1290 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, where a Starbucks coffee shop was approved. (Credit: Google Maps)
The Toms River Township planning board this week approved an application to convert a shuttered bank into a Starbucks coffee shop with a drive-through window.
The Starbucks location will be located at the site of a former Bank of America branch at 1290 Hooper Avenue. The parcel is next door to the Red Lobster restaurant and is bordered by Oak Avenue to the south.
1290 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, where a Starbucks coffee shop was approved. (Credit: Google Maps)
Township Planner David Roberts confirmed to Shorebeat that the board approved the application at its meeting Wednesday night. The owner, 1290 Hooper Avenue LLC, applied for variance relief on several fronts related to the repurposing of the building. The Starbucks will be 2,430 square feet in area and will feature a drive-through lane.
Additional site improvements includes modification to the existing traffic circulation design, new off-street parking, lighting and landscaping.
The variances were minor in nature, since a Starbucks coffee shop already conforms to the zone in which it will be located. They concerned existing setbacks, as well as the installation of a 7-foot directional sign where the township would normally require a sign no larger than 4-feet.
