White Castle proposed at old Texaco site

BY COLLEEN LUTOLF
Staff Writer

COLLEEN LUTOLF The former Texaco at the corner of Brick Boulevard and Hooper Avenue may be transformed into a drive-thru White Castle. Brick may be the new home of the Slyders.No, it's not an ice hockey team, but the bite-sized, onion-topped burgers you can buy in a sack at White Castle.

The burger chain is currently seeking Planning Board approval to construct a 24-hour drive-thru White Castle on the abandoned Texaco site at the corner of Brick Boulevard and Hooper Avenue adjacent to the Kennedy Mall.

White Castle is seeking six bulk variances for lot width and depth, front and rear yard setbacks, and impervious coverage, most of which already existed for the gas station.

The proposed 2,575-square-foot building will seat 60, but White Castle Regional Director of Restaurant Operators Harry M. Jensen Jr. testified before the board April 12 that most of those seats won't be filled.

"Sixty percent of the business goes through the drive-thru," he said.

The drive-thru will accommodate a line of up to eight cars, said Nelson Engineering Associates Inc. Vice President David H. Boesch, who provided engineering and architectural testimony.

Only 10 percent of White Castle's business will cater to sit-down customers, Jensen said. The remaining 30 percent of sales are expected to be generated through carry-out.

With 23 parking spaces planned for the site, three above what is required by township ordinance, Jensen said parking would be adequate.

"Very few people will come in and eat," he said.

Although the township's traffic engineer, Mark W. Kataryniak provided a detailed report with over 20 items he felt needed to be addressed by the applicant's traffic engineer, Robert Nelson, principal of Nelson Engineering Associates, Inc., Wanamassa, did not have a traffic report to offer the board last week.

"Mark Kataryniak had done a report and they didn't do a report in response," said Township Land Use & Planning Director Michael P. Fowler. "We continued it to the next meeting and the traffic guy's going to get a report done."

Traffic accessing and exiting the site and traffic circulation through the site needs to be addressed, Kataryniak said in his report.

"Maneuvering into the site, that's going to be an interesting trip," board President Daniel Kelly said.

The applicant is looking to use driveways on Brick Boulevard and Hooper Avenue utilized by the former Texaco.

"The gas station functioned all those years with same driveway," Fowler said. "This time we're going to make it better if we can."

One issue that needs clarification is a proposed Brick Boulevard exit. Vehicles exiting the site there could attempt to cross five lanes of traffic in a short span to make a left-hand turn onto Chambers Bridge Road, Fowler said.

Kataryniak suggested the applicant move the exit further south on Brick Boulevard.

Ocean County Planning Board members frowned upon making new road cuts into Brick Boulevard since the county completed a multi-million dollar Brick Boulevard road project last year, Boesch said.

Nelson was expected to complete a traffic report and present it to the board during a special public board meeting April 19.