New Owners Prepare to Reopen Absecon’s Hi Point Pub

The soon-to-be new owners of the Hi Point Pub in Absecon are preparing to reopen the bar and restaurant that was a landmark on the corner of White Horse Pike and Shore Road in Absecon for more than 50 years.

Hi Point Pub lost its liquor license and was forced to close in April 2022 after a number of serious violations of its liquor license. At the time, the NJ Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control called the establishment "a nuisance to the community".

Hi Point Pub was accused of allowing brawls or acts of violence, an assault, having an unconscious patron in the bar, overserving, underage drinking, and fights on the property involving security personnel for Hi Point Pub who were criminally disqualified from holding those positions.

Hi Point was also the subject of ongoing ABC investigations into two fatal car crashes with ties to the pub.

In July 2021, a 58-year-old Massachusetts man was fatally struck by a vehicle as he attempted to cross six lanes of traffic on foot on the White Horse Pike at Station Avenue.

The state's probe alleged that Hi Point Pub had served the man eight beers in a two-hour span before his death.

In January 2022, a Northfield man allegedly struck and killed a 67-year-old pedestrian on White Horse Pike. The ABC determined the driver had been drinking at Hi Point prior to the crash. The investigation also found that seven DWI arrests were linked to Hi Point during the first ten months of 2021.

Lilian Cortes-Peterson says she and her husband, who will close on the sale of the Hi Point Pub on May 19, plan to make sure that doesn't happen again at the new Hi Point Pub.

Cortes-Peterson, who lives in Absecon, says there were many talks with the ABC to guarantee they understood the responsibilities of a state liquor license.

The couple will be hiring someone to oversee security and all bartenders will take training classes to learn how to tell if someone is intoxicated. There will also be stringent ID checks to make sure all guests are over 21.

The plan is to focus on an older crowd at the new Hi Point Pub -- 'the over 30" set.

A former captain in the Army who has been working in telecommunications, Cortes-Peterson says she wants to bar to be active in the community and to be someplace nice close by for locals to go.

She tossed out a handful of ideas she hopes to implement at Hi Point Pub: from open-mike nights, Quizzo, karaoke and comedy nights, to live music on weekends.

The menu will be somewhat pared-down but favorites like the Hi Point special, the Reuben sandwich, and the crab bisque will remain. They will also be introducing some Irish dishes to the menu.

Cortes-Peterson says the restaurant is in fairly good condition, but some work will be completed updating the kitchen and the bathrooms.

Work is underway on hiring managers, but adding general staff will wait until the sale is finalized.

The re-opening of Hi Point Pub is planned for mid-June.