The purpose of this article is to encourage
investment in the Borough of Seaside Heights and to provide for the
establishment of fine restaurants. It is the determination of the
Borough Council of the Borough of Seaside Heights, that there is presently
an insufficient number of fine restaurants in the Borough of Seaside
Heights, that Seaside Heights is a family resort town which is visited
by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and that the economy
and image of the Borough of Seaside Heights would substantially benefit
from the establishment of new restaurants. The Borough Council further
finds that investment in new restaurants is severely impeded by the
inability of the Borough of Seaside Heights to issue new plenary retail
consumption licenses to potential investors of restaurant businesses,
which inability to issue such new licenses is based on the extraordinary
number of plenary retail consumption license currently outstanding.
The Borough Council further determines that the best means to encourage
investment is to place the within restriction on the issuance and
transfer of plenary retail consumption licenses.
[Amended 5-15-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-08]
A. No plenary retail consumption license shall be issued for or transferred
to a premises unless such premises is operated by the licensee as
a restaurant that is located in the Retail Business Zone. A restaurant
is a commercial premises in which no other business is conducted,
except such as incidental to the restaurant. A restaurant is defined
herein as an establishment regularly and principally used for the
purpose of providing meals to restaurant patrons that are seated at
tables and chairs in a dining room, having a full-service kitchen
adequately equipped for the preparation, cooking and serving of food
and shall have, at minimum, a dishwasher, range, sink, oven, refrigerator
and countertop. The restaurant shall offer to customers a standard
printed menu or menu board system or similar signage featuring a list
of meals and food items with separate prices listed adjacent to each
meal item, or a price for a full course meal.
[Amended 5-19-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-13]
B. The provisions of Subsection
A shall not apply to the annual renewal of the licenses presently outstanding.
C. The provisions of Subsection
A, requiring a restaurant as defined in that subsection, shall not apply to the issuance or transfer of a plenary retail consumption license to the premises of a licensee that possesses an amusement game license pursuant to N.J.S.A. 5:8-100 et seq., for at least a portion of said premises, and said premises is at least 20,000 square feet in size and has at least 100 licensed amusement games that are in operation. Notwithstanding the absence of a restaurant requirement, all properties licensed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 5:8-100 et seq., shall be required to provide on-site food preparation and service, including an available menu or other form of list of the food items available and the prices for each item.