and more… as well as a full bar experience.
It always seemed to me that “Uno’s” took the bar experience seriously in that they developed the Deptford location with a bar room of significant size, separate from the dining area… which you don’t really find in other national chain restaurants.
This one hurts a little more in that the Deptford “UNO’s” was one of my favorites in the national restaurant category, with my family dining there many times or simply my wife and having a couple beers watching the Phillies or Eagles in the awesome bar. Plus the bar staff have always been incredible!
I learned of the news of this closing from 42Freeway readers who reached out to me early this afternoon to share with me the news… which they heard from friends and family who work at the Deptford Uno Pizzeria & Grill restaurant location.
Upon hearing the news I immediately stopped over at the restaurant this afternoon for a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup and a beer, with hopes of chatting with upper management to discuss, but they were unavailable. Calls to Uno Corporate went to a voicemail. Franchise operator Bock who are located in Philadelphia, does not list any contact information on their website.
That being said the employees and local managers of the Deptford “Uno’s” clearly state they were all told yesterday that this upcoming Sunday (July 28th) would be the last full operating day for the Deptford restaurant. It was stated that several Deptford managers had already agreed to opportunities at another location.
Employees felt the restaurant did very well, and the local hotels were a large driver of UNO business, saying that management would regularly check with the hotel front desks to see how occupied they were… as this was an indicator of how busy UNO’s would be!
The reason? Well at a high-level it appears the Uno franchise owner and the property owner they lease the building from, could not come to an agreement on aspects of their lease. This has now led to the closing of the restaurant.
As mentioned, Uno Pizzeria & Grill is a restaurant with a full bar… and the Deptford location has a slightly unique liquor license arrangement. The Uno property and liquor license is actually owned by the owner of the adjacent Fairfield Inn Hotel.
New Jersey has somewhat restrictive liquor license laws which limit the number of licenses authorized to each town based on population, and since Deptford is a popular restaurant location it can make it tough to acquire a liquor license in the restaurant (and retail) focused Township.
One accommodation made by the State of New Jersey (more so with the hope to help facilitate the development of hotels), is if you develop a hotel with 100 or more rooms you can be awarded a special hotel liquor license. That special license is allocated to the hotel property and it’s onsite restaurant(s) and can not be moved to another location.
Which means the Deptford Uno Pizzeria building and liquor license is actually part of the hotel property (which is owned by a large Hospitality group, Highgate), and that makes the UNO franchisee a tenant of the hotel owner.
Readers will note that back in May I reported on the Maple Shade Uno Pizzeria location was also closing, but that was an intentional closing to ahead of branding switch to Tony Roni’s Taphouse. Tony Roni’s Taphouse is now open at the former Maple Shade Uno location, featuring a similar style menu but featuring the Tony Roni style of pizza. (I hope to stop in for lunch soon to full try their pizza and soups!)
In more positive Deptford restaurant news, PJ Whelihan’s is taking over the former Joe’s Crab Shack property on Clements Bridge Road in Deptford. I stopped over today and construction crews are already working on the space, with the building interior gutted ahead of a full new remodel. PJ’s upper management states they are targeting an October 2024 opening.
Links and Location
Deptford UNO Pizzeria and Grill – Closing July 29th.
1162 Hurffville Rd
Deptford, NJ 08096