USA, NJ: King's Road Brewing Company proposes to open brewery in Moorestown

A brewing company wants Moorestown's permission to open a brewery and tasting room in the nearly century-old Community House of Moorestown on East Main Street, 70and73 reported on June 27.

King's Road Brewing Company of Haddonfield is scheduled to appear before the Planning Board on July 10 for conditional use approval and site plan waiver to renovate "The Library" in the Community House into a tasting room with maximum occupancy of 90 customers. Unused space under the library would be converted into a storage area and production facility, according to the application.

The brewery would open in November and operate seven days a week.

Moorestown's Community House, operated as a nonprofit organization, opened in 1926 to "strengthen our community by providing a gathering place for individuals, families and organizations," according to the website.

Eldridge Reeves Johnson, founder of the Victor Talking Machine Co., made a $250,000 donation (about $4.5 million in 2025 dollars) to build the house with 40 rooms on two acres. Today it is used for special events, such as weddings and community meetings and rents space to small nonprofits for offices.

Several years ago, the board of the nonprofit was evaluating open space in the building and at first thought a vacant swimming pool in the basement could be converted into a brewery, Haynes Hendrickson, a member of the Community House's board of trustees, told 70and73.com.

The nonprofit talked to a couple of breweries for advice and King's Road suggested ideas but at first wasn't necessarily looking to open a brewery in the historic building, Hendrickson said. "Slowly, it became of interest to them," he said.

Renting space to a business like a brewery would mean consistent monthly revenue. "This would be a significant ongoing revenue stream for us," Hendrickson said.

A brewery also would fulfill a Community House mission of education, he said. Students from the Rowan College of South Jersey brewing certificate program would work in the King's Road brewery in Moorestown.

King's Road Brewing opened in December 2017 in Haddonfield, which like Moorestown had been a dry town for years, according to the company's website. The King's Road Haddonfield operation is at 131 Kings Highway with another at 67 North Main Street in Medford.

The owners of King's Road are Robert Hochgertel, Pete Gagliardi and Chris Thomas, all of Haddonfield, and Villamac Ventures LLC.

Brewery plans submitted with the application show a maximum occupancy of 90 customers with a daily average customer load of 55. The hours would be Monday through Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 12 to 10 p.m. and Sunday, 12 to 8 p.m.

A 30-foot-by-40-foot tent would be erected outside the brewery, the plans state. Hendrickson said the tent would be used as an outdoor seating area.