A building in a Mercer County college town that, until recently, was a place to mail letters and ship packages could soon be a place for residents and visitors to eat and drink.
Over 80 years ago, the Princeton Post Office opened at 20 Palmer Square East, just a block from the campus of Princeton University, in what was at the time a brand new development called Palmer Square. The United States Postal Service (USPS) served the community out of the historic building for decades, but beginning in 1997, according to The Times of Trenton, the agency announced plans to sell the structure. However, the plans fell through, and the building remained active as a post office until 2015, when the USPS opened a location to Nassau Street. Despite outcry from some community members, the Palmer Square branch closed, and sign was posted outside advertising that the building was available.
Now, plans are moving forward to revitalize the old post office. According to a legal notice, 20 Palmer Square East, LLC, which, according to the Princeton Packet, is owned by the president of LCOR Ventures, is seeking Preliminary and Final Site Plan approval from the Princeton Planning Board to convert the building into a brewpub with a restaurant, and bar. The proposal calls for adding a 484 square foot glass enclosure to be used as a main entrance to the brewpub on the side of the building that used to serve as the loading docks for the post office. The bar and brew house would be located in the basement, the notice states, and the kitchen and a dining room would be on the first floor. The plans also call for expanding the mezzanine level to 1,000 square feet to provide more space for a dining area.
Planet Princeton reported that the brewpub will be a location of the Triumph Brewing Company, which currently owns brewpubs on nearby Nassau Street and in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
The Princeton Planning Board will hear the proposal during its meeting on Thursday, July 13th at 7:30pm in the main meeting room of the Municipal Building, located at 400 Witherspoon Street.
