When Mountain Dudes Good Food opened its mobile food trailer at 1193 US-22 in Phillipsburg while waiting for construction to conclude on its 40-seat full-service dining restaurant, they couldn’t believe the abundance of business they had. Enough business to scrap plans at their original location and open in a much larger one in the same town at 1278 US-22 in Pohatcong Plaza.
Owner Chris Sterlacci, who works in marketing, opened Mountain Dude in August, Monday through Thursday between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. just to see how the menu would test and what customers liked best. Mountain Dudes wound up feeding between 180 and 190 people a night. Sterlacci is looking forward to seeing the kind of business a weekend will bring in at his new location. The 3,700 sq. ft. lodge-style restaurant will seat about 160 when it opens in January 2022. At Mountain Dudes, you’ll find dishes like bison burgers, pan-seared tuna, Old Bay shrimp, lots of pulled pork offerings, and brisket.
“We are barbecue-inspired, but backwoods made,” Sterlacci told What Now Philadelphia.
In addition to rustic lodge decor and cozy fireplaces, Mountain Dudes will reface their building, install new floors, along with a new kitchen and a Mountainside Soda Bar run by a soda jerk.
“We hope to be a part of the community and want people to feel at home when they’re here,” Sterlacci said.
The real story is that they never got any customer so they had to change locations. Just another hipster burger place. This review was obviously paid for.