Wayne mulls change to help brewery
Updated zoning is quicker way to allow outdoor food service
By: Philip DeVencentis
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
WAYNE - Outdoor dining will be allowed in a new part of the township under a proposed change to the municipal code recommended to help a local brewery.
.....
Mayor Christopher Vergano said the Planning and Zoning Department made the suggestion to accommodate Seven Tribesmen Brewery, whose property is in an industrial zone. As of now, al fresco dining can take place only where restaurants are a permitted use.
..... The brewery, at 1151 Route 23 south, opened in a former art gallery in May 2020. It has craft beers and a hard seltzer,.called Fizze, on tap.
..... If the zoning amendment is not approved Vergano said, the brewery would have to appear in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a variance - a process that could take months and cost the business thousands of dollars. The pending ordinance will be considered for a final vote when the Township Council meets on April 15. [2026]
..... "This was the least expensive way to help them out," Vergano said , and "we had no problem helping them at all."
..... councilman Donald DeDio Jr., a former Zoning board member, said he supported the measure. "If we can enact these commonsense proposals to keep people from having to come to these boards for issues that aren't controversial," he said, "that's a benefit to the residents and to our professionals."
..... In New Jersey, breweries are banned from operation full-service kitchens to protect restaurants with liquor licenses.
..... But in January 2024, then-Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill to significantly relax limitations on independent breweries throughout the state. The reforms included provisions for offering packaged snacks and partnering with food trucks.
..... Seven Tirbesmen, which has a dog-friendly beer garden with picnic tables, sells cans of soda plus bags of potato chips, pretzel thins and salted peanuts. It also welcomes guests to bring their own food or have it delivered.
..... The Wayne brewery is one of two breweries in Passaic County. The other Ghost Hawk Brewing Company, opened a year earlier on River Road in Clifton.