Signage has gone up at Westmont Plaza in Haddon Township announcing that Bruster's Real Ice Cream is moving into the shopping center on Cuthbert Boulevard, taking over the end unit once occupied by GNC. No opening date has been set, but the news is already spreading through the community, with Haddon Township Mayor Randy Teague welcoming the chain to the plaza.
The signage was first spotted and reported by 42 Freeway, which noted that the new scoop shop will sit in the far-right end unit of the strip mall, next to The UPS Store and near a freestanding Wells Fargo bank toward the front of the property. The site, at Westmont Plaza, 650 Cuthbert Boulevard, already anchors a Sprouts Farmers Market and a smaller-format Target store, rounding out a retail corner that has seen steady turnover in recent years.
Mayor Teague shared the news through the Shop Haddon Facebook page, according to the outlet's report, and the outlet is still working to confirm who will operate the Haddon Township store. No schedule has been announced for the opening, though the outlet offered spring 2027 only as its own estimate, not a confirmed date.
A Familiar Name With Local Roots
Bruster's already has a presence nearby in Washington Township, where its Greentree Road location at 305 Greentree Road reopened for the 2025 summer season after sitting closed for several years. The reopening came under new ownership, with that store's Facebook page sharing the Haddon Township announcement, according to the same report.
That Washington Township shop is owned by Tim, who the outlet confirms is not involved in the new Haddon Township location but is described as supportive of another locally owned business entering the market. Per the same account, Bruster's operates as a franchise of roughly 200 independently owned locations, with each shop making its own ice cream in house.
From Pennsylvania to New Jersey
Bruster's traces back to 1989, when founder Bruce Reed opened the original location in Bridgewater, Pennsylvania. The chain's shops typically rotate roughly two dozen flavors at a time drawn from a library of more than 150 handcrafted recipes, using a proprietary dairy mix made through slow kettle processing, the same report notes. Stores also prepare handmade waffle cones and bowls fresh on site.
Westmont Plaza itself has been in flux. The center's owner, Kimco Realty, has shown on the property's website that a roughly 48,000-square-foot Target store is coming, according to a separate 42freeway.com report, with the site plan depicting the Target logo over an overhead view of the center. That would still be considerably smaller than a traditional Target, which typically runs 135,000 to 175,000 square feet, though it would land closer in size to the chain's compact Center City Philadelphia stores.
The plaza's retail lineup also includes Sprouts Farmers Market, which opened its Haddon Township store at 640 W. Cuthbert Blvd. in September 2023, per 42freeway.com's earlier coverage. For now, Haddon Township residents will have to wait for a firm opening date before they can find out exactly which flavors Bruster's plans to scoop at its newest New Jersey location.
