Patrons Pack Roy Rogers During Grand Opening, And Some Camped Overnight

The grand opening of the new Roy Rogers restaurant, Brick, NJ, June 2, 2016. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The new Roy Rogers restaurant in Brick drew a steady, large crowd all day, but not before a big rush to get in Thursday morning.

Patrons, including some who camped out all night, packed the Brick Boulevard eatery after waiting on line for a chance to win a $250 gift card. The gift cards were given to the first 50 customers in the new location.

“We got through the first 50 pretty quickly,” said Jim Plamondon, the company’s president, who was on hand for the grand opening ceremony, which included a ribbon cutting by Mayor John Ducey.

---

Get Brick News Updates Daily Your email address:* Please enter all required fields Correct invalid entries

After the doors were open, strong foot – and drive-in – traffic continued all day.

The grand opening of the new Roy Rogers restaurant, Brick, NJ, June 2, 2016. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

“We’re known to be a cut above the typical fast food restaurant,” said Plamondon, who described today’s Roy Rogers as a restaurant that occupies a niche “between fast food and fast casual.”

The brightly-colored, brand new restaurant may look like a burger joint, but instead features real, USDA Choice roast beef, slow-cooked in on-premises ovens, fried chicken and burgers, which can be customized with a number of options and fixins’.

The Brick location is the company’s 52nd restaurant in New Jersey, and only the second in Ocean County after a long-standing location in Pine Beach. Ed Abramson, owner of the Pine Beach franchise, owns the Brick location as well.

The restaurant opened Thursday after months of construction that followed an approval process that lasted for years after residents of a nearby senior citizen development filed lawsuits trying to block the construction of the restaurant. The same group had driven away a Sonic drive-through from opening in the location. But judging by the crowd enjoying lunch at the restaurant Thursday, Roy Rogers has been met with approval from Brick residents.

The 3,200 square foot restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily and features a drive-through lane.