MAPLE SHADE TWP. -- The restaurant group behind P.J. Whelihan's and other eateries is planning to build its second Pour House restaurant in South Jersey.

The newest version of the craft beer and burger spot will open in late 2017 in Maple Shade on Route 38 East at Lenola Road, said Jim Fris, the P.J.W. Restaurant Group's chief operating officer.

It will be the fourth Pour House the Haddonfield-based group has opened. The first opened nine years ago in the Westmont section of Haddon Township, followed by two Pennsylvania locations in Exton and North Wales.

Fris said he is confident the busy stretch of Route 38 is a great spot for a Pour House, and isn't worried that it might compete with the P.J. Whelihan's across the street, which the group also owns.

They've had success grouping their restaurants together before. In Westmont, the group owns the Pour House, Treno Pizza Bar and a P.J. Whelihan's pub.

"It's a good market so that's why we have three there," he said. "And we believe it's a good market in Maple Shade."

While P.J. Whelihan's pubs feel more like a neighborhood sports bar, Fris said, the Pour House is more of a restaurant focused on craft beer. The latter also offers a raw bar, with "buck-a-schuck" oyster specials on Wednesdays.

The restaurant will be 6,800 square feet, built on a pad near an existing Wawa. Representatives for the restaurant group told the Planning Board in October that the restaurant will seat 200 inside, including 30 at the bar, and another 60 in outdoor seating.

The board unanimously approved the project, according to meeting minutes.

The area has seen other pub-style restaurants with a focus on good beer, like Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant and Miller's Ale House, move in in recent years.

Fris said that craft beer is something almost all restaurants are capitalizing on now.

"Six or seven years ago, it was a niche," he said.

As far as the growth of the P.J.W. Restaurant Group, Fris said it is aiming to add three restaurants a year. The latest, opened a few weeks ago, is a P.J. Whelihan's in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

"We're getting probably a dozen calls a week," he said, from people hoping to get a restaurant built on their property.

Fris said he expects more South Jersey Pour House locations in the future.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.