Brick Planning Board Approves Dunkin’ Donuts Location in Close Vote Despite Traffic Worries

The Brick Planning Board gave the green light to a new Dunkin' Donuts at 738 Mantoloking Road. The vote? A narrow 5-4 split on Oct. 29, 2025. K Brick Mantoloking LLC — run by the Patel family from Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, — secured approval to construct the franchise with a drive-thru on an empty .72-acre plot where Mantoloking Road meets Vannote Drive. Visitation Roman Catholic Church sits right across the street. 

The shop will span 1,639 square feet and will occupy the entire parcel, which falls within the township's Village Zone.

Dynamic Traffic conducted an impact study. Results showed 52 trips during morning rush hour. Evening rush hour? Just 22 trips. Saturday mornings, though, would generate 72 new vehicle movements in and out. Researchers applied a seasonal adjustment factor because summer traffic swells in this area.

Residents living nearby mounted fierce opposition. A Change.org petition amassed over 400 signatures against the plan.

"Adding a high-volume drive-through business would make this intersection too dangerous. There is not enough room for an approved business of this size, [and] the amount of variances needed for this business to be approved is astronomical," the petition stated per Shorebeat.com. "The difficult approach for the delivery trucks would cause road blockages. We can't risk our public safety because of one business."

Board members granted multiple variances. Lot coverage will hit 71%, while regulations call for 60%. One side will have a landscape buffer measuring about 10 feet, though code requires 25 feet. Parking spaces will sit 16.1 feet from Vannote Drive instead of the mandated 20 feet.

Two full-movement driveways will provide entry — one on Mantoloking Road, another on Vannote Drive. Developers tackled wildlife concerns by pledging a waste system with lidded cans and regular dumpster service.

"As proposed, the project's site driveways and internal circulation have been designed to provide for safe and efficient movement of automobiles and large wheel base vehicles," the traffic study concluded.

This same plot had won earlier approval for a Farm Store, a tiny drive-through convenience spot measuring roughly 675 square feet. Construction never happened. The coffee chain first pitched its idea in March, then revised plans in May and June before winning final approval.