'Spectacular': Check out this new addition to Carlucci's Waterfront

MOUNT LAUREL — Carlucci’s Waterfront has added a major asset to its outdoor dining space. The owners call it “La Terrazza."

In Italian, La Terrazza simply means “terrace," but this permanent, enclosed pavilion-type structure is far more than a terrace.

For years, Carlucci’s Waterfront had a large, enclosed outdoor tent, which stayed year-round during the COVID-19 pandemic when, for a while, outdoor dining was the only way customers could eat at a restaurant.

But finally it was time for the tent to come down and for a permanent structure to rise in its place.

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“We had our tent out here and it was fantastic through COVID and prior to COVID it was seasonal and then COVID made it year-round,” said Carlo Capuano, general manager of Carlucci’s Waterfront in Mount Laurel. “And then after 2022, the township said tents are done. You need to get a UCC (Uniform Construction Code) permit and do a permanent structure and we did. We went through every possible permit, zoning, everything by the book.”

They had to receive a letter of approval from the Department of Environmental Protection as well, he said, since the restaurant sits along the Rancocas Creek.

“We are close to the water and just wanted to make sure everyone was (okay) with it,” Capuano said.

The Capuano family owns the Mount Laurel restaurant, located at 876 Centerton Road, as well as several other restaurants in Central Jersey and Pennsylvania. They bought the Mount Laurel restaurant in 2001. It had been a popular seafood restaurant called Pirates Inn for many years.

Carlucci's La Terrazza ‘came out spectacular’

Carlo Capuano said it took approximately a year to obtain all the permits and have everything approved for their new structure. Finally, the tent came down March 31, Easter Sunday, he added.

“On April 1, we started doing the footings and getting everything prepped for the structure and then this structure’s first date was on June 7,” Capuano said. “Now we have heat and air in here, so it’s a full four-season room. Air conditioned and heating, the fans. The roof system is a louvered system, which tilts opens and closes. The windows open and close.

"It’s the spot to be in Burlington County and South Jersey right now.”

Capuano said what he and his family call La Terrazza is actually a little smaller than the tent, but it looks bigger because it has higher ceilings. It has an occupancy of 99, he added, and has been seeing plenty of use.

“It’s the best waterfront view in the area,” he added. “It came out spectacular. It’s a great asset to Mount Laurel and the township was fantastic working with us. It wasn’t easy getting everything approved but we did it and we followed every order that was given to us and it’s spectacular. I like it a lot better than the tent. I can’t bash that tent. It saved our butts throughout COVID. When outside dining was the only thing. And that tent was great for us.

“But at the end of the day, this is a permanent structure. It’s clean. It doesn’t have extension cords. It’s beautiful.”

Celeste E. Whittaker joined the Courier-Post in 1998. The South Jersey native has covered the Philadelphia 76ers, college and high school sports in her tenure and now covers news and features. She has won numerous writing awards for her work.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: La Terrazza added to Carlucci's Waterfront in Mount Laurel New Jersey