NO DECISION ON MEXICAN MARKET PLAN
Torres recently bought the property at Shrewsbury Avenue and Catherine Street, occupied for 25 years by Red Bank Antiques. Information about the transaction is not yet available in Monmouth County property records.The building contains 5,310 square feet on its ground floor, 1,500 of which will be devoted to refrigeration, and another 1,500 square feet on a second floor for use as store offices, an architect testified.
The selling area is nearly double the size of Torres’ El Guero bodega one block north on Shrewsbury, at the corner of East Leonard Street. Torres told the board El Guero would become a seller of baked goods if the new store, to be called Juanito’s Market, gets the green light.
The plan, though, requires a handful of variances. Zoning law permits a grocery store use at the site, but requires a variance for one exceeding 2,000 square feet.
That shouldn’t be an impediment to approval, suggested Ray Liotta, a planner for Juanito’s. He said the space could now legally be subdivided into three shops, each occupied by a separate grocer, and no variance would be needed.