Popular South Jersey pub is about to be sold

Keg & Kitchen, the popular pub in Haddon Township’s Westmont section, is winding down its 15-year run with the impending retirement of owners Kevin and Janet Meeker.

Kevin Meeker, 73, said they have an agreement with brothers Artan and Arber Murtaj and Andi and Tony Lelaj, who own Il Villaggio, an Old World-style Italian restaurant in Cherry Hill. They have been the Meekers’ customers since 2005, when they opened the space at 90 Haddon Ave. as Cork.

Andi Lelaj said the property would remain a pub. It will be lightly redecorated and quickly reflagged as Duo Restaurant & Bar, possibly within two weeks of the sale. Lelaj said they have offered jobs to Keg & Kitchen staff.

Lelaj said the bar menu would be supplemented with small plates — “octopus, crab cakes, oysters, and shrimp, along with wings and burgers and fish tacos.” He said they will source seafood and produce locally.

Meeker said there is no firm closing date for Keg & Kitchen, as the sale awaits the state’s liquor license transfer.

Meeker said he may not be around for the closing. He said he is leaving Monday on a long-planned trip to Gibraltar to help sail a friend’s 56-foot sailboat to the Canary Islands and then to the Caribbean. “I know this is crazy, but I committed to be a crew member months ago,” he said. “Thought we’d be out by now.”

The Meekers have a long history in the Philadelphia-area restaurant scene, most notably three decades with the upscale seafood restaurant Philadelphia Fish & Co. at 207 Chestnut St. in Old City, now the site of the new Tun Tavern. They also are partners in the Plough & the Stars nearby.