MERCER COUNTY, NJ — A Stewart's Root Beer drive-in that has been serving Hamilton Square for more than 60 years is up for sale, just months after it reopened.
The restaurant on Route 33 is listed on Facebook Marketplace for $100,000. The listing describes it as a "turnkey operation" that was recently renovated, with almost all of its equipment replaced. It says the restaurant is open and fully staffed and would suit an owner-operator.
The sale covers the business only, not the property. The listing says a 20-year lease is in place, with rent of $5,500 a month. It also lists monthly sales of $30,000 to $35,000. Those figures come from the listing and have not been independently verified. The seller says the price is firm, and showings are by appointment only.
Owner Jacob Mullis told NJ.com he took over the restaurant in January, planning to get the business back on track and eventually sell it after years of financial struggles. He reopened it in March, he said.
Mullis, who has owned the Stewart's in Howell for 12 years, told the outlet that the previous owners took over the Hamilton location around 2023. Permit problems during the renovation kept the restaurant closed for about two years, he said.
Those owners held a ribbon-cutting and grand reopening on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, according to Community News. When they decided not to continue, the landlord approached Mullis, he told the outlet.
The Hamilton restaurant is one of about 15 Stewart's Root Beer locations left in New Jersey, according to NJ.com. It serves hot dogs, fries, burgers, milkshakes and root beer. The area once had two other locations, on Route 130 in East Windsor and on Brunswick Pike in Lawrence.
According to the company's website, Frank Stewart developed his root beer recipe in 1924 to supplement his income as a school teacher, then opened his first Stewart's Drive-In. NJ.com reported the chain started in Ohio and has about 30 locations left nationwide.
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