BRIDGEWATER, NJ — An ongoing battle for the past 10 years between Bridgewater Township and Green Knoll Grill has come to a close.
An Office of Administrative Law Judge Gauri Shirali Shah overruled the special conditions imposed by the Township on the restaurant to limit when music is allowed outside on the patio.
Shah claimed the conditions were “not supported.”
Find out what's happening in Bridgewaterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
According to Shah’s ruling on Friday:
“Bridgewater provided no rationale at all for the conditions it imposed on Green Knoll during the 2023‒2024 renewal. More specifically, Bridewater provided no testimony or documentary evidence to support that there any were any continued complaints about noise, any ABC or other code violations by the restaurant or that any Bridgewater residents had objected to the 2023‒2024 license renewal. Rather, Bridgewater suggested at the hearing that there was a lack of complaints due to the effectiveness of the special conditions placed by Bridgewater. This argument is speculative at best and not supported by the fact that there were complaints in 2013 and 2015 when these very special conditions already existed.”
The ruling states “that special condition 2 is modified to permit outdoor music until 10 p.m. in accordance with Township of Bridgewater’s Noise Ordinance.”
Find out what's happening in Bridgewaterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“This is consistent with the town ordinance, which is something we wanted – which is to be treated equally with the other establishments,” said Attorney David Cassidy who represents the restaurant, at 645 Route 202/206 in Bridgewater. “[The ruling] eliminated several of the conditions, the ones that we were concerned with. Hopefully, this will put an end to any sort of back and forth with the town, and we’ll have an opportunity to operate under this in the future.”
Click Here: newcastle knights shirt
“We just wanted to be treated the same,” said DiChara. “Thank you David Cassidy. Thank you for believing in me. He stood by us and is the one attorney who really believed in us.”
Moving forward, Cassidy said he will work with the Township to get the conditions physically removed from their liquor license.
“We will continue to monitor all high-volume businesses in our town, including but not limited to Green Knoll Grill, for compliance with local ordinances and license conditions and to protect the quality of life for residents in their immediate vicinity,” said Bridgewater Deputy Township Administrator Wells Winegar.
DiChara is hoping with this ruling the fighting with the Township will come to an end.
“We want to put this to rest and move on,” said DiChara. “It’s been a long time. I just want to be treated the same as everyone in town and be held to the same standard.”
See the full ruling below:
ABC 06300-23 Mish-J.O. Invsmt Corp v. Twp of Bridgewater – ID by Alexis Tarrazi on Scribd
>
Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.