Santucci’s Pizza Cherry Hill is Open, Plus A Deptford Update

A new Santucci’s Pizza location has opened in Cherry Hill in an all-new beautifully designed space.  I stopped over yesterday for lunch and chatted with the team, who also gave me an update on the upcoming Deptford location. Santucci’s also recently opened in Brigantine.

Santucci’s Restaurants are closed for Thanksgiving but when they open on Friday when they start their Holiday Gift Card Promo which can only be purchased in the stores. (Facebook)

The new Santucci’s Cherry Hill location is in the Holly Ravine Plaza on Springdale Road (at Evesham Road).

Santucci’s Cherry Hill moves into an end-unit location at the inside corner of the two buildings, and offers their delicious “sauce-on-top” pizza, sandwiches and more in an attractive restaurant featuring a front quick casual dining space and a separate larger dining area to the rear.

During my visit I met the local franchise owners John Dingler and Steve Bombaro who signed on for both the Cherry Hill and Deptford locations.

John and Steve are just regular local guys who worked together for many years in blue-collar trades, and after years of saying “ya know what, we should start a business” they started researching options and found that Santucci’s Pizza (and the family) offered them the best opportunity… as well as a delicious product!

And the Santucci franchise team has put together an awesome program… the stores are beautifully designed with a lot of thought going into the wall graphics and other aspects, and every location I dine at the food comes out perfect!

Also in the Cherry Hill shop yesterday were two members of the Santucci family.  Frank Jr. who remembered me from the Washington Township store opening, and his sister Alicia who plays a big role in the franchise efforts for Santucci.

I got a warm welcome from the Team and it was interesting to get the full tour of the Santucci’s Cherry Hill shop… I had no idea that basically everything at Santucci’s is made from family recipes IN THE RESTAURANT including pizza dough, meatballs, pizza sauce… even the salad dressing!

I’m a big fan of Santucci’s pizza because I really appreciate a flavorful pizza sauce, and their preparation of putting the sauce on top really brings the sauce flavor forward.

So I had to stop John for a second ” wait, you’re telling me you guys make the sauce fresh right here in the local kitchen?  Just like the Santucci Grandmother used to?  Tomatoes, spices?”. “Absolutely!”, he said.

And just then I was introduced to John’s Son who was making fresh pizza dough balls, which were mixed right in the store.

In fact, Santucci’s Cherry Hill is so proud of their scratch-made recipes and food preparation techniques that the entire kitchen is fully visible to customers by a large glass window!

Santucci’s Pizza Cherry Hill – Experience

During my visit yesterday I ordered one of their traditional square pizzas, but in a personal size… which is actually still a good amount of pizza

if you’re unfamiliar the unique preparation, it is a thin yet crispy crust in a square pan. Likely the most talked about aspect is that the cheese goes on the crust first and then the sauce is on top… which is a complete flip-flop of how most South Jersey pizzerias make their pizzas.

I added on to my order after hearing everyone I met in the restaurant yesterday talking about their Short Rib Gravy Fries, so I quickly gave in and said “all right twist my arm, I’ll order some the short rib fries also”.

I mention all the time that I’m more about experience reviews, but absolutely I can say the short rib gravy fries are delicious! The short rib beef is cooked in the restaurant and was incredibly tender with a flavorful gravy… delicious.

To be clear, Santucci’s offers a full “pizza shop” menu of sandwiches (cheesesteaks, meatballs, chicken cutlets/parm, burgers), chicken wings, salads, stromboli and more.

Santucci’s Deptford

I first wrote about  the Cherry Hill and Deptford locations for Santucci’s back in June when at the time the Cherry Hill location was under construction.

The upcoming Deptford location is a freestanding building near the Deptford Mall at the corner of Clements Bridge Road and Almonesson Road (at the corner but in front of AMC Movies).

The building was previously a Pearl Vision Eyeglass Center and sits close enough to the busy intersection that its location alone offers an invaluable level of advertising as thousands of cars a they will notice the new Santucci Deptford location.

John shared with me that the owner of the building had a LOT of interest from businesses for space, but the property owner really liked what Santucci’s was about… and that John and Steve are locals. Did I mention John is a Deptford resident and lives just minutes from his upcoming Deptford Santucci’s?

To be clear the Deptford property has not opened yet, and in fact construction is just getting ready to start.

John and Steve decided to focus first on getting Cherry Hill built-out and opened… and then they can focus on Deptford.

While there are many aspects that could impact an opening date for a new restaurant or store, John and Steve are hoping for am Early Spring Opening for their Deptford location, and if they catch a break, maybe even a little bit before Spring.

Locations

Santucci’s Pizza Cherry Hill – Now Open
Holly Ravine Plaza
100 Springdale Rd
Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08003

Santucci’s Pizza Deptford – Coming Soon
710 Clements Bridge Road
Deptford NJ 08096