MILLTOWN — The Tomato Factory may not be a drive-through restaurant, but it became one on Dec. 23 when an unlicensed New York man drove a van through the front of the building.
Around 9:55 a.m., the 21-year-old driver was pulling a commercial van into a parking space in front of the restaurant in Heritage Plaza, Ryders Lane, when he lost control of the vehicle, police said. He told police that although he hit the brake, the van continued up over the curb and into the front of the restaurant.
“He was not intoxicated or anything,” Milltown police Cpl. Robert Keating said. “We took the truck and impounded it, and we’re going to test the brakes.”
Police issued the driver summonses for careless driving and driving without a license.
According to Keating, the van went about 5 feet into the restaurant. No one was inside the building at the time, owner Frank Valenti said.
“Thank God for that,” Valenti said. “It was quite a bit of damage.”
The front and entry doors were destroyed, and there was damage to two walls and the ceiling, Valenti said. In addition, a couple of tables near the front of the building were damaged.
By the following day, Milltown-based Caruso Construction was working to get the restaurant back in business.
“They did a great job,” Valenti said. “Thank God we were open by Friday.”
Workers installed a temporary front door and window on the building, which allowed for the restaurant to reopen. A daily newspaper reported the accident and the restaurant’s closing, but did not immediately update readers on the opening, Valenti said.
“Due to that, [business on] Friday and Saturday wasn’t what it should be,” Valenti said.T
he restaurant owner said he heard the driver was going “pretty fast” through the parking lot before smashing through the front of the restaurant.
The Tomato Factory is located at 264 Ryders Lane in Heritage Plaza. For hours or information, call 732-249-1199.

