TIMES
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
THE TOMS RIVER
Vol. 12 - No. 34
Your Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving All of Toms River Township
QUICKCHEK HEARING BEFORE PLANNING BOARD
–Photos by Catherine Galioto The now-demolished site at Fischer and Rt 37, where a QuickChek convenience store and gas station is planned, similar to Beachwood. By Catherine Galioto TOMS RIVER – The long vacant furniture store is demolished, and with it neighboring homes and businesses bought as part of plans to build a QuickChek gas station and convenience store at Fischer Boulevard and Route 37. But although the block between Adams,
Foster, Fischer and Route 37 is now mostly a flattened parcel behind chain link fence, the developer has another step to clear: going before the planning board to receive an extension on the approval of their plans. The hearing on whether to grant that extension will be 6 p.m. December 21 in
Toms River town hall. Plans include a 5,496 square-foot food store, including 12 indoor seats and eight outdoor seats, as part of the convenience store and quick foods model also used by Wawa. For the gas station end of business, the (Hearing - See Page 4)
A Day That Will Live In Infamy
By Judy Smestad-Nunn OCEAN COUNTY – A local WWII veteran was honored, and was also a guest speaker during a ceremony held on the 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lakewood resident, Jim DiPiazza, 91, who served in the Pacific theater during the war, was presented with a proclamation by Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari that called the December 7, 1941 attack “a defining moment in the history of the United States.” During a two-wave, two-hour attack on
Pearl Harbor by Japanese warplanes, which began at 7:55 a.m. on a Sunday, over 2,400 people were killed, another 1,000 were wounded, 21 American ships were sunk or damaged, and 300 airplanes were damaged or destroyed, most of which were still on the ground. Nearly half of the casualties were on the naval battleship USS Arizona, which was hit four times by Japanese bombers and eventually sank. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on
Japan. Before introducing DiPiazza, Head Reference Librarian Elizabeth Cronin said that “commemoration requires remembrance,” and that many who were there during the attack are “fading from living memory.” A group called Pearl Harbor Survivors Society officially disbanded in December 2011 since there too few survivors left to keep the organization running, Cronin said. The Society transferred their assets to the (Infamy - See Page 4)
Inside This Week’s Edition
Business Directory ........................... 24 Classifieds ........................................ 23 Community News ....................... 10-15 Dear Joel ......................................... 21 Dear Pharmacist .............................. 19 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News .................... 18 Fun Page ......................................... 25 Inside The Law ................................. 27 Letters to the Editor ............................ 8 Wolfgang ......................................... 31 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
December 17, 2016
Liquor License Transfer For Route 37
By Catherine Galioto TOMS RIVER – A transfer of a liquor license needs approval for one chain restaurant hoping to open December 19 on Route 37. The liquor license for the Mellow Mushroom was expected to be assigned from a pocket license to its address, 1111 Route 37 West, Toms River, pending township council approval at its December 13 meeting. Mellow Mushroom announced on its Toms River page that the planned opening would be December 19. The Toms River location of the custom pizza and bar restaurant is the fi rst one for New Jersey. The liquor license is held by AR Seashore LLC, owned by Robert B. Kane of Vicenzo Drive. It was a pocket license, meaning it had no place associated with it, and the council needed to approve its activation and assigning to an address, in this case the Mellow Mushroom restaurant. The liquor license was held in pocket by Kane, who will transfer it to AR Seashore, doing business as the Mellow Mushroom. The license was transferred and has been held in pocket since 2005. Before then, the license was held by Citizen State Beverage Inc. doing business as the New Villager, a strip club on Route 9, and sold, according to the township clerk’s office. The westbound Route 37 parcel, which is adjacent to the CVS, Wendy’s and Dunkin Donuts near Bananier, was previously a long vacant office building for a propane business. In the last several months, the new restaurant has installed its guts and final signage in anticipation of its opening. Longtime Diner Shutters Generations of customers packed the Toms River Diner on its final days as news of its closing spread throughout the town. Serving up its last cup of coffee around 2 p.m. December 11, the Toms River Diner on Route 37 East near Washington Street closed after operating under the Vasilakis family since opening in 1972, according to the diner’s website. (License - See Page 5)
Carmona ~ Bolen Home for Funerals, LLC
Michael J. Defonzo Jr., Manager • NJ Lic #4075
TOMS RIVER • 732-349-1922 Traditional Funerals ▪ Cremations ▪ Memorials ▪ Pre-Planning | www.carmonabolenfh.com WHITING • 732-350-0003