Tammy Paolino|The Courier-Post
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It’s not an exaggeration to say Chef James Malaby is on a roll.
One of the most respected farm-to-fork chefs in the region, the owner of blueplate in Mullica Hill has been in high gear since buying a restored1949 Chevy pickup truck in January.
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The truck is a cool way to get to and from the area farms where Malaby picks up as much as 75 percent of his produce in season. It’s also a novel way to draw attention to blueplate when the vintage vehicle is parked out in front of the Civil War-era building.
Blueplate opened its doors 12 years ago this month as a homey café for breakfast and lunch that transforms into a farm-to-fork BYOB for dinner. It is undergoing renovations that will add several new dining spaces, while, at the same time, Malaby and a partner put finishing touches on a new project – Center Square Tavern in nearby Woolwich Township.
A Philadelphia native, Malaby is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and honed his kitchen skills at various restaurants out West and in this region, most notably as sous chef at Georges Perrier’s Brasserie Perrier in Philadelphia, before bringing his culinary vision to Gloucester County. He lives with his wife, Michelle, and daughters Alexa and Hayley, in Mullica Hill.
Sometime next month, Malaby will welcome guests to Center Square Tavern at 120 Center Square Road, in the Woolwich space formerly occupied by a’Pizze Tuscan Grill. The restaurant, with a full bar, will feature steak, seafood and fresh pasta, as well as pub fare, cooking classes and special pairing events for craft beer, wine and craft spirits.
In the Center Square Tavern venture, Malaby has partnered with longtime friend and customer Larry Wallace.
I caught up with them last week in the midst of renovations in the new space, tucked into the corner of a small shopping plaza. Workers drilled and hammered while we spoke, while, at the same time a separate crew of workers put finishing touches on changes to blueplate in Mullica Hill.
So, what made Malaby want to tackle both projects simultaneously?
“I have been wanting to open up a second place for a while,’’ says the chef, who won an award from the Nature Conservancy for his commitment to sustainable cooking practices, "andwanting to renovate blueplate for a while, but I didn’t want to do both at the same time.But this is the fifth year we’ve hit double digit increases from the year prior (at blueplate), and we were just forced to expand there or we would end up hurting ourselves.’’
Popular farm dinners and other events were in danger of infringing on the space coveted by his regular customers, and something had to give, he says.
Blueplate will gain 20 new seats in the main dining room, and an upgrade to the restrooms on the main floor. A new private dining room downstairs will seat between 12 and 16 guests, while a third room will hold between 25 and 35. That second room will have a large, custom-made communal dining table crafted by a local woodworker atop part of an old Philadelphia rail car, Malaby says.
With the blueplate project’s completion just weeks away, Malaby says he’s only had to close the restaurant once, and “the customers have been very understanding.
“When we do the special events, farm dinners and things like that, we’ve been handicapped in terms of space. Now we can open it up and have space for bigger parties that come in, too, and still cater to our regular customers.’’
Opening Center Square Tavern in January, traditionally a slower month for blueplate, will allow staffs at both restaurants time to adjust.
“We have always been very a food-oriented business at blueplate, and we don’t want to see the quality of the food or the service change,’’ Malaby says, adding that the new spaces can be used for a la carte dining when it’s warranted, but can otherwise be closed except when being used for parties and events.
Meanwhile, workers hum along transforming the bar, dining room and open-kitchen space at Center Square Tavern.
As soon as you walk in the front door, a small dining area off to the right will afford between 16 and 20 guests a view into a prep kitchen space where fresh bread, pastas and desserts will be made while they watch. There will be some counter seating, as well as tables to host cooking classes and special meals such as pairing eventsfeaturing both top shelf international wines and wines from area vineyards, or talks by craft distillers and brewers.
Malaby’s vision always has included a healthy amount of education about what he serves and where it comes from. Nothing, it seems, makes him quite as happy as shaking the dirt off fresh asparagus or root vegetables at dawn and then serving them to his customers in both New American and French-influenced dishes by sundown.
“We will have this small area here that’s a little more unique, for things that we don’t think that we will get a huge attendance to. For larger special events, we will open up the full dining room area,’’ he says.
A custom-built bar will seat 24 guests, while an additional 45 patrons can sit in the tavern space at high hats and bistro tables. A 16-tap system will feature regional craft brews, as well as some national favorites, he says.
A back dining room will seat 50 guests, removed from bar and television noise, for a more intimate experience. And an outdoor patio will provide additional seating in nice weather.
Originally, Malaby and Wallace considered new construction elsewhere in the area, but when a’Pizzeclosed, and the liquor license became available in the shopping center, it seemed more affordable to renovate thisexisting space.“We did not want to have that sports bar feel, and that’s what we would have to do if we had decided to spend the money to build,’’ Malaby says. “We were able to do what we wanted to do pretty quickly.’’
As for the menu, which is “still a work in progress,’’ think steak and fresh seafood, as well as house made pastas with seasonal sides.
“We are going to concentrate on good quality foods, concentrate on steak and seafood,’’ Malaby says. “People seem to be OK paying for good quality ingredients, and we are in the process of sourcing where it's going to be coming from.’’
Since the bar area occupies a large chunk of the dining area, unique bar food is also a priority, and some of the proven small plates from blueplate (such as the Buffalo Chicken Corn Dogs and Cheesesteak Eggrolls) will make their way onto the Center Square menu. “Blueplate has great Buffalo wings, and people who have tried them, love them, and now we have the right stage here to do them, paired with a craft beer or a co*cktail. And we’ll have a really great burger, and some more unique things that are Center Square style.’’
Malaby says he gets requests for cooking classes, especially for pasta, and is confident the new space will prove popular. “We have a place to showcase not only the serving of it, but the making of it. Someone can sit here at 12:30 on a Wednesday afternoon with a glass of wine and watch the chef make cavatelli or ravioli. This is really going to give this restaurant something very unique in the area.’’
While partner Larry Wallace will leave the cooking to Malaby and his culinary team, he plans to be involved in every other aspect of the business.
“Jim has taken care of this project with grace and dignity, helping us to establish ourselves over here,’’ Wallace says, while taking a break from overseeing construction. “The response we’ve had so far from the community is overwhelming. They are very excited about Jim spreading his culinary wings to give them all a treat. … They are very excited about the possibility that this restaurant may have a great future, and who knows, you may see a number three around here!’’
Wallace, a former Gloucester County freeholder and co-founder of a dental management company, lives in Woolwich with his wife, Debi.
“I had been going to that restaurant (before it was blueplate) for 25 years, and Jim really turned it around and turned it into the place to go to get a great bite to eat. One of the really important aspects of what Jim did was not only bringing a different flavor of food and its presentation and its design, butalso a higher level of service that a lot of customers really, really appreciate.
“You would be amazed at the number of customers who come three four five times a week,’’ Wallace continued. “I’ve been a fan of his for years now, and we’ve talked about opening a restaurant together for the last four or five years. The food gods were shining down on us, and this is the right fit at the right time and the right circ*mstances, with the location and with myself, so we jumped on it.’’
Another important element of Center Square Tavern for Malaby is the consistent availability of gluten-free fare, just as he offers at blueplate. The reason is not just good business sense: one of his daughters has Celiac disease.
About 90 percent of the menu at blueplate can be modified to be gluten-free, Malaby says, and Center Square will offer similar accommodations, often substituting masa or corn flour for wheat flour. (Both restaurant kitchens are outfitted with separate, gluten-free fryers and other equipment.) Malaby also uses a non-GMO supplier of wheat flour out of Lancaster County.
He is especially pleased with Center Square’s dessert offerings, one of which is the gluten-free Centre Square Chocolate Crunch Cake, a dense cake with a crispy center, reminiscent of a Krackel bar.
While Center Square Tavern may borrow a few favorites from blueplate, the menus will be distinct, he promises. Price points, overall, will be lower at the original restaurant, where Center Square will be more the place to eat things like veal chops, scallops or filet mignon.
Center Square will serve lunch and dinner, 11 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.
Although it’s only about an eight-minute ride from blueplate, Malaby says he has new territory to explore in that ’49 Chevy pickup out in all those farm fields.
“The towns in Jersey are like neighborhoods in Philadelphia,’’ he says. “We are getting into a whole new section of farms that we may use here. I have new relationships to make. And this season, the blueplate executive chef, and the new chef here, too, will share in some of that experience.’’
Getting up with the roosters to hike out into a field and inspect a spring crop may not get everyone excited, but Malaby’s eyes light up at the prospect.“It’s such a great experience going to get asparagus from the asparagus farmer, sitting on the tractor with mud and dirt on it, and then taking it back and creating something special with it.’’
Malaby often has to tell his customers that no, he does not add sugar to the water he uses to steam his asparagus.
“They are so used to eating stuff that sits around for a couple of weeks,’’ he says. “People enjoy what we do, simply done. I’m not a big fan of over-complicating your food.’’
Now, the only complication is which of Malaby’s restaurants to choose —the homier, more familiar experience of blueplate, or the shiny new tavern with a more adult feel, all served with the hint of more to come.
Tammy Paolino: @CP_TammyPaolino; (856) 486-2477; tpaolino@gannett.com
If you go
Center Square Tavern: 120Center Square Road, Woolwich. Opening next month. Follow progress atfacebook.com/Center-Square-Tavern-873881979314025
blueplate: 47 S. Main St., Mullica Hill. Visitblueplatenj.comor call (856) 478 2112
