No application filed yet, but sign advertises them for McNaughton’s location
SOMERS POINT — A couple of popular restaurants are being planned for a stretch of Route 9 in Somers Point, where McNaughton’s Garden Center closed its doors for the final time July 31.
A sign at the site advertises Soloff Realty & Development, the leasing agent for the planned complex that is expected to include a Chick-fil-A and Panera Bread, along with other tenants.
Despite the optimistic sign, the future of the site, next to Taco Bell and across the street from Chipotle, remains in question.
Mayor Dennis Tapp, a member of the Planning Board, said no application has been presented.
“They went to the technical review committee to get ideas and input, but that’s as far as it went,” Tapp said.
While the mayor welcomes new business and their accompanying tax ratables, he said he would be sorry to see McNaughton’s go.
“They will be missed for sure,” he said.
McNaughton’s manager Shawn Jones of Mays Landing, who has been with the company for 22 years, said he and other employees would be moving to the family’s Cherry Hill location following the closing.
Tapp said now that the site has been sold, he hopes to see the buildings demolished and new development.
“It would be nice to see some development there,” he said. “It’s a huge piece of property with a lot of potential and would help out the tax base.”
He said he was told if a Panera Bread were to open, it would be the first one in Atlantic County.
– STORY and PHOTO by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff