South Jersey colonial tavern operating since 1706
1136 Almond Road, Pittsgrove, NJ 08318
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Steakhouse and seafood pricing typical of an upscale South Jersey restaurant. Reservations recommended.
Access
Limited Access
Historic three-story clapboard building with stairs to upper dining rooms
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1706 · 1706 Colonial Tavern · Revolutionary War Era · Continuously Operating Inn · South Jersey Heritage
Ye Olde Centerton Inn opened its doors in 1706 and has been serving travelers ever since, making it one of South Jersey's oldest continuously operating restaurants and one of only three inns in the United States older than 300 years. The current three-story Colonial clapboard building, with dormer windows breaking the roofline, dates to the early-to-mid 1700s.
The inn sits at a once-strategic crossroads in Salem County. In its operating heyday it served as a stop on the coach route between Philadelphia and the colonial port of Greenwich, while another road link connected Cumberland County to Great Egg Harbor. The Centerton Inn operated as a way-station for travelers, an eating place, and a cargo storage point. According to local sources, the inn may have held munitions for the Continental Army during the Revolution, possibly including supplies sent by the French allies.
The restaurant continues to operate at 1136 Almond Road in Pittsgrove. Six dining rooms, including the upstairs space associated with the building's resident folklore, occupy the historic structure. Signature menu items include the Centerton Salad and the Steak Centerton.
Sources
The Centerton Inn's resident folklore is concentrated in a single upstairs dining room. The first reported figure is a young girl described in regional accounts as a child who came to an untimely end on the property at some point in the inn's three centuries. Diners and staff have reported hearing her crying in the room when no children are present.
The second figure is a former maitre d' for whom the upstairs dining room is named. The cold spots that recur in the room are associated in local accounts with his lingering presence, framed not as malevolent but as a continuation of his role at a place where he worked for many years.
The accounts circulate widely enough that some current guests reportedly decline the upstairs room when asked, while others find the building warm and welcoming despite the lore. The restaurant does not promote a paranormal program; the folklore is part of the venue's broader sense of historical layering rather than a marketed feature.
Notable Entities
Dine at one of South Jersey's oldest continuously operating restaurants, in a three-story Colonial clapboard structure dating to the early-to-mid 1700s. The six dining rooms include the upstairs room named for a former maitre d', where staff and guests have historically reported cold spots and the sound of a child crying.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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