Into the past: Developer proposes demolition at South Jersey diner site
PENNSAUKEN – Another South Jersey diner could disappear into the past.
A Pennsylvania firm wants to demolish the vacant Penn Queen Diner here and replace it with a Taco Bell.
The project also would put a coffee shop and a store at the Penn Queen’s site, according to a proposal before Pennsauken’s zoning board.
Penn Queen reigned for decades
The diner is a landmark on the 7300 block of Route 130, also known as Crescent Boulevard. Westfield Avenue runs behind the restaurant.
A weathered sign at a parking lot entrance proclaims "serving families since 1964." A towering neon sign is topped with a golden crown that once lit up the night.
The proposal comes as multiple projects are advancing to put South Jersey diner properties to new uses.
What's new on the menu?
The Cherry Hill Diner, a longtime presence at Route 38 and Cooper Landing Road, is to be demolished to make way for a car wash.
Township boards have approved separate plans to open cannabis dispensaries at the former Sage Diner on Route 73 in Mount Laurel and the long-vacant Marlton Diner on Route 70 in Evesham.
Camden’s zoning board has approved a proposal to build a 160,000-square-foot self-storage facility at the former site of the Elgin Diner. The Elgin, on the 2600 block of Mount Ephraim Avenue, was demolished in 2014.
One of the region’s best-known diners, Olga’s at the former Marlton Circle, was torn down in 2017 after operating from 1958 to 2008. The Evesham site now holds a medical facility. An Olga's Diner that currently operates on Route 73 in Marlton took its name from the razed restaurant and uses the same iconic lettering. But it otherwise has no connection to the original.
Marijuana on the menu?Long-vacant diner on Route 73 could see new life as a cannabis dispensary
What's planned?
Summerwood Corp. of Conshohocken is scheduled to present its idea for the Penn Queen property at an upcoming work session of Pennsauken’s zoning board.
The firm operates four restaurant brands — Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut & Long John Silver's — in six states, according to its website.
A Summerwood representative did not respond to a request for comment.
A concept plan calls for a free-standing 52-seat Taco Bell, with the 29-seat coffee shop and the store sharing a second building.
Both the Taco Bell and the coffee shop would have drive-thru service, according to Summerwood’s application.
It does not identify an operator for the coffee shop or the store.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Pennsauken: Penn Queen Diner faces demolition for proposed Taco Bell
