Bricco Coal Fired Pizza opens second Camden County location

CHERRY HILL – You can never get enough pizza, pasta or fresh focaccia, right?

Well, the good news is Bricco Coal-Fired Pizza has opened a second location, with some bonus items on its menu.

Bricco, which will continue to serve customers its award-winning pizza from its Westmont restaurant as well, has opened at 2110 Route 70 in the Cross County Plaza.

In addition to pizza, they will offer homemade pasta made fresh daily, along with some “bonus dishes” at this new location, according to owner Vincenzo Barone.

“I’ve been in the restaurant business 30 years,” Barone said. “I’ve owned places all around New Jersey, some in Pennsylvania. I definitely wanted to expand the Bricco model. When I found this location in Cherry Hill, I did think it was too close (to the other one). But I started asking people who live in the Cherry Hill, Marlton, Voorhees area, about where they travel from.

"They said ‘we love Bricco, but we only go to you once a month or once in a while because you’re too far away. If you were in Cherry Hill or Marlton, we’d be there five times a week’. “

What were some factors in opening a second Bricco location in South Jersey?

“The other thing is my peace of mind in managing the restaurants,” said Barone, a Marlton resident. “I used to have a restaurant that was an hour away and it was impossible to manage the way I like to. I love the fact that I’m 15 minutes away and I can manage both. I was very fortunate. I got a great staff that I’m familiar with that didn’t have to travel too far. There’s a lot of factors. It seems close, but it’s a world away when you’re talking about takeout. Takeout’s a three-mile radius, five max. We’re like eight miles away (from the Westmont location).”

Also, because the space is larger and the kitchen in Cherry Hill is bigger, he’s able to do different things. He bought a pasta machine from Italy so they are making all of their pastas in-house at the Cherry Hill location.

“It’s a lot of working making fresh pasta, but the result is so worth it, because it’s really great,” he added.

He also bought a steam injection oven, which makes bread, so they are making their own focaccia in the traditional way there daily as well.

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“With the steam, it’s a huge factor when baking bread,” he added. “I was very lucky again, because I have the space, I was able to do these creative things at this location that I can’t do at Westmont.”

Westmont location of Bricco is his baby

At Westmont, Barone says, they also make their own focaccia, but they make it in the coal oven. He says focaccia is traditionally made with a lot of water and it’s cooked at a slower temperature.

They can’t make homemade pasta at the Westmont location, because he says space is a huge factor with “literally every square foot at Westmont is spoken for.”

Even though they don’t have much extra space there, he’s grateful for the business they continue to do.

“It’s very successful,” he said. “It’s my baby ... It hasn’t missed a beat, which is great.”

Celeste E. Whittaker is a news features reporter for the Courier Post, Daily Journal and Burlington County Times. The South Jersey native started at the CP in 1998 and has covered the Philadelphia 76ers, college and high school sports and has won numerous awards for her work. Reach her by email at  [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @cp_CWhittaker.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Popular South Jersey pizza shops opens second location