West Windsor planning board approves Fogo de Chão restaurant pad, grants signage waivers

The West Windsor Planning Board on Sept. 3, 2025 approved final major site-plan PB25-06 for a Fogo de Chão restaurant pad in the Princeton Executive Park development, granting several design waivers for signage and attaching standard conditions from township consultants.

The approval covers an 8,428-square-foot restaurant with about 235 indoor seats and 63 outdoor seats (298 total) on a 4.13-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Meadow Road and U.S. 1. The board granted the applicant’s request for relief tied to facade sign area and letter height and noted two small internal instructional signs (8 square feet each) as recommended in staff comments. The motion passed on a roll-call vote after consultants confirmed outstanding review items could be addressed as conditions.

Why it matters: The restaurant pad is part of a larger Carnegie Center project that includes multifamily housing and a planned 130-room hotel; the applicant told the board it is pursuing the restaurant first while hotel financing is finalized. The board’s action allows the restaurant owner and landlord to move from entitlement to permit-stage work subject to the listed conditions.

Applicant presentation and operations: Applicant counsel Ron Shimanowicz summarized the request and the project history; James Tallarico, senior director of development for the Bridal Group,…