Time Out II Entertainment Pub & Grill at O’Donnell’s opened recently in Gloucester City, and 42Freeway stopped in last Saturday to check the place out.
The Gloucester City building which has been known as O’Donnell’s Restaurant for nearly 100 years (under several name variations), had been closed the prior 2 years… until Cheryl and Bob who operated the original Time Out Bar in Barrington New Jersey came into the picture.
Today the Time Out II Pub is a nice local spot to hang out at the bar chatting with friends or catching the game, grab a bite to eat from their pub menu (which will be getting an overhaul), or enjoy a variety of live entertainment options from weekend live rock bands, to open mics and even karaoke!
On Friday they even had a Happy Hour Dance with Jeff Corbett “Dancing to the Oldies but Goodies”!
Time Out II at O’Donnell’s is located at 401 North Broadway in Gloucester City NJ. They are at the farthest end of Broadway… sitting almost under the Walt Whitman Bridge.
Time Out Gloucester City: Started in Barrington
The new Time Out II is in Gloucester City, but it’s roots go back to Barrington.
The original Time Out Entertainment Bar operated very successfully in Barrington up until this past spring, and it seems it’s closure was more about future changes coming to the property which necessitated the Barrington bar to close.
But Time Out operators Cheryl and Bob still had a strong desire to keep the Time Out party going, so they started looking for a new location.
Their search brought them to Gloucester City’s O’Donnell’s… which I believe now is officially called O’Donnell’s Time Out II… but to it’s supporters and fans will be known as Time Out.
We caught up with Cheryl on a quiet afternoon just a few days after their official opening who have us a tour and the background on Time Out II.
Time Out II – Inside & Out
The building exterior is mostly the same, with a fresh coat of tan paint on the outside.
They’ve of course put up a new sign, and added nice logo’d window graphics on the main parking lot side door and other windows.
Inside, the bar restaurant is bright and open… everything has been refreshed, and if your memories of O’donnell’s are the old-school family restaurant from a decade ago than you are really in for a Wow moment!
While I understand that some of the interior remodeling took place about 5 years ago, now Cheryl and Bob have turned the place “up to 11”!
So from that parking lot main entrance is a small foyer entrance area.
Straight ahead leads you into a table seating area, where you’ll immediately notice two distinctive things.
So we said this is a local pub with Rock N Roll running through it’s veins…
So to the right they opened up the walls to a smaller room, and installed a stage! It’s literally a duplicate style of what was in Barrington, but it’s probably larger. Small stage riser, with red carpeted stage area and backdrop walls.
They’ve also installed really cool performance lighting for the stage area… the bands need to look as good as they sound!
The stage and tables in the area make for an awesome distinctive performance area.
Then continuing on straight and to the left, is the large bar area.
It’s a square bar centered in the room, and it still leaves plenty of room to walk around and offers seating around the room perimeter.
Several TVs are in the right places to catch the game.
And in one corner the O’Donnell’s building has had floor-to-ceiling windows to give a view to the outside… and on the outside of the windows there are additional Time Out II logo screens. Makes for a cool effect of being able to see out, but not in.
Also in this area is a small wedged outdoor patio area, right off the bar.
The setup is really interesting… and smart. While Time Out II has defined separate areas, they are never really separate. I know that doesn’t make sense how I wrote it. Ha!
The bar seating is close enough to the band are to see and hear all the action, but just far enough away that you can still have a conversation as Sordid Past is rocking out the place to Rock N Roll All Night!
And a main thing is… it all looks and feels “fresh”, almost like the entire interior was just constructed.
There are more surprises still to come! There is still another dining room which currently isn’t setup for use. Back at that entrance off the parking lot (and adjacent to the stage are) is another separate room that will be setup for dining and private events.
Time Out II Gloucester City
Menu
For the opening the menu is mostly a carryover of what was offered in Barrington… delicious Pub fare. But things will be changing.
During my visit I tried their chicken wings, which were delicious and perfectly cooked, and had a slight garlic flavor.
I also had Corona Light or two to wash it down.
The menu also features burgers, cheesesteaks, seafood & pasta, wraps & quesadillas, pizzas and a heck of a lot more. Literally there is something for everyone.
That being said, Time Out II has a new chef who previously worked at Little Tuna in Lindenwold, and will be adding their own flair to the menu over time.
Best of Time Out II: The Fans and Friends
I’ve written before about the changing bar scene over the decades. 25+ years ago Rock and Roll entertainment bars were located in almost every South Jersey town, and it was common on a weekend night to go “bar hopping” to multiple hot-spots. Well if you go back far enough we didn’t even have text messaging to keep tabs with friends.
But today most of those rock live music venues are gone. Event Westville’s Hot Shots hasn’t awoken from it’s Covid quarantine induced slumber. And the Pennant/Dick Lee’s is now a ridiculously large storage facility building.
So that makes venues like Time Out II even more important to a lot of people. And those fans are really appreciative of what Cheryl and Bob have been doing for the South Jersey Rock music scene all these years.
And it was clear in my chat with Cheryl that of course she was excited that Time Out II was finally open… but honestly what she seemed most happy, proud and emotional about was the support her and Bob have gotten from friends and loyal customers/
Cheryl described how so many people stepped up to volunteer their time and materials to get Time Out II ready.
From cleaning and scrubbing, fixing and building… to painting everything.
Too many people for her to thank them all here individually, but Cheryl wanted to highlight the following people.
- James Wonks: Stage construction, carpeting, roof and ceiling repairs
- John the Plumber: Plumbering
- Joelle & Alexandra: Cleaning, Scrubbing and Pressure Washing.
- David St James; Helped with whatever needed to be done
- Anthony & Sherry: Painters
- And so many more!
Upcoming Entertainment!
Time Out II is open every day… typically late afternoon to Midnight or 2am. Check their Facebook page for latest information. You can pop in for a beer and food at anytime.
But music is a key part of the mix, and as an example here are some of the upcoming events!
Tonight (Saturday Dec 4th), Time Out II is hosting Flying Circus… an amazing Led Zeppelin and tribute band. (FB event page)
Tues Dec 7: Karaoke with Patrick Donahue (FB)
Fri Dec 10: Pour Mouth Henry (FB)
Sat Dec 11: Jailbreak (FB)
Wed Dec 15: Sexy Bingo! (FB)
Sat Dec 18: Sordid Past
Links and Location
Time Out II at O’Donnel’s
401 N Broadway
Gloucester City NJ
856-456-3838
