Club gets its license
for limited operation
O.B. limits occupancy

at ’80s-themed club; valet parking nixed

BY SUE M. Morgan

Staff Writer

The booze can continue to be poured at the Breakfast Club.

However, if any township officials visit the Route 516 establishment, it may not be for drinks, but rather to count heads.

The Old Bridge Township Council voted 7-0 Monday to renew the liquor license for the popular but embattled establishment, but club owner Michael Vanleeuwen did not appear pleased as he and his attorney left the renewal hearing that has continued since June 23.

Council members agreed to renew the license with a number of conditions, only after Assistant Township Attorney Carol Berlen advised them that a denial would probably be overturned by an administrative law judge or by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC).

Those conditions pertain to patron occupancy limits, parking, security and a floor plan compliant with that of a business operating as a restaurant.

Vanleeuwen, who has contended that the business complies with the township’s ordinances regarding parking and occupancy for a sit-down restaurant, referred all questions from a Greater Media Newspapers reporter to his attorney, David Bruins, of North Haledon.

Bruins, who sat beside Vanleeuwen during the council’s deliberations and vote, did not indicate if he will appeal any of the conditions.

"We will be reviewing the decision that has been made," Bruins said.

During the council’s discussion, Berlen presented three of the four conditions formulated by Township Attorney William Ruggierio, who has presided over two previous hearings but was absent from Monday night’s hearing.

The fourth condition, relating to security concerns that were voiced by Councilman Edward Testino and Ward 4 Councilman G. Kevin Calogera, came out of the council deliberations.

One condition limits the Breakfast Club’s maximum occupancy to 200 patrons, as was allowed when the 50-year-old building housed its previous tenant, McGuire’s Restaurant and Sports Bar.

According to Township Engineer John Vincente, the 200-patron maximum was in place when the Breakfast Club was issued its certificate of occupancy last spring.

No variation from that limit will be allowed without a waiver from the township’s Zoning Board of Adjustment or the local fire marshal’s office, Berlen said.

The second condition mandates that Vanleeuwen re-arrange the building’s interior floor plan to provide tables and chairs to seat 200 patrons. Such was the floor plan approved by the township’s code enforcement department prior to the issuance of the initial building permit last fall, Vincente explained.

To ensure compliance with the township’s zoning ordinances, the third condition prohibits Vanleeuwen from offering valet parking on or around the building’s premises, Berlen told the council. Vanleeuwen would have to get a waiver or variance from the proper township board in order to offer valet parking, she noted.

Valet parking has been offered at the club, located at Route 516 and Old Matawan Road, since its opening in March.

The final condition requires Vanleeuwen to assign a security detail to monitor the club’s 67-spot parking lot, perimeter fire lanes and surrounding areas.

Vanleeuwen’s overall security plan, which must be reviewed and approved by Old Bridge Police Chief Thomas Collow, is to indicate the number of security employees inside and outside of the building, the hours and days when those employees will be working, where they will be stationed, and their assigned duties, Berlen noted.

Despite Berlen’s advice, many council members were reluctant to renew Vanleeuwen’s license. Residents living near the establishment have complained to officials about noise emanating from the club and about patrons who park their vehicles on residential streets, often blocking driveways.

Calogera reiterated his stance that Vanleeuwen and his attorneys have misrepresented the nature of the Breakfast Club’s operations by calling it a restaurant when it actually offers a limited menu and a small kitchen area.

"[Vanleeuwen] came to us originally and misrepresented the use," Calogera said. "We have a misrepresentation and that has caused a problem of credibility."

Because the business remains open until 3 a.m. on weekend nights, patrons have been observed walking along a darkened Route 516 after the club closes, he noted.

"We have people walking down Route 516 and crossing 516, often in an impaired state," Calogera said.

Testino warned Vanleeuwen against testing the pliability of the conditions set forth in the renewal.

Vanleeuwen will be held accountable for any situation or disaster such as a club fire that might result from a lack of compliance, Testino went on.

"If you come before this body again, you’d better understand that strike one is already past the plate," Testino told Vanleeuwen. "People are going to be watching this establishment."

Meanwhile, one code enforcement officer indicated that he and his colleagues, as well as officials from the fire marshal’s office, will be visiting the Breakfast Club frequently to see if Vanleeuwen is in compliance.

"We’re going to be looking at the occupancy load and whether or not there are tables and chairs on the dance floor," said Mike Serdinsky, a code enforcement officer.

"We’ll issue as many summonses as needed," he added.

Code enforcement will also monitor parking procedures to ensure that vehicles are not being stacked in the lot’s aisles or the building’s fire lane, Serdinsky noted. Such an arrangement could prevent emergency vehicles from accessing the building, he said.

"They’re not supposed to park where there is a fire lane around the building," Serdinsky said.

On one recent weekend night, Ward 6 Councilwoman Lucille Panos said she observed an overflow of vehicles on streets near the Breakfast Club. Panos, in turn, contacted the police department and Fire Marshal Richard Diaz to investigate.

That night, Diaz and several police officers counted nearly 300 persons exiting the club at closing time, Panos noted.

Because many of Panos’ constituents reside near the club, the councilwoman said she expects to stay on top of any problems or violations.

"We will check on them and document any violations," Panos said.

Without the valet parking, the Breakfast Club will have a harder time meeting patron parking needs, Panos said.

"They will be watched very carefully. They’re worse off than they were before," she said.

Though the club’s valet service was using the parking lot of the neighboring Miller Elementary School for overflow parking, the temporary arrangement between Vanleeuwen and the Old Bridge Board of Education has ceased, Serdinsky confirmed.

The Breakfast Club is located in a commercial-neighborhood zone. A restaurant with a bar is permitted in that zone, but a dance hall or nightclub is not, Serdinsky has said.

When Vanleeuwen first applied to have the liquor license from McGuire’s transferred to the Breakfast Club last November, he indicated that the 1980s-themed business would be operated as a bar with dancing.

The council then advised Vanleeuwen to apply to the zoning board for a use variance prior to obtaining the liquor license. Vanleeuwen instead revised his floor plan and subsequently told the council that the Breakfast Club would be a sit-down restaurant.

Nonetheless, the council subsequently denied Vanleeuwen’s liquor license transfer due to concerns that the operation would actually be run as a so-called dance hall, not a restaurant.

Vanleeuwen later obtained his liquor license by purchasing stock in New Jersey Wine and Spirits Inc., the previous holder of McGuire’s license. McGuire’s closed in late 2001.

Panos, who has also questioned the nature of the Breakfast Club’s operation, is pleased that Old Bridge, rather than the state, will be monitoring the establishment’s license.

"We turned them down once before for the license. They went to the state and got it," Panos said.

"This [decision] puts the ball back in our court," she added. "We’re keeping this in our own back yard and we’ll be watching them carefully."