The long awaited Rowan University Chickie and Petes opened on Monday January 23rd, and 42 Freeway was there!

It was a quiet opening at the bar/restaurant… well quiet in that they haven’t promoted the opening at all. Not even a mention in their Facebook page. But when you are located in the heart of the Rowan Boulevard complex, there are enough students there to PACK the place!

We got there around 8 and were lucky enough to grab a spot at the bar. It’s a large bar and we grabbed the last two spots. At this time it also seemed that most of the seats were taken in the large dining area. Later on when we left around 9:30, the Monday crowd had lightened a bit, which is a good thing considering school was tommorrow. Ha.

The decor is very true to the signature South Philly restaurant. The bar, woodwork and seating was very reminiscent of the local chains premier spot.

The menu also represented the entire Chickie and Pete’s menu… including the delicious Lobster Tail trio platter!

Honestly, I found the inside surprisingly large. High ceilings give plenty of room for large televisions and liquor shelves behind the bar. The bar, while I didn’t count the seats, it probably handles 50 customers. In signature Chickie and Pete’s fashion, it wraps around in a few directions out of sight, wrapping a back bar area displaying alchohol.

The overall shape of the restaurant is an L with several defined eating areas, and a large multiscreen TV in a prominent place.

While there is no outdoor bar or interconnected patio… there is outside seating with a large fire pit at the entrance to the eatery.

Parking is best found across the street, as behind the row of building is a parking garage

Chickie and Pete’s joins several other businesses including Barnes and Noble and Tony Lukes. Additional expansion of the main boulevard continues.

While management was looking for a slower start-up focused on the Rowan students… I think the students will rule the place for a bit and I expect the 42Freeway fans and Facebook shares to get the word out quickly!

Sorry about the pic quality.. My iPhone 7s always takes awesome pics but as I was grabbing some quick photos on the way out, it looks like I didn’t give the lens time to focus.

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