The Luna Rossa Biagio Lamberti restaurant on Route 42 in Washington Township NJ has been open while undergoing a massive expansion and remodel, and we stopped in today to check out the progress. Plus there is a nice bonus… they have a Black Friday Weekend Gift Certificate offer!
To be clear; Luna Rossa is OPEN! They’ve managed to somehow stay open through all of the construction and upgrades.
Mark got the full tour today and honestly the entire project completion percentage has to be about 95% done. The original dining area remodel is complete, the new second dining room addition is 99% complete and being set-up, and the bar expansion area will open some time after the new year.
And don’t forget to take advantage of their Black Friday Weekend deal… Buy $100 in gift certificates, and received a bonus $25! This deal is cash only (pesky credit card fees!). See more details at the bottom of this post.
Note: As part of the expansion and the new bar being added, Lamberti family acquired a full liquor license, and as of Nov 1st 2021 you can no longer BYOB at Luna Rossa.
Read on for more of our visit to Luna Rossa…
Luna Rossa Biagio Lamberti: Impressive Upgrades
42Freeway has been following this story for 2 years now! Back in September 2019 the family acquired a liquor license for the previously BYOB-only restaurant. At the time we did not know the full plans for the license or restaurant.
In March of this year we provided an update on the full expansion and remodeling plans, with an artist exterior rendering provided by owner and family patriarch Biagio Lamberti, and his daughter Rose.
In my “I know nothing about construction” estimation, this project seems 95% complete!
Let’s go through the upgrades and status, broken out in these segments; Exterior, Original Dining Area, New Addition Dining Area, Bar Area, and new Parking Lot
Exterior Upgrades
First let’s dig into the exterior upgrades, which I show in several photos in this post.
Well as stated, the new restaurant is much larger than previous… with building additions on both ends of the original building.
They stayed consistent with the original style with the higher outer wall, divided into sections by intermittent columns.
But the big changes are… gone are the warmer orangey earth tones, and in are a cooler light aqua-blue upper wall portion, light beige columns, and an exterior white/grey wainscot.
It makes for a very inviting and pleasant look!
The entrance is in the same location as before, but with the addition it is now centered in the building, recessed back from the corner. That new large addition is the bar area. The bar area is surrounded by the large glass doors that open up to bring the outside in… and there will be exterior seating outside the bar,
The exterior of the addition on the other end of the building carries the same stylings, and serves as additional dining area. There are also large folding glass doors for that section.
The original sign along Rt 42 is still in place, but additional signature signs were added to the buildings side-front corners.
New sidewalks and curbing were added, as well as upgraded landscaping (in progress).
Original Dining Areas Remodeled
Honestly I was very surprised how much they’ve gotten done in the last 8 months or so… and I was very happily surprised to see the original dining areas already completely refreshed and… brighter!
Seems a softer and brighter aesthetic was something that was carried throughout the remodel, inside and out.
So for the interior, while it still has that same ambiance as before… they’ve lightened the style up with lighter carpets and tabletops, accented with the darker wood chair, doors, and trimming.
Plus the large windows were open to let the sun in! (I can’t honestly remember what the window situation was in the original dining area before! I guess we only visited at night)
New Second Dining Room Addition
As mentioned, on the farthest side of the building (from the entrance) is the new second dining room area.
This is a large dining area with SIX sets of large glass folding doors (4 in front, 2 on the side) which was already being set-up with tables and chairs. These glass folding doors open up to the wide exterior patio sidewalk that runs along the building.
This room will also have a center folding divider wall down the length of the room, so it can be partitioned for special events.
This new dining space was made for flexibility to support diners and private events… with an amazing amount of light coming in!
New Bar Area Addition
Giuseppe was really awesome to talk to… well at this point I’ve met three of the Lamberti family who operate the Luna Rossa restaurant, and wow they are area just really good, down to earth people. Washington Township is very lucky to have this family invest so much into the town (and likewise, they are happy for the support the town has given them!)
Giueseppe did show me the new bar area addition also.
It is 90% done. Some finish carpentry needs to be completed (such as lower wall trim), removal of some left behind construction equipment.. and a good cleaning and floor polish.
Oh and just this week the knocked out the interior wall entrance to the bar which needs finish carpentry.
When completed, as you enter the main entrance, the to left is the dining areas and to the right will be the bar area entrance.
Inside the room the bar is in place. The lighting is place. Some of the bar equipment is in the room. The wall coverings are up, and the cork wainscot installed.
But it’s not 100% complete, and needs some construction cleanup.. and Giuseppe asked if I could wait before sharing any photos of the bar area, until it is ready to roll.
Absolutely I can wait! You’ve shown me so much as it is.. and let’s be honest, I will have to put up one more post in this series when the entire bar area is open!
A quick description of the room… the interior ceiling is vaulted.
As you can see from the photos, the large glass folding doors surround the side and front of the bar area, which open up to a large patio area which will offer outdoor seating for customers.
The interior is a slightly darker tone than the rest of the restaurant… and that could be from the darker wood of the bar which is positioned in the center.
The bar is U-shaped going up against the wall opposite the glass doors. You could say the orientation of this room is facing out to the side of the building. Well that’s just how my brain processes it.
I didn’t ask Giuseppe what the actual bar stool capacity was… I’m going to guess 30?
But then there is still plenty of open area in the room for additional tables. I would assume high-top tables.
Honestly I feel that with a week of focused work the entire interior of the building and bar area would be finished… but Giuseppe tells me the family has chosen to take a construction break during the holidays, and will pick things up after the New Year.
Expanded Parking!
All this expansion means being able to seat more customers at the same time, and with that also increases the need for additional parking.
Luna Rossa still has the small parking area to the side, which seems like will offer several handicap parking spots.
But the big addition to parking is directly behind the restaurant, with a completely new parking area.
Fully asphalted and lines painted, it’s a very short walk to the front entrance.
Black Friday Weekend Deal!
We mentioned this at the start of this post… Luna Rossa is offering a once-in-a-year deal!
Buy $100 in Gift certificates, receive a bonus $25 gift certificate!
This deal is cash only (presumably due to credit card processing fees)
These gift certificates are only redeemable at the Luna Rossa Biagio Lamberti Turnersville location.
From their Facebook page:
Links and Location
Luna Rossa by Biagio Lamberti
3210 Route 42
Turnersville, NJ 08081
856-728-4505
No longer BYOB. They have a full selection of beer, wine and spirits.
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