Plans For New P.J. Whelihan's Clear Final Hurdle In Newtown

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA —Renovations are expected to begin soon on the new PJ Whelihan’s Pub and Restaurant slated to open this spring at the Village at Newtown Shopping Center.

Plans for the new eatery cleared their final hurdle on Wednesday, receiving a unanimous vote of approval from the township’s board of supervisors.

The supervisors granted conditional use approval to the popular eatery, which will be taking over the lease and the liquor license of the now closed Iron Hill Brewery.

Iron Hill abruptly shut down operations across the board, including its Newtown site, last fall and declared bankruptcy. It had operated a restaurant and brewery at the village since 2019.

“We are very excited to be coming to Newtown,” said David Chojnowski, vice president of development with the PJW Restaurant Group. “If you look at our locations on a map, Bucks County is a big hole. We have been looking to come here for quite some time and Newtown was the bullseye.”

Chojnowski added that the restaurant group also has a lot of patrons, managers and employees who live in Bucks County who are excited to see the expansion into Newtown.

Food-wise, P.J. Whelihan’s is known for its famous wings (classic or boneless) with a choice of 10 different sauces, from mild to zippy and sweet to hot, hot, hot with scorpion and flamin’ pickleback.

Its current featured sauce is Cinnamon Crunch, which it says is “proof that some cravings never grow up.

“We also have burgers, sandwiches, salads and entrees - more of your American fare,” he said.

Mains range from a fajita bowl, fish and chips, grilled chicken, and crab cakes, to fired grilled salmon and a Roadhouse Rack of Ribs.

It also serves more than a dozen draft beers, including the P.J.W. Copper Lager, a custom craft beer brewed by Downingtown, Chester County-based Victory Brewing Company

“From a price point, we’re a little less than Iron Hill,” said Chojnowski.

The new P.J. Whelihan's will have the same look and feel of its other Delaware Valley locations, from the warm wood tones to its color scheme, said Chojnowski. The only difference is that P.J.’s will keep the existing wall bar instead of their signature island bar.

Chojnowski said the layout of the dining area will remain pretty much the same. There will, however, be a change in seating in the bar area with plans to replace several rows of booths with high-top tables.

“That’s the only thing we are changing with the layout and that’s to free up more space and to make it less congested around the bar,” he said.

The restaurant plans to employ about 29 workers per shift when it opens sometime this spring.

Chojnowski said the restaurant and pub could be ready to open sometime in May, following four to five weeks of what he describes as light renovation work