The Engine House Golf & Social Lounge is an all new beautiful and fun gastropub opening in Pennsville NJ this Thursday, with the awesome unique twist of having four premium golf simulators inside the 2 story open atrium style lounge.
Actually there are several surprises in store with this custom designed “public safety centric” bar and restaurant!
42Freeway first brought this story to readers back in April… and today I stopped in and caught up with one of the co-owners Johnny, who was in the building with his wife and other team members getting the the final touches ready for Thursday’s public opening.
Johnny Maxwell, along with his partner Fred Ayers, are two Salem County area firefighters who were looking to bring something new and exciting to the Pennsville area… and they’ve really hit a hole-in-one with this concept and design!
The bio for Fred and Johnny includes leading teams in local fire departments like Salem City, employment in the fire prevention and security teams at PSEG Nuclear plant in Salem… and also considerable time as DJ’s and bar staff in a variety of South Jersey bars and restaurants.
Factor in their love for golf, family, friends and good times… it’s led them to creating and operating the perfectly named golf lounge… The Engine House Golf & Social Lounge!
The Engine House is located at the corner of North Hook Road and Beaver Ave, just 2 miles south of the NJ Turnpike and Route 295 exits.
The property was previously home to several local restaurant/bars (a notable name was Sidelines) but the prior building had been abandoned for quite some time before Fred and Johnny took over the property. With all-new everything, The Engine House really makes an improvement to the corner and extended area!
As mentioned they open this Thursday, and temporary operating hours are Thurs-Sun, 4pm-10pm.
They will have the full service bar open, the kitchen will be serving from an initial menu featuring flatbreads and sandwiches, and if you want to golf, reservations should be made online at The Engine House Website.
And like every new large project, things took a little longer to get built out.. and Fred and John are eager to get the doors open for their eager customers!
So as they wait for some additional equipment to arrive, the draft system will likely not be operational for a few weeks (bottled and can beers are available now!), and they will be expanding further the kitchen menu over time!
Engine House Golf & Social Lounge – Unique Building, Unique Concept
With a unique bar, restaurant and golf simulator concept in mind, the team realized they weren’t going to find an existing building to meet their needs.
They decided to take on the expense of designing an all-new space which would perfectly suit their plans for an interactive and social bar/restaurant experience… while also balancing some private spaces for friends and family to have fun with the golf simulators.
The all-new building is a tall two-story construction which sits angled in the front corner of the lot.
With the parking lot developed in the back of the building, the partners made a smart decision to put the main entrance in the back also.
When you enter in through those main doors you’ll instantly be surprised by the massive open space inside the Engine House.
I mean, from the outside you’re likely going to assume that this is a traditional two-story building… but as soon as you walk in you see that the core of this building is open from floor to the ceiling… more than two stories up!
The main open space of the room is the focal point area where the long bar is located, as well as a variety of restaurant tables are set up (both hi-top and traditional).
With the bar on the left side positioned against the back wall, on the opposite side of the large open room is a mezzanine balcony which is fully open to the expansive bar and restaurant space.
The mezzanine area top and bottom provides 2 levels to support the golf simulators, as well as additional lounge and seating areas.
I don’t know if it’s just the expansiveness of the open bar and dining area, or how the second floor mezzanine allows guests to look down across the main first floor… But the Engine House actually feels much larger inside then when you look at it from the outside!
With the bar positioned against the tall wall on the left and dining tables in front of it, the two floors on the right hand side are mostly allocated to the premium Full Swing brand golf simulators and associated lounge areas.
Full Swing Pro models are the only golf simulator that measures your ball at impact with an overhead Ion 3 camera, and then in flight using a combination of infrared technology and high-speed blue light LED cameras, to capture and show your golf ball’s real flight on the screen… all with no delay!
Each of the two floors have two premium simulator bays, and an associated comfortable seating area.
Three of the bays are positioned in a more traditional “facing in” manner, but on the lower-level the rightmost bay is turned at a 90 degree angle, which allowed the designers to offer an extended amount of seating space for that golf bay… as well as make it a little bit more private. Perfect for a larger party
And even upstairs on the mezzanine level, along with those two simulator bays there’s still plenty of space for dedicated lounge seating within each of the two bays, as well as several hi-top tables along the front railing which directly overlook the bar below.
Also at the far end is another somewhat private alcove area with a larger high-top table.
The lounge seating which is located thorough the restaurant has that “old-world, mansion library” vibe to it.. comfortable, yet stately!
As you would expect, an open space that’s more than two stories tall also comes with it an equally tall wall behind the bar… buy yet smart design choices fill the entire room and walls with a lot of design character.
I already mentioned the old world style lounge seating. And the tables appear to be handcrafted for the restaurant.
The long bar which probably seats two dozen customers, also has a beautiful wood grain finish to the top and corrugated steel front facade.
And the back bar area features a signature focal piece in the room, with a brick backdrop wall feature where a large variety of bottle spirits are on display, as well as the draft beer system.
This bar backdrop definitely has an old school fire department feeling to it, and to that end at the top is large red signage “Engine House Golf & Social Lounge”
During my visit today they were not open for business, so I don’t have any food or drink photos to share… but I’ll be back very soon after they open to give the Engine House a true test, and likely record it for a short video!
Links and Location
The Engine House Golf and Social Lounge
106 North Hook Road
Pennsville, NJ
Temporary operating hours are:
Thursday through Sunday, 4pm to 10pm daily!