Last week, we shared the rumor that Round 1 Bowling and Amusement would be taking over the old Sears location at the Freehold Raceway Mall...and it looks like we may have jumped the gun. Sorry!

It turns out that Round 1 would be "too intensive for the proposed location" according to the Freehold Planning Board. Officials also said an "amusement/entertainment type venue is not specifically permitted" within the mall zone.

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I get that there are weird zoning laws that towns have in place, but it still seems odd that they wouldn't want to bring something new and different to the mall. Stores are leaving the Freehold Raceway Mall (and Monmouth Mall, and Ocean County Mall, and pretty much malls in general) because no one shops at brick-and-mortar stores anymore. If you can bring something like an iPlay America or Dave & Busters or Round 1 to a mall, it's going to bring people in just because it's something to do.

Sears is still on pace to close in the next week or so, and we'll let you know when we hear any updates.

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