Holiday Snack Bar's outdoor dining plan denied. Here's why.

It's not every day that the meeting of Beach Haven's land use board draws a crowd. But that was the case on Monday, July 17, when supporters of Holiday Snack Bar came out in person and via Zoom to support the restaurant's owner, Eileen Bowker.

The couple, who purchased the seasonal restaurant in 2021, were seeking approval of a minor site plan application that addressed issues the borough had regarding outdoor seating and a buffer abutting a neighboring property.

Following several hours of testimony from both sides, and comments from nearly a dozen members of the public, the board denied the application.

"If they want a new application, they're going to have to come back and do another application," said Frank Little Jr., the board's engineer. "Unfortunately, that's how it works."

The restaurant, which sits on the corner of Centre Street and North Delaware Avenue, was open for business the following day.

"At the core of it, how lucky am I, how blessed am I, to have this little family business with great employees and amazing customers," Bowker said. At the restaurant, "we're trying to not talk about it. Everybody, just enjoy your burgers, and thank you for supporting us."

The restaurant has been a mainstay on Long Beach Island since the 1940s, operating as a pre-existing nonconforming use in a residential zone. Complaints from a neighbor regarding the number of patrons seated outside and early hours of breakfast service led to Bowker's appearance before the land use board.

The back story: LBI's Holiday Snack Bar at odds with Beach Haven over outdoor dining

James Raban, Bowker's attorney, presented a plan showing 48 outdoor seats and a maximum of 32 indoor seats. A more likely scenario, he explained, would be 24 diners indoors. The larger number would allow for the impact of inclement weather on outdoor dining.

The plan also showed the addition of trees to an existing buffer between the restaurant and the adjacent residential property, and the shifting of some tables away from that side of the property. Bowker said tables already have been moved.

"We're not increasing the number of seats, so the impact to the neighborhood should be minimal," said James Brzozowski of the Beach Haven-based engineering firm Horn Tyson & Yoder, which created the site plan. "We're going to provide a vegetative buffer to the west to help keep any detriment away from the neighbor to the west."

Planner Andrew Thomas of the Brielle-based Thomas Planning Associates, who was called to testify by the attorney representing the neighboring homeowner, raised concerns over potential mobility issues in regards to the spacing of the restaurant's outdoor tables, as well as the potential for the proposed trees to encroach on the buffer.

Removing some outdoor seating might make a difference, he said.

"For every seat that we take away, I have to fire a kid, or increase my prices" Bowker said earlier in the meeting.

Board member Penny Edels requested the installation of additional bike racks to accommodate the large number of customers who ride bicycles to the restaurant, to which Bowker was agreeable.

During the meeting, Bowker addressed the issue of the rising population on Long Beach Island and its effect on the restaurant industry.

"We used to have little Cape Cods, now we have much bigger beach homes. I think ... we're trying to hold all the restaurants and businesses to not growing, but we've allowed the residences to get bigger," she said. "And there's not enough seats for the people that are going out to eat."

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The motion denied by the board was made by Edels, who proposed 40 outdoor seats, 24 to 32 indoor seats, extra bike racks if possible, an 8 a.m. opening time, 9 p.m. closing time, and extending the buffer between the properties. Prior to the vote, at least one board member requested more detailed plans be presented.

"I think every one of us understands the business, what it provides for the community. But … this is not just for the Bowkers," board member Tom Medel said. "We have to make sure that the town's protected somewhere down the road, and we have no way of going back and changing it after the fact. Once we grant it, it’s granted, and that’s kind of the problem. We can’t go back and fight town hall after the fact."

A need for outdoor seating

Several people who addressed the land use board spoke to the area's need for outdoor seating.

"The houses grew, there's more people," said Lois Yuhasz of Pine Beach. "People are hungry, they love outdoor dining, and I think that’s it something that has to be looked at and worked out. ... It's part of the culture now, and I think it has to be accepted."

Bill Hutson of Holgate spoke of how the borough has lost a large number of dining options with the recent closure of several restaurants.

"We’re talking Fred’s Diner’s gone, 240 seats. We're taking about Kubel's Too gone, 200 seats. We're talking about Dom's (Dom's Drive In) gone, Joey’s Pizza's gone, and a number of others," he said. "We're close to probably 800 seats gone, and we've replaced just a few things since then."

What led to this?

Earlier this year, the borough denied Bowker a mercantile license, which is required for a business to operate. Holiday Snack Bar’s 2022 license expired May 14.

Bowker, who also owns Bowker's South Beach Grill in Holgate, have been involved in litigation with the borough in Ocean County Superior Court since last summer. She appeared in court on July 14, and a trial was set for December.

Between 2013 and 2020, the restaurant's prior owner, Glenn Warfield, was permitted to have outdoor seating. In 2019, the Land Use Board approved a temporary site plan approval that allowed an increase of seats from 16 to 24. That approval was good for one year.

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In March 2021, Bowker requested and received approval to begin serving breakfast several hours earlier than it had previously, at 7 a.m. The request was granted, with the condition that service could not be offered at the restaurant’s outdoor picnic tables.

In June 2022, the borough contacted Bowker to inform her that the business had been observed serving more people than were permitted outdoors. Holiday Snack Bar subsequently applied for an outdoor dining permit and received approval for 36 outdoor seats.

“Weeks after approval of breakfast hours, the Holiday Snack Bar continued outdoor seating which exceeded approved capacity, and breakfast was being served outdoors, which was never approved,” the borough said in court last summer. "Further, the total number of tables and chairs exceed the required number permitted by the borough and the restaurant’s permit for outdoor seating.”

"By admission of their own ordinance, they give you a mercantile license, then you apply for the outdoor dining permit," Bowker said. "They approved us for 36 seats outside. Then the outside dining permit automatically transfers with your hours of operation. So they said that I could open at 7, and then they said no breakfast during breakfast hours."

In late June 2022, Beach Haven issued a summons to Bowker. Soon after, the borough says it revoked the restaurant’s outdoor permit dining license.

The borough’s bylaws allow a license to be revoked “if the establishment fails to comply or if conditions of the permit are not adhered to.”

Bowker contends that she only received notices from Beach Haven regarding the revocation of the permit, not an actual revocation.

The borough has asked Bowker to go before the Land Use Board with a new site plan proposal that would allow outdoor dining at the restaurant, saying the outdoor permit dining license granted earlier was temporary.

In Beach Haven, such permits are valid April through November.

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"They gave me a CO (certificate of occupancy)," Bowker said. "If this had been an issue when I purchased, they (shouldn't have given) me a CO. They have been changing the rules and moving the goal posts. It has not been easy, it has been challenging."

Last summer, the borough filed an injunction in Ocean County Superior Court that would have restricted the restaurant from serving breakfast outdoors and from allowing more than the permitted amount of outdoor seating. Judge Therese A. Cunningham denied the injunction.

"Holiday Snack Bar is a pre-existing nonconforming use in a residential neighborhood, so any change to their operation requires site plan review under borough code," said Bruce W. Padula, attorney for the borough, in court.

Bowker contends that as a pre-existing nonconforming use, outdoor seating has always been permitted.

"Why should she appeal ... to the Land Use Board when her argument is that she was exempt from approval because these are pre-existing conditions?" asked Curtis Dowell, attorney for Holiday Snack LLC.

"I do not want enemies from this," Bowker said in May. "Towns should be business friendly. It becomes a he said, she said."

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Beach Haven: Borough denies Holiday Snack Bar outdoor dining plans