The Total Wine & More liquor store on Route 38 next to the Cherry Hill Mall plans on almost doubling their size this year as they move into a new location in the same shopping center.
The popular liquor store at 23,000 sq ft is already huge. It’s literally a warehouse of wine, beer and liquor.
But they will definitely be “upping their game” as they move into a space that is over 43,000 sq ft. Just shy of doubling in size.
The move won’t be too far, as they’ve found a new home within the same Plaza at Cherry Hill shopping center. Most recently I believe Spirit Halloween utilized the space for their seasonal stores.
We’ve been told unofficially that Total Wine hopes to be in the new location before the Christmas Holiday season.
Larger space, more prominent location, and better parking. A Total Win for Total Wine!
Keep scrolling for more details, photos and how Cherry Hill has designated the center as an area in need of rehabilitation!
The Total Story on The Total Wine Expansion and Relocation
The shopping center in question is called The Plaza at Cherry Hill.
The full complex next to the mall includes two large buildings.
One building closest to the mall is home to eSporta Fitness, Raymour & Flanigan, Chuck E Cheese and more!
The second building where Total Wines is located, is the “L” shaped large building to the right, which also is home to Sam Ash, Guitar Center, Aldi Grocery and more.
Today Total Wine sits in the inside corner of the “L” next to Sam Ash…. with Total Wine on the right side.
The new location will be to the left of Sam Ash (around the bend), taking over two spaces in the same center. This will be a much more prominent location and offer more accessible parking.
3D Image Copyright Google
The Urban Edge property website lists the square footage of the old and new Total Wine properties as;
- Total Wine Current: 22,885
- Total Wine Upcoming: 43,358 (28,926 + 14,432)
As mentioned, at 43,000 square feet that is very close to doubling the size they have now.
It’s very interesting to me that the entire prominent wing of the shopping center that Total Wine is moving into has been empty for so long.
Two key large retailer storefronts are there and they’ve been vacant for years. Or is it decades?
Heck my last memory of what was located in the left side of that center was Today’s Man and Computer Factory… way back in the late 80s/early 90s! (So please feel free to refresh my memory in the Facebook comments).
The large storefronts offer a very visible presence for the traffic pulling in from the Rt 38 side, which I have to believe is the more frequently used direction to drive in from.
Bigger location, better parking, more visibility. How can this go wrong?
And a little more rambling on the parking benefits of the new location.
Honestly the parking situation in the current location isn’t optimal due to them sitting on the inside corner of the center, with Sam Ash.
In comparison, for a completely straight-line shopping center each storefront ends up with a segment of dedicated parking directly in front of it.
But consider how Sam Ash and Total Wine sit in that corner… if you drew a square in front of the stores to define parking for each store the parking areas overlap. You realize they are each sharing the same parking spots.
This causes customers for both stores to park even further away from the building. And when you are carrying a case of beer are your new guitar… this is a real concern.
With the new Total Wine location simply the only people parking in front of Total Wine will be Total Wine customers. Honestly this is a win for Sam Ash also.
Total Wine – 42Freeway Goes Undercover!
We noticed the upcoming change when reviewing the site plan for Urban Edge Property’s “The Plaza at Cherry Hill” website.
I noticed that Total Wine was listed in TWO locations… and the new one is much larger!
I then found a little more information looking at Real Estate leasing sites, where they showed Total Wine in a new location in the same shopping center, and identified it as “relocated”.
So I got confused saying to myself “Wait? Did they already relocate?”
So yesterday I drove over to check it out, and there was no signs of any change. Note even a banner on the glass of the allegedly new Total Wine location.
So then I had to make a big sacrifice for the 42Freeway readers. It would be good to confirm what I found…
I had to go in and buy some wine. And talk to people.
It’s a rough job but somebody has to do it!
If you haven’t been to a Total Wine store, it really is impressive. And they do have a huge array of wines… which let’s be honest can be a little overwhelming.
So I am full undercover “I am just a wine customer” mode, and I legitimately need help finding something.
By the way, I spoke to several employees there, and they all were truly awesome and helpful. Even recommended an even less expensive wine instead of the already inexpensive one I went in to buy. And I bought both!
The sacrifices I make for the readers.
And in our conversations it’s a very reasonable to ask “Wow this place is so huge already! My buddy told me you guys are moving to an even bigger location?!”
And I got my answer “Yes we are. Right on other side over there. Hope to be in my the Christmas season”.
This is the same tactic I used to confirm when Dave & Busters was first planned for the Gloucester Outlets.
And if you haven’t realized this… 95% of my posts are me actually getting in my car and driving there. I need to see things, and if possible.. I need to talk to people. Readers will send me photos of things all the time.. but even if they are great shots, I need to go there.
And I don’t want to sound like a jerk but it definitely seems to me that most “real” media never leave the computer. But I digress.
The Plaza at Cherry Hill – A Rebirth On The Way?
The Plaza at Cherry Hill was initially developed 50 years ago!
Urban Edge Properties took over ownership just 5 years ago in 2017.
The property has changed alot over the 5 decades.
Remember when Best Products and Gaudio’s were where eSporta and Raymour Flanigan are today?!
Do you remember the Movie Theater? Or Tower Records?!
And through all of those changes there have been some times when units were left unoccupied, and this lead to some of the buildings getting a little rundown.
Which is odd because the surrounding commercial properties have done very well in upgrading and modernizing… the Cherry Hill Mall for one, but also surrounding.
And this caught the attention of the Cherry Hill Township Government.
In 2020 the Planning Board met to review the status of the Plaza at Cherry Hill center, and if it needed to be determined an area of rehabilitation.
The goal of these determinations is it allows the Township to create special zoning rules, and sometimes even financial breaks.. to help spur addition development and revitalization.
Website 70and73 did a really nice job back then reporting on the meeting, and I recommend you give it a read if you want to understand more.
“The Plaza itself has not seen a transformation since it was built and as a result it struggles with vacancy. The high vacancy rate can be directly attributed to the Plaza’s deteriorating condition,” ,
lawyer William F. Harrison, representing Urban Edge (From 70and73)
These designations are very much a big deal for towns, and a lot of thought, work and preparations goes into it.
Cherry Hill has 23 page document to describe the property, history and need for the Rehabilitation Designation! (PDF)
Links and Location
Total Wine & More
2100 Rt 38
Cherry Hill NJ, 08002