TOMS RIVER, NJ – Toms River Councilman Tom Nivison, who says he’s a Republican, is leading the charge along with former Toms River Mayor Mark Mutter to block a gun range, restaurant, and entertainment complex being built on a long-vacant corner at Fischer Boulevard and Hooper Avenue. Nivison, who initially ran as a Republican, is transitioning before our eyes. Once a fighter against public waste, the bluegrass banjo player in a band headed by a transgender woman is also the owner of Silverton Farms, is undergoing his own transition before the eyes of the public.
His anti-gun ownership messaging has been clear of late, and now his anti-gun stance is a furtherance of his own public transition to the left.
“I don’t like guns,” he said after the developer was accused that the complex would mix guns and drinking, a notion that was refuted by Robert C. Shea, the lawyer representing the developer. “We need to revisit the zoning and see if we can get that gun range moved off those premises.”
On Wednesday, Nivison, when confronted by political pay-to-play donor Shea, backed slightly off his anti-gun and anti-gun range stance, but did not retract his anti-gun messaging from the previous meeting.
Let’s take a look back in time.
In the 1970s and 1980s, it was the entertainment hotspot of Toms River and was second only to the Ocean County Mall as a place to hang out for families and teens. It was Baimonte’s, a beloved family-owned Italian Restaurant, but it was surrounded by much more. A BMX track, batting cages, an arcade and a go-kart track. It was the place to be in Toms River on any given Saturday or Sunday in the summer.
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As years passed, the entertainment attractions vanished and eventually, Baimonte’s shut down. It was later rebuilt as Boston’s restaurant and golf driving range, but that didn’t work out either, and it was evicted from the property in 2019.
Now, a plan to revitalize the high-profile corner at the intersection of Hooper Avenue and Fischer Boulevard is under attack by the left who claim the new concent, a massive entertainment complex that includes a restaurant, indoor golf simulators, a golf driving range, arcadem, pickleball courts, batting cages, retail centers and an indoor shooting range, will have people ‘taking shots and shooting guns’.
Mark Mutter, a former Mayor and long-term appointed clerk in Toms River, attacked the project, stoking fear about an alleged gun range and restaurant concept on the site. Rodrick said Mutter’s anti-gun fearmongering couldn’t be further from the truth or the reality of the site’s layout.
Rodrick is critical of anti-gun politicians Mutter and Nivison
At this week’s meeting, Rodrick warned Nivison about his anti-gun activism interfering with the application, saying, “You’re going to get us sued, Toms!” after Nivison supported Mutter’s claim that there will be guns and alcohol mixed.
Robert C. Shea, the developer’s attorney, lashed out at the Toms River Times for publishing a false article about the application. Shea has advertised his own business in that newspaper for decades. Shea said the restaurant and shooting range are independent of each other and that the reporter’s article was “ludicrous” to allege otherwise.
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“This is a massive project,” Rodrick said. “There is a restaurant. There’s a golf driving range, a retail store, an arcade, and, yes, a gun range. But this isn’t some gun range-bar concept as the former mayor incorrectly claimed; the two will be in separate buildings, and this is New Jersey. Gun ranges in New Jersey are strictly regulated and scrutinized by the state. If you think the state of New Jersey will allow a gun range that serves alcohol or allows people under the influence to enter, as they said in that incredibly false Toms River Times news article, you haven’t been paying attention. New Jersey has the strictest gun laws in the country, and a range that allows people under the influence to enter would be shut down immediately. I would imagine it would be the other way around. Folks would take their family out to the range, then go to the restaurant after. I don’t imagine any legal gun owners doing the opposite, and I definitely don’t see a gun range risking its license to get shut down either. The report was anti-gun, far-left liberal fear-mongering and nothing else.”
The redevelopment plan targets the former Baiamonte’s and Toms River Golf Center property at Hooper Avenue and Fischer Boulevard, a landmark location that once served as a major recreational destination in the township. Developers want to modernize the aging property into a multi-use complex featuring pickleball courts, batting cages, arcade attractions, virtual golf simulators, retail space, a renovated restaurant and lounge, and an indoor shooting range.
The proposal would also preserve the site’s longtime driving range rather than demolish it entirely, maintaining one of the property’s most recognizable features while converting upper portions into a golf entertainment and lounge area.
Decades of Recreation Tied to Property
For many residents, the property carries decades of local history.
The site evolved over the years from Baiamonte’s Italian Restaurant and Pizza King into Mugsy’s Sports Bar under Tony Baiamonte. Beyond dining, the location became known for recreational attractions, including a golf driving range, arcade games, batting cages, and nearby go-kart and BMX activity that once made the Hooper Avenue corridor a regional entertainment hub.
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Baimonte’s was a huge supporter in the community. In fact, the restaurant sponsored two of this reporter’s Little League baseball teams.
Even after the restaurant closed and portions of the property became vacant, the driving range remained a visible reminder of the site’s past.
Mayor Rodrick says the redevelopment would restore life to a deteriorating commercial corner while avoiding another large-scale residential development in town. Many residents who responded online praised the idea of transforming a blighted property into a modern recreation center for families and teenagers. He also says it ensures the property doesn’t become another high-density residential development.
Shooting Range Draws Scrutiny from Anti-Gun ‘Republicans’, Left-Leaning Media
Much of the controversy surrounding the project centers on the proposed indoor shooting range and its proximity to the dining and entertainment portions of the complex. A report in the Toms River Times titled ‘Shooting Guns And Doing Shots Planned At Ocean County Site’ paints a bleak picture of a shooting range full of drunkards toting high-powered assault rifles and listening to country music while chugging bears and drinking Jack Daniels.
“The report was so irresponsible,” Rodrick said. “I can’t believe they are running with this politically slanted message. This is something the people of Toms River have shown they want. The nearest two shooting ranges for the public right now are in Lakewood.”
Planning documents indicate that the restaurant and lounge areas would operate separately from the shooting range rather than as a single business. It is not a bar-shooting concept as reported this week.
“New Jersey would never allow that, and everyone knows it,” Rodrick, an avid gun owner and hunter, said.
Under New Jersey law, firearm possession or use while under the influence of alcohol is prohibited, and licensed shooting ranges commonly enforce strict zero-tolerance impairment policies. State law also restricts permit holders from carrying firearms into bars or restaurants serving alcohol.
Those regulations have become a central argument among supporters defending the proposal against criticism online.
Key Points
• Toms River redevelopment proposal would transform former golf center into sports and entertainment complex
• Plans include pickleball courts, golf simulators, arcade attractions, restaurant space, and an indoor shooting range
Part of Broader Entertainment Trend
The project reflects a growing trend across New Jersey toward hybrid entertainment destinations that combine sports, gaming, dining, and recreation within a single commercial space. Similar developments involving pickleball, golf simulators, bowling, axe throwing, and indoor sports attractions have expanded throughout the region in recent years.
Mayor Daniel Rodrick has supported the commercial redevelopment of underused commercial properties while emphasizing quality-of-life projects and recreational investment in Toms River. Backers of the proposal argue the project fits that strategy by restoring a highly visible vacant property and generating new economic activity without adding dense housing.
“I’m not sure what Mark Mutter’s angle is here. He’s a has-been that never was, and he’s a far-left liberal Republican who wants to take your guns,” Rodrick said. “Maybe his angle is to try to sink the project because he’s being strung along by the chairman, who is a lobbyist for high-density residential developers. I don’t know, but this is good for Toms River. We’ve all passed by this eyesore for decades, and it will bring new life to the town and attract tourism year-round. This is the type of development we need, not the high-density apartments Mutter and his handlers want to see.”
Rodrick also criticized the Toms River Times over what he called “irresponsible yellow journalism” and said they owe the developer a retraction or correction.
“It’s a disservice to intentionally lie about the project, and their only case study was a young boy who was injured firing blanks almost a 100 years ago in some obscure newspaper article,” Rodrick said. “They knew what they were doing. They wanted to create fear and panic to shut down this project, and had no facts to back up any of their claims in that article. After pushing their fear-driven rant, they even went on to say that the bar on the property will be on the second floor of the golf driving range in a separate building from the restaurant, and the gun range will be in another separate building on the site. This is nothing more than fear-mongering by the people who want to take away your guns. There’s absolutely no truth to the entire article or a single word of what Mark Mutter said.”
Mutter served as mayor, but was never an elected mayor. At the time, the township had a committee form of government where the municipal committee would appoint a mayor each year.
“He’s a nobody that never was,” Rodrick said of the alleged open former Clerk.
Tom Nivison was not contacted for this article. He has not contacted Shore News Network over his anti-gun statements. His comments were all made at the public township council meetings in April and May and are part of the public record.
Coming soon: Tom Nivison’s violent past exposed as councilman’s violent and unhinged outbursts in townhall documented and recorded.
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