Shake Shack coming to Freehold Township?

Burger joint Shake Shack hopes to open a restaurant on Route 9 in Freehold Township, its first restaurant in Monmouth County.

The township Planning Board is set to start considering the proposal at its meeting Thursday night.

Getty Realty Corp., a Jericho, New York-based real estate investment trust that specializes in gasoline and convenience store properties, proposes to knock down the empty Getty gasoline station, at the corner of northbound Route 9 and East Freehold Road, and build a Shake Shack restaurant.

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The proposed Shake Shack would be 3,514 square feet with 84 seats. If built, it will have between 45 and 60 employees, according to documents filed with the township Planning Board.

Shake Shack calls itself "a critically acclaimed, modern-day 'roadside' burger stand." It features Angus beef burgers, chicken sandwiches, flat-top hot dogs, frozen custard, and crinkle-cut fries.

The burger chain, now in 20 states and Washington D.C., had small beginnings, started in New York City's Madison Square Park in 2001 before opening as a permanent kiosk in the park in 2004.

It has developed a cult-like following. The company has four restaurants in New Jersey: Route 17, Paramus; Garden State Plaza, Paramus; Bridgewater Commons; and Eisenhower Parkway, Livingston.

Check out the video at the top of this story about Shake Shack's popularity.

But first, Shake Shack will have to be approved by the Planning Board. Getty Realty will need 15 variances to comply with the township's zoning rules.

For instance, one variance requires a minimal building size of 5,000 square feet when 3.514 square feet is proposed. Instead of having a minimum of 125 seats, the restaurant will have 84 seats, requiring another variance.

.Have you seen a construction project in Monmouth or Ocean counties and wanted to know what was going there? Contact business writer David P. Willis dwillis@gannettnj.com, and we will look into it for a future column.

David P. Willis: 732-643-4039; dwillis@gannettnj.com; facebook.com/dpwillis732.