Club owner Michael Vanleeuwen also told the Suburban he is expecting a “global settlement” to be made official in the coming weeks that will address legal issues surrounding the Route 516 club.
When it first opened in 2003, the 1980s-themed club used valet parking as a means of dealing with the lack of on-site parking, but it was forced to end the practice as a condition of its license renewal later that year.
As a result, patrons who find the club’s 67-space lot full often park their cars on nearby residential streets, a situation that has irked some residents living nearby. Some have told the Township Council about problems with littering on their properties, noise and cars blocking driveways, and have raised concerns about accidents due to patrons walking along and across Route 516 after they’ve been drinking.
Vanleeuwen, in response to a Feb. 10 story in the Suburban regarding complaints made to the council on Feb. 7, said he has permission to use a variety of parking lots adjacent to or near his establishment, but only if the town allows him to use valets. He said he has a signed lease agreement with neighboring Temple Beth Ohr to use its parking lot.
Temple President Allan Benish confirmed that a lease agreement was in the works that would allow Breakfast Club to pay for use of the temple’s nearly 100-space parking lot, but he was awaiting word from the congregation’s attorney as to whether the agreement has been made official.
“Hopefully, this will solve the neighbors’ problems,” Benish said, noting that valets would drive patrons’ cars into the back entrance to the temple lot without having to use Route 516. No patrons would actually drive cars on the temple lot.
Though Vanleeuwen said he has the ability to lease as many as five lots “to keep [cars] out of the neighborhood” streets, Councilwoman Lucille Panos said that, aside from the temple, there are no parking lots close enough to the Breakfast Club that could reasonably be used.
With regard to parking on residential streets, Vanleeuwen said it is legal for his patrons to do that, but described it as a last resort given the inability to valet park. He also said he and staff members regularly walk the areas where patrons park to pick up any debris left behind.
“We usually come back with nothing,” he said. “We’ve never had any problems with litter over there.”
Vanleeuwen said that most area residents he has spoken with have no problems with the club.
He claims that Panos in particular is trying to shut down the club and “went out of her way” to stop his valet parking as part of the effort.
Officials in nearby Sayreville, he said, last year talked about forcing the Krome nightclub, which has since shut down, to use valet parking in order to keep patrons from parking in residential areas. Krome’s owner said at the time that he did not think that was a feasible alternative.
“In Sayreville you have clubs that
are fighting [the borough] so they won’t have to valet. I’m fighting to valet,” Vanleeuwen said.
Panos said there is a reason valet parking is not allowed. She said the town does not want a situation where a valet is repeatedly driving cars down the road to another property, only to be picked up by another employee and brought back, potentially causing unsafe conditions on township roads.
“You should have enough room on your property” for the valets to park the cars, she said, noting her belief that the Grand Marquis, Route 9, is the only place in Old Bridge permitted to use valet parking, which is done on site.
Vanleeuwen also contests the interpretation that his club is not a permitted use in that location, an issue that has been discussed at Town Hall since before the club opened. He provided a copy of a zoning permit signed by township Zoning Officer Mike Serdinsky indicating the nightclub is a permitted use under the township’s zoning ordinance.
Though Serdinsky did not return a phone call this week, Panos said she has a memo from Serdinsky indicating that a nightclub is a permitted use, but a dance hall is not.
“It’s a dance hall,” she said, pointing to the fact that people dance there. “If it quacks, it’s a duck.”
Vanleeuwen also presented a construction permit from the township that categorizes his club as an “A-2” use group. Under the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) national building code, that use group includes both dance halls and nightclubs.
In the end, Vanleeuwen said, he is hopeful the settlement will make all sides happy.
Alluding to previous complaints about noise from the nightclub, Vanleeuwen said he has voluntarily installed a noise vestibule by the front door and further insulated the walls. He said he also has installed a sprinkler system in the club.
“This is a nice place,” he said. “It’s a nice crowd, a fun place, it’s clean. If the parking issue can be resolved, and it can be and could have been a long time ago, … there wouldn’t be any problems.”
Panos said she is not on a vendetta to close his club, which she said is the type of place she would be likely patronize if she was younger.
“I don’t want to shut down any business in town,” she said. “I want it to be safe and proper, and not have things shoved into places they don’t belong.”
The Breakfast Club and Old Bridge Township have been in litigation since early 2004. The club has appealed a state Superior Court ruling regarding limitations on occupancy and the parking issue.