Looking Ahead To 2023: A New Seafood House In Newtown

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — A new seafood house is scheduled to open its doors in Newtown Township in 2023.

In August the Newtown Patch was the first to report that the popular Princeton-based Blue Point Grill would be coming to Newtown in 2023.

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors gave conditional use approval for the family-owned restaurant to open at 3 West Road next to the TD Bank at the Newtown Shopping Center.

“We have looked for a long time in Newtown and we’re really excited about this opportunity,” said Jack Morrison, the owner of the Witherspoon Grill, Kristine’s and the Blue Point Grill restaurants, and the Nassau Street Seafood & Produce Co., all located in Princeton.

“I opened Nassau Street Seafood 40 years ago this month,” said Morrison. “I’m a died in the wool fish guy. We opened the Blue Point Grill in 1999 23 years ago. We’re a family-run restaurant. We have crayons for the kids. It’s a low key, fun place to be.”

Morrison appeared before the township supervisors this past summer seeking conditional use approval to open at the site of the former Corner Bakery Cafe, which will undergo major renovations before opening sometime this spring.

BPG, a family-owned restaurant which opened its doors in 1999 on Nassau Street in historic Princeton, N.J., is known for its extensive selection of impeccably-fresh seafood served in a fun, lively family atmosphere.

It’s menu is swimming with fresh seafood, including 15 different varieties of east and west coast oysters, 25 different kinds of beautifully prepared fish and delicious classics such as New England clam chowder and lump crab cakes.

“It’s a real fish house,” said Morrison. “The menu will change daily, reflecting an assortment of the freshest catch. And all of our seafood is simply and beautifully prepared to reveal its natural, delicious flavor.”

The 5,000 square foot restaurant will seat about 145 inside with an additional 36 seats on an outdoor patio. It will also feature a small eight to 10 person bar - “a place where you’re going to meet someone before you go to dinner or grab a quick bite,” said Morrison.

“We’re not going to be a bar to drink. We’re going to be a restaurant to eat,” said Morrison. “If you’re coming for a cocktail at 10 p.m. that’s not who we are.”

Morrison, who originally asked the township to approve a liquor license transfer from outside the township but was denied, has secured a license from the former Friends Bar and Grill which closed its doors in early 2022 in the Village at Newtown.

Morrison is projecting that 75 percent of BPG’s sales would be food with alcohol sales making up about 25 percent. “Our sales of alcoholic beverages will be to complement our food sales,” said Morrison.