Cooper House: Rolling on the river in Pennsauken
Work at the historic building, which dates to the creation of the park in the mid-1930s and was expanded over the years, is shaping up nicely.
The Camden County-owned restaurant in Pennsauken's Cooper River Park is fixing to come back in mid-May as the Cooper House, a family restaurant.
A year's work at the historic building, which dates to the creation of the park in the mid-1930s and was expanded over the years, is shaping up nicely under R2A Architects of Voorhees. The interior awaits a few touches, as a visit this week showed.
In some portions, the building was taken down to the bones. Various floors have been leveled and systems and windows have been replaced.
One major aspect has been unchanged from the days of its predecessor, The Lobster Trap: The view of Cooper River from much of the dining room and from the patio.
Restaurateur Kevin Meeker (of Westmont's Keg & Kitchen) and business partner Michael DeBenedictis, a lawyer, have brought in chef Tyler Turner (whose past includes El Vez) to execute an affordable American menu that will be paired by 40 beers on tap from a small bar inside as well as a larger bar outside that likely will be a regional draw. (The property on North Park Drive behind Bishop Eustace Prep is just off of Route 70 and is less than 10 minutes from the Ben Franklin Bridge.)
And to catch up with early word on the project: Chef Tony Clark bowed out a few months ago.