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WAYNE — A fast-food franchisee that was already mired in bankruptcy court left its deteriorating restaurant open for months until health officials stepped in to shut it down.

The Burger King and Popeyes drive-thru restaurant at 1046 Hamburg Turnpike ceased operations in November after numerous violations were found related to food safety and, as stated in a health inspection report, “overall deteriorating conditions” of the building itself.

Mary Ann Orapello, the township health officer, said Thursday that the business remains closed.

“Should they decide to reopen,” she said, “we’ll definitely be reinspecting them.”

Health officials visited the business for a routine inspection in May 2023, and its evaluation was “conditionally satisfactory.”

LEISURE PURSUITS:Largest indoor pickleball center in NJ coming to Willowbrook Plaza in Wayne

However, public documents suggest the restaurant was neglected in the ensuing months.

At the November 2023 inspection, health officials found an “accumulation of dust, food splatter and spilled oil.” There was also a “heavy presence of flies,” plus broken light fixtures, faulty sinks, holes in the wall, missing ceiling tiles and roof leaks.

The inspector noted that, on the Burger King side of the restaurant, the leaks trickled directly into cooking oil in a deep fryer and onto a table where meals were prepared.

“Roof water was observed splashing onto and contaminating foods,” the inspector wrote during a nearly three-hour visit.

A different inspector simultaneously examined the adjacent Popeyes, where further violations were discovered.

Inspection notes describe a container of “old grease” dripping on the floor of a room where food and utensils were stored. The ooze was an inch deep, the report said.

An “egg mixture” was kept at 54 degrees Fahrenheit, the inspector found, noting a violation of the state code that requires “potentially hazardous food” to be stored in a refrigerator at retail establishments.

The inspectors found 28 violations of the state code — 11 for Burger King and 17 for Popeyes — during the November visit.

No one reported a foodborne illness to the Health Department before the restaurant was forced to close, Orapello said.

Less than two weeks later, the restaurant manager scheduled a reinspection. A report detailing that visit indicated the situation only worsened as mouse droppings were found with “strong sewage-like odors” throughout the premises.

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The franchisee, JFM Hamburg, a Paterson-based limited liability company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2023.

It owed more than $480,000 in combined debts and obligations to 22 creditors, according to its filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark.

John DiIorio, an attorney representing the company in the bankruptcy case, did not respond to an inquiry about the health officials’ findings.

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Court records show that, in August, a judge approved JFM Hamburg to sell its assets and business interests to PN Restaurants, a Rutherford-based limited liability company, for $1.2 million.

But that deal fell through last week, court records show, when the buyer’s investors “backed out of the transaction.”

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

1-minute read

WAYNE — Aldi, the discount grocer founded in Germany, will open a supermarket on Hamburg Turnpike.

The store will anchor Plaza Square Shopping Center, taking up 42,816 square feet where a ShopRite had been until it moved to Wayne Hills Mall in October 2021.

Regency Centers Corp., a Florida-based real estate company that owns the shopping center, announced the opening on its website.

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Neither Aldi nor the landlord responded to an inquiry about an opening date.

In September 2022, the Planning Board approved a proposal by Regency Centers to reconstruct the facade of the former ShopRite and to divide its floor area into two storefronts. At the time, the new anchor tenant was not identified.

The smaller storefront is 16,045 square feet, and it remains vacant. In fact, more than 43% of the leasable space at the shopping center is empty or will be soon.

But a recent improvement to Hamburg Turnpike has enabled smoother access for westbound motorists, who would otherwise have to make U-turns at the Valley Road jughandle.

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A traffic light was installed at the shopping center entrance to allow left turns into and out of the parking lot. Another convenience was the addition of a sidewalk for pedestrians on Hamburg Turnpike.

Mayor Christopher Vergano said Wednesday that Amazon Fresh, a subsidiary of the e-commerce giant, was originally planned to assume the anchor position at the shopping center. But the company reportedly shelved future development of its grocery chain.

Aldi, whose U.S. headquarters is in Illinois, about an hour west of Chicago, operates 61 markets in New Jersey. Its location nearest to the new store is in a former Office Depot store on Route 46 west in Totowa.

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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WAYNE, NJ – This spring, Ava Maher is playing two sports simultaneously and playing them both exceptionally well, helping the girls track & field and flag football teams off to great starts. Her natural athleticism, her drive to constantly improve, as well as her production in both sports, are what earned her the title of Wayne Valley’s Athlete of the Month for April 2024.

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In the month of April, Maher was undefeated in three 400m hurdle races, three 100m hurdle events and the two times she ran the 800 meters. She set her personal best in the high jump, clearing five-feet, and, her team participated in the Passaic County Relay Championships in mid-April, where Maher anchored the winning sprint medley relay and the 4x400 meter relay teams. In the Season Opener Invitational in early April, Maher anchored another winning sprint medley relay, and anchored the winning 4x400 relay in a match against Wayne Hills that month as well.

Wayne Valley's Ava Maher Leaping the Hurdles - Photo by Doug Flower

The biggest track event on the East Coast is the world-famous Penn-Relays, held at the University of Pennsylvania every year and the Wayne Valley Indians came to run. Maher anchored both of Valley's 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams at this prestigious event, helping to set the school's best times in over 10 years in both events.

Valley head girls track & field coach Erik Schulman called Maher “super-talented,” an athlete who is “never satisfied,” and someone “works hard every single day” to improve.

“Ava sets a great example for the other girls on the team,” he said. “Training for Track and Field can be super-hard, but Ava never complains. She embraces the difficulty because she knows it will make her better, and now she is one of the best.”

As the Wayne Valley Athlete of the Month, Maher has earned some prizes from generous local businesses. The Bagel Stop has a $10 gift card for her; Neil’s Pizza is offering a $20 gift card, and the Village Inn has a $25 gift card as a prize for each Valley athlete of the month.

On the flag football team, Maher has had 21 flag pulls (tackles), three interceptions, 17 receptions for 172 receiving yards, 43 rushing yards and six total touchdowns in six games played in April, helping the Indians to a division-leading 5-0-1 record.

Surrounded by Clifton Defenders, Ava Maher Makes the Reception - Photo by John Testa

“Ava is a first-year player who has come onto the scene and made a statement,” said Valley flag football head coach Andrew Imperatore. “She is the anchor to our defense and gives us another weapon on offense with her speed and catching ability.”

The Valley flag football defense that she “anchors” has been stellar, allowing only three touchdowns in six games (and only one extra point), and they have recorded three shutouts. Maher’s three interceptions leads the team, and she is second on the team with her 21 flag-pulls.

“Ava picked up the game quickly and is extremely coachable, taking criticism and putting it on the field to make her game better each week,” said Imperatore. “She’s a huge difference-maker for our team on the field.”

Valley's Ava Maher, Looking to Score - Photo by John Testa

Athletic Director for the Wayne Schools, Dave “Droz” Drozjock called Maher a “tremendous athlete,” and also a “great person, who always puts her teammates' best interests first.”

“Ava runs with passion in track & field and will do whichever event is needed to help her team score points,” added Droz. “When Ava plays flag football she dominates both sides of the ball and continues to make one amazing play after another. Ava is so fun to watch and loves competing in everything she does, including her schoolwork, where she has a 4.12 GPA. We're so proud of everything Ava has accomplished and looking forward to her end of the season triumphs.”

An Athlete of the Month recognition automatically qualifies the winner for the TAPinto Wayne - Rocco Sivolella Athlete of the Year Scholarship Awards Dinner that will be held on June 17, 2024, at 6:00pm at the Barnyard & Carriage House.

There, each AotM will be in the running for $8,000 in scholarships that will be awarded that night. These scholarship awards will be donated by the Wayne Surgical Center, Conan Ward and OrthoEast along with the Rocco Sivolella Scholarship fund.

Click Here to learn more about the Athlete of the Year program: Who Will Be Wayne’s Public High School Athlete of the Year?

WAYNE, NJ — The Wayne Township Schools Board of Education meets on Thursday to approve next year's budget after what officials called a "concerning" and tight planning cycle.

Residents can comment on the $190.8 million spending plan at a public hearing which is scheduled during Thursday's meeting. The proposed budget includes a 2.48 percent property tax increase, and officials said the estimated impact for a home assessed at the average value would be $204 per year.

The board will meet in executive session at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday before the regular meeting begins at 7 p.m. It will be held in the council chambers at the Wayne Township Municipal Building.

Board officials said they did not have much "wiggle room" in drafting next year's budget, and mentioned that cuts to programs are possible, to make ends meet. For example, renovations to the next-generation science labs at both high schools would be put on pause while the district re-directs those funds to more pressing needs.

School officials said they needed to account for increasing staff salaries and benefits for the 2024/25 fiscal year budget, as well as support for special education students and related student transportation costs.

Find out what's happening in Waynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

View the preliminary district budget presentation here.

Voters shut down a referendum in March that would have helped fund 63 projects across all 15 buildings.

School Business Administrator William Moffitt said the district is looking at a new, smaller referendum asking to issue $100 million in bonds; this would represent a property tax increase of $217 a year for a property assessed at Wayne's average ($230,435, a slight increase).

A large chunk of the new referendum (44.8M) could be allocated to expanding the Preakness Early Childhood Center, according to a presentation on April 4.

Other improvements that may be funded by a new referendum include new security vestibules at the elementary schools, replacing the bleachers at Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills High Schools, and various HVAC upgrades and partial roof replacements.

The timeline for a new referendum could take 12-13 months.

2-minute read

WAYNE — A Long Island-based owner of gyms and racket clubs will open the largest indoor facility dedicated to pickleball in New Jersey at a local shopping center next year, the company said.

The 50,000-square-foot arena will offer 20 courts, including a stadium-style court, on the third floor of Willowbrook Plaza, at 77 Willowbrook Blvd. It will be big enough to host national tournaments, and it will have a concession stand and space for corporate events.

Sportime Clubs, headquartered 51 miles east of Manhattan, announced the new club in a statement released Tuesday. It is expected to open in the spring of 2025.

Claude Okin, the chief executive officer of Sportime Clubs, said the facility will serve “ever-growing masses of pickleball lovers” and many others who will join “those legions” in the coming years. “We’re proud to be a racket sports leader in our region since 1994,” he said.

The Wayne facility is part of an expansion of operations for Sportime Clubs, which also announced this week that it will open 13 pickleball courts at Merrick Avenue Athletic Center, a multisport complex in Westbury, New York.

The company hopes to have at least a dozen pickleball centers open by the end of 2027.

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Pickleball, invented by three men from Bainbridge Island, Washington, almost 60 years ago, is played on a 20-foot-by-44-foot court — the same dimensions as a badminton court — with a perforated plastic ball and wooden paddles.

The popularity of the sport is soaring.

According to U.S.A. Pickleball, a nonprofit and the national governing body of the sport, the number of known places to play in the country is 11,864 — including an increase of 1,140 locations last year. There are an estimated 8.9 million players vying for court time.

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New Jersey is ranked 19th out of all states, the organization said, with 211 places to play and 951 total courts.

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.