BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer
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KAREN BOWES
Do you want a six pack with that burger? A hamburger grill in the bar room of Olde Village Pub and Liquors, Middletown, is the catalyst of a debate on whether the local watering hole qualifies as a restaurant.
Township officials say it is; the owners say it’s not. Why does it matter?
Because there’s a $626,200 liquor license at stake.
Township officials have been trying to sell the license for months. Only one bidder has surfaced in that time, Kenneth Freidman, of New Vernon. If the bid is granted, Freidman would open Middletown Bottle King, a large discount liquor store to be located in the Village Plaza on Route 35 and Old Monmouth Road.
Olde Village Pub and Liquors is located nearby, hidden from the highway behind a defunct gas station in a small strip mall.
Owners Kyle and Mike Robbins have hired an attorney to fight the bid’s approval, saying that to open another liquor store within 2,000 feet is in violation of a township ordinance. The Robbinses also maintain that the backroom bar is just that – a bar and not a restaurant.
“We’re primarily a liquor store,” Kyle Robbins said. “The state Alcoholic Beverage Commission [ABC] does not consider us a restaurant.”
But Township Attorney Bernard Reilly does. At the April 18 Township Committee meeting, Reilly maintained that Olde Village Pub and Liquors was a restaurant, comparing it to the Lincroft Inn and Outback Steak House.
“Which is ludicrous,” Kyle Robbins said. “What restaurant allows you to buy a sub next door and bring it in with you?”
The Olde Village Pub does not have a proper menu but a list of food choices is written on a large board over the bar. Bartender Joe McCarthy prepares burgers, hot dogs and sausage sandwiches between serving drinks to patrons.
The ordinance in question states that two liquor stores cannot be within 2,000 feet of each other. This rule does not apply to restaurants that also serve alcohol.
The Robbins say that if the Bottle King opens, it will severely damage their livelihood, perhaps putting them out of business.
“These rules were placed on the books a long time ago for a reason,” Kyle Robbins said. “Sixty-five percent of our business is as a liquor store. We’re not a big distribution retailer. People come to us because we’re convenient.”
Larry Loigman, an Ocean attorney, is representing the owners.
Loigman spoke on behalf of the owners at the April 18 meeting, saying the bid specifications were rigged for Freidman, and accused Reilly with having a personal financial interest in granted Freidman the license. Reilly denied the accusations and said there was no legal reason not to grant Freidman the license.
Kyle Robbins said he fears the committee does not understand what her business truly is because they haven’t seen it from the inside.
“We don’t think they really know what all the details are,” Robbins said. “We know that $620,000 is a lot of money for Middletown, and we want them to have it. But we don’t want it at our expense.”
Reilly is presently on vacation and could not be reached for comment. An associate at the law firm of Dowd & Reilly spoke on Reilly’s behalf on Monday.
“The township attorney stands by his previous interpretation of the ABC regulations,” Richard Leahey said. “Olde Village Pub is considered a restaurant for the purposes of this application.”
A second hearing on the matter will take place May 16 at town hall.