Hearing on three-story steakhouse in Somerville delayed without reason

Mike Deak, MyCentralJersey.com
·2 min read
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SOMERVILLE – A proposal to build two restaurants, including a steakhouse, in a new building at the corner of Main and Bridge streets will be reviewed next month by the borough’s Planning Board.

Oak Somerville LLC was originally scheduled to appear before the board on Jan. 26, but the public hearing was put off until Feb. 23.

Bernie Navatto, now in his 26th year as board chairman, gave no reason at Wednesday's meeting why the matter was delayed.

Oak Somerville is proposing to demolish the one-story building at the corner and build a three-story restaurant and a two-story restaurant in a single building.

The three-story restaurant would be a steakhouse with a roof terrace bar. The two-story restaurant would have an open roof terrace facing East Main Street on the second floor.

Oak Somerville LLC was originally scheduled to appear before the board on Jan. 26, but the public hearing was put off until Feb. 23.
Oak Somerville LLC was originally scheduled to appear before the board on Jan. 26, but the public hearing was put off until Feb. 23.

In 2019, Jack Cust Jr., a former Major League Baseball player and an All-American first baseman at Immaculata High School, told the Borough Council that he wanted to build a steakhouse and indoor food hall at the busy intersection across from the Somerset County Courthouse.

EARLIER: Is Somerville’s downtown getting a new three-story steakhouse? Developer hopes so

Cust said he wanted to bring Oak, the steakhouse, to the site along with an adjacent food hall with spaces for up to 21 vendors.

The development would be like one in Easton, Pennsylvania, where Oak has become part of that city's downtown revitalization.

But the plans for the food hall have been dropped.

Cust, son of developer Jack Cust who is building a mixed-use project on Flemington's Main Street opposite the Historic Hunterdon County Courthouse, bought the property that has housed several businesses, including a luncheonette, print shop, hearing aid store, newsstand, vape shop and check cashing service.

The plan requires variances for lot coverage, rear yard setback, awning percentage over sidewalk and ground floor window area.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Somerville steakhouse hearing delayed without reason