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As Champps in Marlton shuts down, is Chickie's & Pete's moving in?

The Marlton location of sports-bar chain Champps closed after service Saturday, Aug. 27, the victim of bankruptcy-related moves by its parent company, which also operates the sports-bar brand Fox & Hound.

Champps opened 21 years ago in Marlton Crossing shopping center on Route 73.

Speculation immediately pointed to Chickie's & Pete's as a successor. The area's sports-bar roster includes four P.J. Whelihan's locations within 20 minutes and a Miller's Ale House 10 minutes away.

Contacted Tuesday, Pete Ciarrocchi told me that C&P's is "always looking for new opportunities. That happened to be one area we were focusing on [and] the fact that the Champps location just became available is a coincidence."

Jim Fris of P.J. Whelihan's, meanwhile, told me that since it's "right in the center of our South Jersey market, we will certainly take a look at it."

Champps locations remain open in Collegeville and King of Prussia, Pa. The chain also previously operated locations in Northeast Philadelphia and South Philadelphia. (The South Philadelphia Champps - in Columbus Commons,  by the Ikea - is expected to open shortly as a Miller's.)

The latest round of closings included 11 Fox & Hound locations (Center City Philadelphia and King of Prussia remain) and nine Champps locations. ​