MANCHESTER – What do Whiting residents and area visitors want more than a vacant bank? Many things, actually, but the answer to that question includes a Big Mac, fries and a soft drink.
Mayor Joseph Hankins announced during the latest Township Council meeting that a McDonald’s is set to occupy the TD Bank site that closed several years ago at 88 Lacey Road.
“I was at the Planning Board’s last meeting. The McDonald’s is moving forward. We will have a McDonald’s where the bank was right by the church,” the mayor said.
The news was met with some surprise and a mixed reaction toward the conclusion of that municipal meeting. The fast-food staple would be the first in the Whiting section of Manchester which currently has a Wendy’s restaurant. Some of those present in the audience expressed that a Cracker Barrel or a non-chain restaurant would have been a more welcome change for that area of the community.
The township’s Planning Board moved ahead on an earlier approval of a proposal by McDonald’s USA LLC at that location. The plan according to documents calls for the Golden Arches to tear down the vacant branch of TD Bank.
The McDonald’s restaurant will feature a 4,297-square-foot structure. It is expected to feature nearly 50 seats, two drive-thru lanes, digital menu boards and areas for curbside pick-up.
Township residents have been outspoken during meetings and in conversations with township officials about what they would like to see as commercial growth and new ratables in the township for several years now.
In recent years a Jersey Mike’s Sub Shop and Starbucks Coffee opened in Whiting along Lacey Road near the Wendy’s and Stop & Shop.
While Jersey Mike’s is still operating, Starbuck’s shuttered their doors at 420 Lacey Road, Suite 1, on September 27, 2025. The closure of the noted coffee chain’s Whiting location was part of a broader corporate restructuring and wave of shutdowns affecting underperforming stores across North America. Local staff impacted by the closure were offered transfers to other nearby Starbucks locations or severance packages.
As to the future home of Ronald McDonald in Whiting, local residents are talking about it on social media expressing mixed opinions. While some are welcoming a new dining option others while others were hoping for alternative businesses like a diner or a different fast-food chain. Still others are concerned about traffic.
In a similar move, back in May, the Toms River Planning Board approved plans for a McDonald’s that also involved demolishing an existing bank building and constructing a new restaurant that would include a dual-lane drive-through.
That restaurant, to be located at 1256 Indian Head Road in Toms River will replace the former Wells Fargo bank branch based within the parking lot area of the Home Depot. The Toms River Planning Board adopted a resolution granting the company preliminary and final major site plan approval, along with bulk variances and design waivers for the property.
The roughly 3,694-square-foot McDonald’s restaurant will replace the bank, which sits on a pad site, and will include related several site improvements.
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