Red Mango Franchise Iced by Zoning Board, Fast Food Ordinance

When Elliot Bloom saw Quiznos close shop on E. Ridgewood Avenue, he thought he found the perfect location to open up a health-centric frozen yogurt shop, Red Mango. After two denied applications and tens of thousands of dollars spent to open a franchise, he's leaving Ridgewood empty-handed, the latest .

The Zoning Board of Adjustment on Tuesday voted 4-3 to deny a use variance to allow the sale of frozen desserts in the B-1 zone, with members saying Ridgewood's fast food ordinance – which requires that restaurants sell food and drink in glassware and plates with silverware, though there are many notable exceptions – restricted businesses of this nature from opening. Five votes are required for an application to pass.

"I'm greatly disappointed we were not able to open Red Mango in Ridgewood," said Bloom, who also owns a . "I think it would have been a great addition to the Ridgewood community."

Considering today's economic perils, Bloom said he found it "very surprising that a municipality would stand in the way of the creation of a simple yogurt shop to replace a Quiznos." Bloom previously applied for a Certificate of Continued Occupancy (CCO) in April, arguing there was no change in use with the transaction. He was denied.

Red Mango is by the fast food ordinance. Village Planner Blais Brancheau –  to remove the restrictions of the fast food ordinance, one the council will need to vote on if approved – said at least seven others have met the same fate in the last year.

Those in favor of keeping the restrictions in place say they worry they'd open Pandora's box, . Detractors say there's nothing to support that "typical" fast food chains would move in anyway, but the ordinance now is damaging local commerce.

Bloom says Red Mango would have brought 15-20 new jobs, given thousands to charities annually and filled one of the over 30 vacancies in the downtown.

"I think the ordinance goes back to vintage times when fast food was thought of a little differently than what we think of fast food today," said Tom Hillmann, president of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce. "I'm very disappointed that they can't update ordinances to fit current times. What happened to the business-positive environment we were supposed to be moving into?" Hillmann asked.

Although the council might vote on a new fast food ordinance, several months could pass. Bloom isn't sticking around to hear the roll call. 

"We're looking at other locations for our second store," he said.