Planning Board Denies Deli’s Application for Extended Hours

The corner of Bethany Road and Holmdel Road will remain dark after 10 p.m. following the Hazlet Zoning Board’s decision to deny a request by Angel's Deli to extend their operating hours.

Holmdel and Hazlet residents filled the Hazlet Municipal Building on April 10, to voice their opinions and concerns about a local business' request to change their hours of operation. The request asked the board to allow the deli to operate from 5 a.m. until midnight, instead of the current hours of 4 a.m. until 10 p.m. The request was made to finance the expansion of the store and to keep it competitive.

“All the amendment of time really does is help make the use more competitive and provide financing that allows the project to move forward,” explained planner Ard Bernard. “The traffic report earlier discussed indicates that most convince stores have a significant demand up until midnight. In this case, there are some significant late night traffic generators like the train station and that would allow this site to generate a significant amount of business.”

This is not the first time Angel’s Deli has been in front of the Planning Board asking for extended hours of operation. A previous explained that last summer, the deli went before the board asking for a modification of a use variance that would permit them to do business from 4 a.m. until 2 a.m.

At the April 10 meeting, presentations were given by engineers, planners, and owner Ashok Patel, voicing their professional opinions about how the extended hours of the operation could benefit the business and town without disturbing the area. After each presentation, residents made their concerns about noise level, crime opportunity, traffic, and the future buyers of the location, well known.

After hearing all of the public’s comments, the board unanimously voted to deny Patel’s request for increased hours.