WESTWOOD — Eight downtown property interests, represented by Herold Law, P.A., stepped forward on Monday, Nov. 3, to oppose Five Dimes Brewery’s bid to update its site plan and use variance — but it was not their objections, yet unheard, that delayed the hearing.
Instead, the Zoning Board of Adjustment carried the matter to its Dec. 1 meeting after recording that the borough planner had not yet certified the application as complete. Without that certification, the board cannot legally take testimony.
The objectors — Lavco LLC, M.J. LaViano & Sons Inc., 169 Westwood Ave. Corp., Center 7 Realty LLC, 187 Fairview LLC, 205 Fairview LLC, Milo Inc., and First Westwood Realty LLC — are associated with Jack LaViano, Robert Zampolin, and Bruce Meisel. Their attorney, Robert F. Simon, submitted a five-page letter dated Oct. 31 alleging defects in the brewery’s public notice and asserting that the board “lacks jurisdiction” to proceed until those are corrected.
The letter, presented Monday by Amanda Kronmeyer of Herold Law, and given to Pascack Press on request, asked that the hearing be carried to a later date. Simon also cited a scheduling conflict — another hearing already set for Dec. 1 in Morris Township — and requested that the Westwood case be postponed to a date convenient for all parties.
A packed but patient room
The board chambers were occupied by interested dozens as as neighbors, friends, and patrons (and at least one dog) turned out to support Five Dimes, a stylish brewery that has become one of the central business district’s liveliest gathering places since opening in 2021.
But instead of testimony, the night became a lesson, not unwelcome, in land use law.
Chairman Bill Martin, taking time to explain how the ZBA differs from, and complements, the Planning Board and Borough Council, described the four powers of the board and its obligation to follow procedure to the letter. Board attorney Thomas Randall advised that the borough planner, Steve Lydon, had not yet certified the application as complete. Without that step, he said, “the board cannot legally hear the matter.”
And so, with the consent of the applicant and the board’s professionals, the application was carried to Monday, Dec. 1, at 8 p.m., when testimony is expected to begin.
Martin urged both sides to use the intervening weeks to “work out any differences over notice and scheduling,” so that when the case resumes, the discussion can center on substance rather than process. “We’d like to have the notice completely unchallenged,” he said. “That protects everyone — the board, the applicant, and the neighbors.” Randall, at Martin’s right hand, called the approach “a fair request.”
Frustration from the applicant’s side
The applicant, CJA Ventures LLC, owned by Chris Alepa, is seeking to amend its 2021 approvals to reflect changes in state Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) law. Those changes, adopted after Five Dimes opened, loosened restrictions on what New Jersey breweries can do — trivia nights, live music, and community gatherings — the very activities that helped define Five Dimes as a hub rather than a taproom and put Westwood on the map in microbrew circles.
Alepa’s attorney, Steven Sinisi, voiced frustration on his client’s behalf over the unexpected, months-long time and expense of the proceedings.
Referring to the site’s established D variance resolution, Sinisi said, “This could have been handled in a much simpler way. Our understanding was that we could address these changes by letter, but the board’s attorney determined that a full application was required. We’ve done that. And now, because the planner couldn’t be present, my client is left waiting again. Every time, it opens the door for new objections.”
He explained, “This isn’t about pushing limits. It’s about matching our local approvals to what the state now allows.”
Alepa is a chiropractor and football coach. He hustled to the meeting from a team practice, and was backed by supporters, some in Five Dimes swag. He said he appreciated the board’s patience and the show of community goodwill.
The mayor’s view — and the brewer’s reply
In the days leading up to the meeting, Mayor Ray Arroyo sought to cool speculation that had been bubbling on social media, with some rumors taking aim at borough functionaries.
“It is both premature and misguided to draw horns and a tail on the Borough of Westwood and our Zoning Board of Adjustment,” Arroyo told us on Halloween, adding that the issue was procedural, not punitive. “Five Dimes was initially permitted to occupy its Westwood Avenue location by Zoning Board approval of a D-1 use variance. That use had very specific parameters under ABC regulations at the time. Since then, the law changed, allowing breweries to substantially expand their onsite activities. But those new rules don’t automatically apply to pre-existing use variances.”
Arroyo said the brewery “can continue to operate as it has since inception” while it seeks additional variances to expand its offerings.
After Monday’s abbreviated ZBA meeting, Alepa said he understood the mayor’s intent but wanted to clarify one thing.
“I just want to make it clear that Five Dimes didn’t post anything negative about the borough,” he told Pascack Press. “Our posts only asked for community support so we could host community events without the restrictions.”
He added that “I think people love this town,” he said. “We bring people downtown. We help other businesses. That’s really what this is about.”
From five and dime to Five Dimes
Five Dimes occupies a space steeped in Westwood memory — the old L.N. Grand 5 & 10 Cent Store, a family-run institution that operated for more than 60 years under the Naginsky family. When the store closed in 2019, owner Steve Naginsky hoped the address would remain a place of conversation and gathering.
Alepa, a chiropractor and longtime homebrewer, took up that charge. He bought the building, restored its character, and amplified it into a three-level, 7,000-square-foot brewery that still nods to its roots: the original five-and-dime sign hangs inside, a buffalo nickel crowns each tap handle, and a rooftop deck — pet-friendly, ringed by low brick walls — has become a local vantage point for sunsets over downtown. [See “Valley gets its craft on” by Michael Olohan, April 30, 2022.]
When it opened in 2021, Five Dimes was the Pascack Valley’s first brewpub. Early celebrations featured live music by Midnight Moonlight, fanfare from the Police Pipes & Drums of Bergen County, and a cake from Cakes of Wrath. For a time, its state license limited it to 25 special events a year and banned food service — restrictions common to New Jersey’s “limited brewery” licensees. [See “Cheers! Five Dimes Brewery wins Westwood variances” by Michael Olohan, Oct. 12, 2020.]
Those limits have since eased. The change in law, Alepa says, is what brings him back before the board: “We’re just trying to comply with how the law stands today.”
Since then, Five Dimes has become a social anchor — a place where families stop before dinner, trivia teams square off upstairs, and regulars swap small-town gossip over seasonal pours. Sweeping in with patrons: meals from nearby eateries. Sweeping out from behind ample glass “garage doors,” notably on warm summer nights, the sights and sounds of mellow live music.
In 2024, Alepa opened a sister location in Red Bank, with a Point Pleasant outpost planned for 2026.
What’s next
The ZBA will reconvene on Monday, Dec. 1, at 8 p.m. at Borough Hall. If the planner’s review is complete and notice issues resolved, testimony will begin — first from the applicant, then from the objectors, and finally from the public.
Another item on the agenda, ZB-25-0109, an application by Martinez, 56 Lincoln Ave., seeking building and lot coverage variances to construct a 22-by-16-foot family room addition, was not heard over lack of completeness.
For the record, Martin explained to the dozens present, many of whom volunteered by a show of hands that this was their first ZBA meeting, that the body exercises four powers under state law: it can grant variances, interpret the zoning code, hear appeals of the zoning officer’s decisions, and rule on certain conditional uses. It’s a non-elected, quasi-judicial body, not a policy-making one. “We don’t make the law,” he said. “We apply it.”