The Toms River Township planning board approved the construction of a new Chipotle restaurant – the second in Toms River – at its meeting Wednesday night.
Chipotle began presenting a plan for a new restaurant at 465 Route 37 East, an undeveloped triangular lot situated between Route 37 and Washington Street, near the Whittier Avenue intersection. The restaurant will be 2,325 square feet and contain approximately 65 seats and a mobile pick up drive-thru lane.
The site plan also includes accessory parking, stormwater management facilities, lighting, landscaping and utilities.
Township Planner Dave Roberts said the board granted its approval to the fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain, which currently operates more than 3,000 locations worldwide, including one on Hooper Avenue. The board required the company to slightly reduce its signage to better comply with the township’s zoning ordinance, and agreed to prohibit left turns out of the parking lot of the restaurant onto Washington Street.
The Route 37 location will be the first in the immediate area to include a drive-through facility. The property on which the restaurant will be constructed is a 30,363 square foot parcel owned by Interstate Commercial Real Estate, Inc., of Mount Laurel.