A developer that owns a shopping plaza in Brick Township, already occupied by a Wawa, will present a proposal to build a Popeyes fast food restaurant at the site next week.
The hearing on the proposal, which would see the restaurant built next door to the new Wawa near the corner of Route 88 and Jack Martin Boulevard, was originally scheduled for Oct. 19. The Zoning Board of Adjustment that night had a lengthy agenda, causing the hearing to be rescheduled. A filing over the weekend confirmed that the hearing would now take place at the board’s Nov. 30 meeting.
The applicant, JSM at Martin Boulevard, owned by developer Jack Morris, previously received approval for the construction of a 124-seat restaurant and bank at the site. The new proposal calls for the scrapping of those plans and the replacement of the bank portion with a 2,340 square foot, 60 seat Popeyes fast food restaurant.
Popeyes, a Miami-based fast food chain which serves Louisiana-style fried chicken dishes, would open its Brick location at 1906 Route 88. The rear of the property includes the remainder of the Laurelton Mobile Home Park. The commercial space is accessible from the state highway as well as Jack Martin Boulevard.
The Popeyes location would include a “double stacked” drive through, according to the application filed with the planning board.
Though the fast food restaurant and drive-through are both permitted uses in the B-3 zone in which the property is located, JSM requires bulk variance relief from the board before being able to begin construction. The vast majority of those variances, however, were already approved under the previously-proposed plan for the site. The new variances being requested have to do with additional signage that would be installed to support the operations of the Popeyes location.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the township municipal complex Wednesday, Nov. 30.
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Editor’s Note: This story originally reflected a hearing before the planning board rather than the zoning board. It has been corrected.