Fondue restaurant The Melting Pot in Maple Shade is closing this weekend
The restaurant chain founded in 1975 offers a wide range of options including a multi-course, interactive meal centered around fondue pots at each table.
After more than two decades of melted cheeses and chocolates, diners in South Jersey hoping to dip into an entirely fondue-based meal will have to look elsewhere after The Melting Pot closes its doors this weekend.
The restaurant’s final day will be Oct. 25, franchisee Charlie LaRosa said through a spokesperson for the company.
Eleven years after the popular eatery relocated from Center City to Maple Shade, LaRosa will not be renewing the lease at 584 Route 38 East and plans to retire.
“This milestone marks the close of a meaningful chapter filled with memorable experiences, special celebrations, and lasting connections with guests and the community,” LaRosa said in the statement.
Known for providing a one-of-a-kind dining experience, the restaurant chain founded in 1975 offers a wide range of options including a multi-course, interactive meal centered around fondue pots at each table.
Today, the company has more than 90 locations worldwide where diners can enjoy their choice of a variety of melted cheeses with bread, vegetables, and fruit for dipping before they cook their own entrees — a mix of meat, seafood, and vegetables — in flavorful, simmering broth.
The meals then typically conclude with a chocolate fondue desert accompanied by fruit, brownies, pound cake, and more.
Following the restaurant’s closure in Maple Shade, only two Philadelphia-area Melting Pot locations will remain: King of Prussia and Wilmington, Del. The Melting Pot has one other New Jersey location in Red Bank, according to the company’s website.
Melting Pot gift cards do not expire and are redeemable at all restaurant locations.
While the fondue pots might be leaving the building, it appears that the restaurant won’t be empty for long.
Istanbul Bay Premium Mediterranean Restaurant recently signed a lease for the 6,500-square-foot restaurant and plans to move in as soon as permits allow, said Emre Yucel, the restaurant’s leasing agent.
Serving authentic Turkish cuisine, Istanbul Bay operates locations across New York and New Jersey, including a restaurant in Englishtown that opened this summer.
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