Drive-Through Smoothie Shop Might Replace House At Busy Intersection

This is a sample of what a Smoothie King might look like, based on its website. (Screenshot by Judy Smestad-Nunn)

  BRICK – A proposal for a drive-through smoothie franchise that would be located near one of the busiest central intersections in town came before the Township Planning Board recently.

  Applicant Humza Tanvir, who owns six other Smoothie King franchises in New Jersey, said he wants to demolish an existing one-story home at 129 Chambers Bridge Road and build a 1,100-square foot building that his attorney John Jackson said “is an appropriate design for the location.”

  The site is on Chambers Bridge Road, opposite and slightly north of the entrance to the ShopRite/Kohls complex.

  Cars would enter the parking lot of the franchise and circulate around the building to pick up their smoothie from a drive-thru window. Tanvir said that an estimated 40 percent of his customers use an app to pre-order their smoothie, so there are rarely more than three cars in the queue, although the design ensures that nine cars could circulate in the lot. An inside lane could accommodate even more cars so the line would not extend onto Chambers Bridge Road, he said.

  Three of his six Smoothie King locations are drive-thrus, Tanvir added.

  There are eight parking spots proposed, so customers can park and go inside where there are only a couple of chairs, he said, because the business is not designed for patrons to go inside for their smoothie.

This house would be demolished to make way for the new business. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)

  The only product they sell is fruit smoothies with vegetables and protein, so there would be five to seven blenders, but there would be no cooking or stoves in the building.

  Very little trash is generated since most of the customers take the product offsite.

  Asked by Jackson why Tanvir chose the site, he responded that the lot was for sale, and since it’s a busy location it would be good for his business.

  The applicant’s design engineer Doug Hanley said the 20,000 square foot lot, or .46 acres, has 200 linear feet on Chambers Bridge Road.

  “It is the lowest possible intensity drive-through facility you could open on any site,” Hanley said.

  The building would measure 20 feet by 55 feet, which is smaller than the minimum B-2 General Business Zone requirement of 2,000 square feet.

Humza Tanvir describes his proposed business to the Planning Board. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)

  By constructing a smaller than required building, it is easier to create more buffering, circulation and amenities in the layout, Hanley said.

  Deliveries of Smoothie King supplies would occur one or two times a week by van during off-peak hours, he said.

  Customers would enter the site from the right lane, Hanley said, which would not affect the turning lane into the ShopRite/Kohls shopping center. Patrons could only make a right to exit the site, he added.

  “There would never be a queue that would back up onto Chambers Bridge Road,” the engineer said.

  Landscaping plans call for 68 plantings, a majority for residential buffering to the east and north, Hanley said.

  The applicant is asking for a handful of mostly bulk variances and waivers for lot depth, building size and parking space width.

This map shows where the smoothie shop would possibly be. (Screenshot by Judy Smestad-Nunn)

  There are at least two objectors to the application, including one nearby resident and attorney Charles P. Tivenan, who is representing brothers Peter and John Kos, who own the building just south of the proposed Smoothie King.

  The meeting will continue in Town Hall on January 26 at 7 p.m. when the objectors could cross examine the professionals and there would be public comment.