The new shop as it appeared before dawn Wednesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After nearly two and a half years of town-splitting arguments, Fair Haven now has a Dunkin’ coffee shop.
Considering the wringer he went through to get to this point, owner Domenic Sequeira was in a pretty affable mood Wednesday morning.
Over Easy Kitchen plans to open in space vacated by Bike Haven nearly four years ago. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
No angry crowds, no predictions of traffic jams or children being run over by cars.
A restaurant proposed for Fair Haven’s Acme shopping center had a far easier time winning approval Tuesday night than its prospective neighbor, a Dunkin’ coffee shop that divided the town for months.
This time a year ago, Fair Haven was a town divided. The issue? Whether to allow a Dunkin’ coffee shop to fill a vacancy in the River Road strip mall anchored by an Acme supermarket. The back-and-forth on the Fair Haven, NJ Facebook page got so nasty that the moderator shut down commenting on the issue.
Well this week, seven months after the planning board approved the shop, the still-empty retail space got its Dunkin’ sign, and the moderator allowed a resumption of comments. So how’d that go?
Though turns would still be allowed in both directions on River Road, the shopping center’s eastern driveway will be changed to exit-only, under a condition set by the board. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
More than a year after it was proposed, a Dunkin’ coffee shop won approval to operate in Fair Haven Monday night.
The 6-2 planning board vote, shortly before 11 p.m. capped months of passionate debate over traffic safety, a fast-food law that went MIA and the shop’s potential impact on the small-town character of the borough.
A consultant to the planning board recommends that left turns from the shopping center’s eastern driveway, above, be prohibited. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Attempting to address concerns over traffic safety, an engineer for a hotly debated Dunkin’ coffee shop proposed in Fair Haven has offered an idea he says will safeguard pedestrians.
Another traffic engineer, this one hired by the borough planning board, has also made some suggestions, redbankgreen has learned.
Shopping center principal Dan Hughes listens as objector Tracy Cole speaks. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After a four-month detour over legal issues, a hearing on a plan to open a Dunkin’ coffee shop in Fair Haven resumed Tuesday night, just as hot as before.
For three hours, opponents predicted traffic and safety problems at the Acme-anchored shopping center on River Road where the shop would operate. The site’s principal owner called that scenario “ridiculous.”
Planning board attorney Douglas Kovats, right, leads a joint swearing-in of witnesses at the February 19 hearing. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Even Fair Haven residents hopped up about a proposed Dunkin’ shop might want to fortify themselves with extra caffeine Thursday.
That’s because a zoning board hearing on the controversial plan could prove to be a seminar in arcane land use law.
The Dunkin’ shop would occupy space alongside a new breezeway in the Acme shopping center. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The spillover crowd that was treated to an hour of arcane legal arguments over a proposed Dunkin’ Donuts in Fair Haven last month may soon get a free refill.
Lawyers for two objectors have filed appeals over whether the planning board has jurisdiction to hear the coffee shop’s application, leading to a detour in the case, redbankgreen has confirmed.
The shop would occupy newly renovated space formerly home to Laird’s stationery store. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven residents steamed over the possibility of a Dunkin’ Donuts opening in town had to keep a lid on it Tuesday night.
Instead, a three-hour planning board hearing that required a change of venue to accommodate a spillover crowd was dominated by occasionally hostile cross-examination of a traffic consultant by lawyers representing two objectors.
Plans for the former Laird’s Stationery space in Fair Haven have borough residents abuzz. What’s Going On Here? Click ‘read more’ for the answer. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Ben Lucarelli at the dedication of Williams, Albert and Robards Park in 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Since he abruptly resigned as Fair Haven’s mayor two days ago, Ben Lucarelli hasn’t said a word publicly about his decision.
But a recording of Monday night’s council session captures him frustrated over a loss of “decorum” at public meetings and taking flak for his own conduct.
The owners of Fair Haven’s Dunkin’ coffee shop presented $5,000 Monday to Compañeros de Comida, a student-run volunteer organization that has provided more than 144,000 meals to children and families in need since April, 2020.
The borough plans to buy 623 River Road, outlined in red. The star indicates the firehouse property. (Google Maps image. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Over the objections of business owners and residents, Fair Haven’s council initiated a plan Monday night to buy a River Road site, where it would create a new borough hall and police station.
Even the council’s two newest members, Democrats whose November election signaled a change in the status quo, agreed that the new facilities are “a need, not a want.” But tenants of the target building said the changes would tear at the fabric of the town.
Residents placed red dots on the names of restaurants they would not want to see open in town. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After a prolonged battle over a Dunkin’ donut shop, Fair Haven residents took an “arts and crafts” approach to starting a new dialogue about fast food Tuesday night.
Mayor Ben Lucarelli, right, with Council President Jon Peters at Monday’s council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Steam continued to rise Monday night from last month’s controversial planning board decision to allow a Dunkin’ coffee shop to open in Fair Haven.
At issue at the council’s semimonthly meeting was a proposed ordinance that would all but ban fast-food restaurants, even as advocates acknowledged it was no more than a “stopgap” measure.
The plan called for remodeling the gas station and replacing the car wash, at left above, with a drive-thru Dunkin’ shop. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A plan to create a Dunkin’ coffee shop in Red Bank for Parkway-bound commuters is dead.
A lawyer for the owner of the Shell gas station at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue tells redbankgreen the proposal has been withdrawn.
By JOHN T. WARD
Stopping short, for now, of re-banning fast-food restaurants, Fair Haven officials took steps Monday night to instead prohibit drive-thru restaurants.
The borough council also plans to have the town join a rapidly growing list of New Jersey towns that have banned single-use plastic shopping bags.
Borough attorney Sal Alfieri and planning consultant Fred Heyer at Monday’s council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A missing-in-action law that banned fast food restaurants in Fair Haven is effectively revoked and will have to be rewritten, the borough’s attorney said Monday night.
In that case, the next one needs to address “ambiguities” that enabled a proposed — and controversial — Dunkin’ coffee shop to clear the first hurdle to possible approval, officials and residents said.
Former Councilwoman Bea Sena reads minutes from a 2002 council meeting at which she voiced concern that parts of the borough code had gone missing. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fast food joints in Fair Haven? Why, there oughta be a law, say some residents, angered by a pending proposal for a Dunkin’ coffee shop.
Well, it turns out there is — or was — a borough ordinance explicitly prohibiting fast food restaurants. But it seems to have vanished from the town’s official code book, a resident told the borough council Monday night.
What that means to the most controversial planning board application in recent history, as well as others expected to soon follow, immediately became a lightning rod issue.
A rendering of the new Shell station and Dunkin’ shop at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue. (Drawing by Dynamic Engineering PC. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After an 11-week lull, the owner of a Red Bank gas station continued his bid to build a Dunkin’ shop for Parkway-bound commuters Thursday night with a revised plan.
This one shrinks the proposed coffee shop, eliminates interior seating and adds more space for vehicles to use the drive-thru service.
From left, Harvest Fest Co-Chairs Christine Hayden and Kim Kennedy and Sickles School Nurse Nora Navarro and her daughter Sophie display information and ideas for the Teal Pumpkin Project.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
Saturday, October 3 came in on a wave of coastal flood warnings and hurricane trackings — but despite having to relocate from its usual out-of-doors venue to the All Purpose Room of Knollwood School, The Fair Haven School District’s annual “Harvest Fest” was once again a resounding success. And on an autumn afternoon more soggy than crisp, the inclement weather could not dampen the enthusiasm of volunteers or attendees at the fundraiser for the Fair Haven Parent Teacher Association.
Harvest Fest 2015 featured a plethora of games, a pumpkin decorating contest, and exciting live performances. Refreshments available for purchase included soup and sandwiches from BFF Market in Fair Haven. Seed to Sprout, a new Fair Haven eatery, generously donated cookies to the bake sale, which also featured homemade baked goods.
Approximately 100 parent and school-age volunteers (from seventh grade through high school) kept the action going for the large crowd. PTA Co-Chairs for this year’s Harvest Fest were Christine Hayden and Kim Kennedy.
The latest plan calls for replacing the car wash, at left above, with a convenience store. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Five months after yanking a plan to add a Dunkin’ coffee shop, the owner of Red Bank ‘s lone Shell station will once again try for a convenience store.
Station owner Waseem Chaudhary’s proposal is the third he’s floated in the past seven years.
National Night Out features include a bounce house in Fair Haven, above, and a drunk-driving simulation in Red Bank, below. (Click to enlarge)
What’s going on, civics-wise, this week in some of the towns on the Green…
Fair Haven and Red Bank: Each town hosts its annual “National Night Out” gathering Tuesday evening to get residents, and particularly kids, to casually interact with their police departments, learn some safety lessons and have some fun along the way.
Fair Haven’s event, held behind police headquarters, runs from 5 to 8 p.m. and features a bounce house, a dunking machine, and free food and drinks. Here’s a video of last year’s event.
In Red Bank, The event will include demonstrations by the police department and the volunteer fire and first aid squads, as well as tours of police headquarters and child ID fingerprinting. Red Bank PBA Local 39, Super Foodtown of Red Bank and Manhattan Bagel will offer free food and refreshments.
Two weeks ago, it was double-chocolate doughnuts and average-Joe joe.
Last week: “Banana-Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut Filet” and “Maytag Blue Cheese Crusted Angus Sirloin.”
Following up on our detail from the door of the newly renovated Dunkin’ Donuts on Maple Avenue in Red Bank (which brought in a record number of emails), we stuck to the food-and-branding theme and headed over to Raven and the Peach restaurant in Fair Haven, where we caught a closeup bit of the raven’s beak and eye from the sign out front.
Pam Borghi, Larry Quigley and Tom Otter recognized it. Thanks for writing in, folks.
