Liquor Land opened recently in West Deptford at the site of the former Nicolosi Catering Hall near Route 45.
Many consider this area Woodbury but there is a unique town border in that area which has West Deptford wrapping around the Liquor Land property.
Liquor Land moved into the building which was known by generations of area residents as Nicolosi Caterers. Nicolosi Catering closed sometime at the end of 2020 during the Covid pandemic challenges.
Keep scrolling for more information on Liquor Land, as well as some information on Nicolosi Catering and the family. Nicolosi Catering was an institution in South Jersey for decades, so it’s tough to write this story without some updates on them.
Liquor Land – West Deptford
The new Liquor Land store leaves the entire exterior of the former catering hall in-tact… down to even leaving the “Diplomat” lettering which hangs on the exterior wall near the entrance, which was the name for the ballroom.
Inside though everything is different.
Its been a long time since this writer attended an event at Nicolosi Caterers… but entering the main entrance was a small foyer area which still remains for Liquor Land.
You turn right through another entrance and you are immediately brought into what was the main ballroom.
The ballroom area is now a large and bright single room liquor store with refrigerators covering 2 of the walls. It totals 8,000 sq ft of store.
There is a large selection of product in the store, but in the back section they have even more room for future expansion.
The flooring is now polished bare concrete… the ballroom carpet is long gone.
Across the top of the two walls of refrigerators are brand logos and signage… adding some graphic elements to the space.
They are a New Jersey Lottery location, and of course they have a variety of snacks and mixers.
Nicolosi Catering and Al’s Search for a Kidney
As mentioned Nicolosi Catering was a very popular catering hall for decades…even generations!
I remember attending Little League functions at the hall, and that was a long time ago!
The business goes back to 1950 when the parents started in their garage in 1950, and then moved to the West Deptford hall in 1978.
It seems 2020 was an extra rough year for the Nicolosi Family.
Catering Hall Closed Late 2020
Considering a new Liquor Store has taken over the catering hall, you’re probably asking “What happened to Nicolosi’s?”
For a variety of reasons we chose not to reach out to the family (reasons which will become even more clear as you read)
On a Facebook page for Nicolosi Catering we can see that on September 20, 2020 a wedding was held at the facility. All Occasions Entertainment had posted a photo and tagged the hall.
Sadly, the next tagged post is four months later when Comly Auction House was promoting the auction of the catering hall contents, which was in January 2021.
The year 2020 was a devasting year to the catering business as weddings across the country had to be cancelled… we can only assume this was a factor.
Al Nicolosi : Search For a Kidney
That same challenging year of 2020, the Nicolosi family went public with Al’s medical condition and spoke with NJ.com about it.
The August 2020 report describes Al’s Medical condition…. Stage 4 of chronic kidney disease.
Al needs a Kidney transplant.
The article describes how Al, his wife Denise, and the family are actively searching for a matching kidney donor.
For months, the Nicolosi’s have expanded their search for a donor by spreading the news via word-of-mouth, social media posts and physical signs placed around and outside of their neighborhood.
NJ.com
Regarding Al’s current status we were able to find a post from March of this year, where Al was honoring Father Bill Atkinson at a memorial bench, and Al is shown holding a sign “Be A Hero – Donate A Kidney”
The contact information for Al: denisenicolosi12@gmail.com and 856-371-6818
Links and Locations
Liquor Land of West Deptford
1 Hessian Ave
West Deptford, NJ 08096
856-579-8246