Poseidon sold; Centro Grille opening in mid-August
By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
ROBBINSVILLE — For the third time in four years, the 6,200-square-foot anchor restaurant in Town Center is changing hands, but its new owner says he is confident he has a winning recipe for success over the long haul.
The location went dark last week after Poseidon Mediterranean Bar & Grill’s owners, Peter Mazzella and Peter Pylarinos, sold their upscale Greek restaurant to Robbinsville residents Joseph Immordino and James Karalis, who plan to open a new restaurant, Centro Grille, there during the third week of August.
”I’ve met a lot of great people and really enjoyed myself, but there was an opportunity to sell it and move on to do something else and I took advantage of it,” Mr. Mazzella said Tuesday. He said he will miss Robbinsville, but not the long hours he had to spend at the restaurant away from his family.
The new owner, Mr. Immordino, said Sunday Centro Grille will offer a wide variety of delicious foods at more family-friendly prices in an ambience less formal than the two previous restaurants at the 2360 Route 33 location.
”Our focus is going to be on serving quality food in a more casual, relaxed atmosphere,” Mr. Immordino said. The restaurant will use only the freshest locally grown organic vegetables, “day-boat” seafood and hormone-free meats, he said.
The menu being crafted shows something for everyone — from Soho burgers and eggplant club sandwich (both $10), to pan-roasted Scottish salmon ($19), to the house specialties, such as Griggstown-farmed seasoned chicken on the bone ($18) and 10-ounce Black Angus filet mignon (the most expensive menu item at $29).
Centro Grille will offer more than a dozen different appetizers, as well as salads, pasta dishes and seafood entrees, Mr. Immordino said. Families whose children have less adventurous palates will be able to order classic kids’ menu standbys, such as chicken fingers, he said.
Mr. Immordino, the owner and executive chef at the popular Acacia restaurant on Main Street in Lawrenceville for the past eight years, says he has recruited talented chefs from the Culinary Institute of America and The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia for Centro Grille. He says he is not leaving Acacia and is confident the new restaurant will do well because it will be following the same winning formula: combining great service and fantastic food.
”I’ve always preferred to let our restaurant succeed on the ‘brand’ rather than one chef, as our main goal is to create an exceptional level of food quality and service,” Mr. Immordino said.
The first restaurant at 2360 Route 33 and one of the original Town Center commercial occupants was the flashier Santino’s Bar One, a trendy steakhouse that aimed for an under-35 clientele by featuring loud music and oversized flat screen TVs surrounding a large bar. In the early days, Santino’s had New York City nightclub-style “bottle tables,” where patrons were required to plunk down $100 or more for an entire bottle of liquor in order to be seated. Santino’s closed in January 2010, and the space remained vacant until Poseidon opened in mid-August 2011.
Poseidon’s owners made substantial changes to the interior, removing the oversized bar that was front and center in the dining room and creating a smaller bar in a cozier space behind ocean-themed etched-glass panels. Elegant table linens, a grand piano, plush cushions and pillows, and a distinctive menu gave Poseidon its upscale vibe.
Mr. Immordino says he “loves the new layout” and anticipates making only relatively minor changes to create an atmosphere that is less fussy and more casual. To that end the cream-color upholstery and formal table linens will not be staying and the glass wall that now separates the bar area from the dining area will likely be replaced with a railing to create less division between the two spaces, he said.
Mr. Mazzella, of Poseidon, has been helpful in making the transition to new ownership proceed smoothly, Mr. Immordino said.
”I want to help him as much as I can,” Mr. Mazzella said. “Absolutely, he is a great guy and I want him to do well, and I know he will do well. Poseidon wasn’t closed; it was sold. Poseidon was a success and I know he will have success too.”
Mr. Immordino says opening Centro Grille in Town Center is a “dream come true.”
”Every time I drove by the restaurant in the past I thought to myself, wow, I would love to have that location some day,” Mr. Immordino said. When the opportunity to buy it recently arose, he said he didn’t hesitate.
The restaurant turnover at this location did not give him pause, he said, because he’s confident a “humble approach” to dining with consistently good food and service will make Centro Grille successful over the long haul.

