HADDON TWP. — A liquor license up for grabs was a strong hint that maybe Haddon Township was a ripe and right choice for the second restaurant Chef Dominic Piperno had been planning.
Piperno was eyeing something larger and more versatile than his first establishment, Hearthside. He and his wife Lindsay opened that in 2017 in Collingswood, a dry town with a score of restaurants.
“When we were looking for a property, we got the liquor license first,” Piperno said. “I had someone reach out to me about a possible liquor license in Haddon Township, if I was interested. Clearly, I was. So, we purchased the liquor license first.”
Hearthside only seats about 45 people inside, and in good weather some more outside. The new place, still not named, will have 145 seats.
“We just thought it would make sense to go bigger,” Piperno said. “We knew we wanted to be on the Avenue, on Haddon Ave, in Haddon Township. We knew we didn’t want to go to the (White Horse) Pike or anything like that.”
The same herald for the available liquor license also steered Piperno to a vacant commercial structure at 105-107 Haddon Avenue. The location was ideal.