Seasonal beer garden set to open in Camden

Camden celebrity chef Aaron McCargo Jr. and Camden Arts Yard developer Damon Pennington.
Photo credit Hadas Kuznits/KYW Newsradio
CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — After about a year in the works, the Camden Arts Yard is finally opening at 319 Market St. in Camden on Monday.

"The waterfront is three blocks that way, Broadway is three blocks that way, and this is what we call the heart of the city," said owner and developer Damon Pennington, who describes the renovated parking lot as a seasonal beer garden.

"But it's more than just a beer garden," he added. "We know with any development in any community, the arts have to be a part of the culture."

It contains structures made out of shipping containers, as well as a renovated horse carriage that's used as a bar and a boat used for seating.

Of course, there's also food, which was created by Camden celebrity chef Aaron McCargo Jr., winner of season four's "The Next Food Network Star."

"You get to paint yourself the dogs you've always wanted," he said. "Here, you can do bacon, you can do pork, you can do jalapenos, you can do steak meat on top of your dog."

And no beer garden is complete without a cheesesteak on the menu.

"I wanted to take a piece of Camden and incorporate it into the steak from Donkey's" Place, he added, "so I got Donkey's meat, panzerotti from (McCargo) — boom, in your mouth."

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