Totowa’s Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 5-0 to approve a use variance allowing Noor Foods to turn a vacant industrial building on Union Boulevard into a nut-roasting and candy-coating plant. The family-operated company is relocating from Clifton, plans to employ 10 workers and expects to operate Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The approval, reported by TAPinto, covers the main production area of the one-story building at 611 Union Boulevard. The front portion is reserved for another business, with office space upstairs. The application was submitted by 611 Union Investors LLC and represented by attorney Michael Higgins; the applicant said Noor Foods intends to establish a lasting presence in Totowa.
The variance was needed because food processing was not an expressly permitted use in the property’s zone, according to Real Estate NJ. Only five of the zoning board’s seven members were present, so the application needed all five to vote in favor. No members of the public spoke at the hearing.
The Variance and the Site’s Industrial Use
Board member Roy Pascal said the building was vacant and its previous occupant used noisy heavy machinery. He viewed the proposed food-processing operation as potentially less disruptive than other industrial uses available to the site, according to TAPinto’s account.
Real Estate NJ's reporting adds context on the building's history: it opened in 1980 as the home of Knickerbocker Machine Shop and measures 26,630 square feet. Legacy Real Estate Developers and Commerce Park Investors acquired the property in February, with plans at the time to modernize it and reposition it as a mixed-use commercial property offering industrial, flex and retail space.
The Property’s Industrial and Flex-Space Context
The documented redevelopment context here is specific to 611 Union Boulevard: ROI-NJ reported that the property sits on 1.05 acres and includes industrial and flex space. Noor Foods’ proposal would use the main production area for food manufacturing while leaving the front portion for another business and retaining upstairs office space.
Parking, Deliveries and Truck Traffic Addressed
Applicant representative Benjamin Horton said the proposed manufacturing and retail uses would require 35 parking spaces, compared with 36 available at the property. He said the owners currently share an area without problems. Deliveries would include periodic box-truck and tractor-trailer visits; the shared truck-access arrangement is based on a verbal understanding between the property owners, not a written agreement.
Horton described Noor Foods as organic-certified and said it uses no chemicals in processing. He testified that odors at the Clifton facility were minimal and generally noticeable only near the operation. The equipment planned for Totowa includes exhaust systems intended to disperse roasting and processing odors, but testimony from company representative Abdul Altaf did not establish whether those systems would prevent airborne allergens from leaving the building. Altaf said the Clifton operation had received no complaints from residents or city officials and that Noor Foods would comply with applicable requirements.
How the Roasting and Coating Process Works
According to testimony at the hearing, most nuts arrive at the facility without shells, while sunflower seeds may arrive with shells intact. The company's roasting equipment operates at 300 to 400 degrees depending on the product, and its trucks run on gasoline or batteries rather than propane. Noor Foods processes nuts for other companies, including roasting and coating products before returning them to customers or packaging them wholesale — services the company's own website lists as including dry roasting, coating and flavoring, dicing and processing, private-label manufacturing, repackaging and custom formulation, per Noor Foods' website. The company states on its site that its facility is FDA-registered and HACCP-certified and that it offers USDA Organic and Kosher certified production runs.
Board member Tom Czerniecki raised the possibility that the project could require additional approvals from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Passaic County Health Department. Noor Foods plans to purchase the property and will change no exterior features of the building other than installing new signage — the application requested six internally illuminated signs along the building's front and side walls. Professional Planner Thomas Ricci said the signs were needed because the building sits back from Union Boulevard, making the entrance harder for approaching drivers to identify, and that additional signage would improve visibility and help vehicles enter safely.
Board Members Cite Industrial Character and Limited Workforce
Board members cited the building’s industrial character, available parking and the planned 10-person workforce in supporting the application. Patrick Fierro pointed to the parking and the building’s suitability, while Mancini said the business appeared unlikely to add significantly to existing traffic problems.
Totowa’s zoning code lists specialty food services as a principal use allowed by right in the B-2 District, according to the Borough of Totowa code. The proposed food-processing operation was not a permitted use in this property’s zone, which is why Noor Foods needed a use variance.
