HOPEWELL BOROUGH PLANNING UPDATE
By Aleen Crispino, Special Writer
Hopewell Borough Planning Board approved an application by Nomad Pizza to open a restaurant on the site of the former Soupe du Jour, which has been vacant since the popular eatery closed in July 2007.
Thomas Grim and Stalin Bedon, co-owners of Nomad Pizza, appeared before the board at a public hearing Oct. 1. The board approved preliminary and final site plans, as well as variances allowing the owners to construct an additional 550-square-foot patio in front of the building at 10 E. Broad St., a walk-in, aluminum refrigerator on the side of the property that will be screened front and back by 8-foot fences, a ground sign and additional lighting.
The board set several conditions for approval. The owners must remove the existing canvas awnings; raise the 6-foot back fence to 8 feet to match the front fence, blocking the neighbors’ view of the walk-in refrigerator; designate one handicapped parking space, and install landscaping to screen the sign, lights and front fence. They must also adjust the sign and lighting to the borough engineer’s recommendations to minimize the impact on neighbors.
Mr. Grim, who is co-founder of Thomas Sweet Ice Cream and Chocolate in Princeton, and Mr. Bedon, started the gourmet pizza catering business in 2007, baking their pies in a wood-fired brick oven built into a 1949 REO Speedwagon truck they bring to each event.
They will continue the catering aspect of their business, but will not use the truck to bake pizzas on site. The new restaurant will serve dinner from 5 to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, said Mr. Grim. Indoor seating capacity is 24 people and an additional 25 people can be accommodated on the front and side patios, said Steven Cohen, the project architect.
Several neighbors of the property, which is located on the corner of East Broad Street and Blackwell Avenue, spoke against the application.
Deborah Rockey of 10 Blackwell Ave., whose house is next door to the property, called the proposed restaurant “an incredibly ambitious and aggressive effort by the applicant to maximize the seating capacity, particularly outdoors.” She said that while the former Soupe du Jour was a “perfect business model” for the site, which is zoned for business and adjacent to a residential zone, the hours of operation would mean “when our day is winding down, this business is winding up.”
”The buildings on this side (of Broad Street) are day businesses. On the other side are night businesses, so this is a change,” said Scott Glenn of 9 Blackwell Ave.
Planning Board Attorney Christopher DeGrezia said the board could limit hours of operation as a condition of granting the variances. However, board members determined that since other restaurants on Broad Street did not have restricted hours it would be unfair to limit them for one and not for all.
The restaurant will still have to comply with state maximum noise levels, which are 65 decibels by day and 50 decibels at night, said Mr. DeGrezia.
IN OTHER BUSINESS, the board approved bulk variances to allow Kyle Stier of 13 Hamilton Ave. to construct a two-car garage and driveway at his home on the corner of Lafayette and Hamilton. The board also approved a historic certificate of appropriateness for replacement siding and shutters at 14 Hamilton Ave.