Shore BJ’s roof collapsed — now shoppers are waiting to learn if it will ever reopen

🔴Part of the roof collapsed into the bakery at the Ocean Township BJ's

🔴All 27 people inside escaped without injury as the ceiling crashed down

🔴Officials are still determining whether the store can reopen or must be rebuilt

OCEAN TOWNSHIP (Monmouth) — The future of a BJ's Wholesale Club at the Jersey Shore has yet to be determined following a partial but spectacular roof collapse on Monday.

The roof and a waterfall of rapid water fell into the bakery section of the store on Route 35 around 11:30 a.m. None of the 27 people inside the store at the time were injured, including three people seen in store security video being swept away by water carrying grocery displays.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill visited the store on Tuesday afternoon amid criticism that she's been largely out of the public eye during the aftermath of the Fourth of July storm.

“So, we’re working really hard to make sure that we assess why this happened — make sure we’re doing everything we need to do to make sure our buildings are sound and then in these unexpected weather events, that we’re creating more and more resiliency and that our first responders are well trained,” Sherrill said.

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Will the Ocean Township BJ's reopen?

The area had been drenched by several inches of rain in a short period just before the collapse. There had also been heavy rain on each of the three preceding days.

Ocean Township Mayor John Napolitani said that the company has not made any assessment of the store or whether it can reopen or must be rebuilt.

"They're clearing out the entire store right now of all the perishable items. They've donated a significant amount of what they could, and they're taking everything else out," Napolitani said.

The mayor told NJ.com that there were no official complaints about the store. But as a shopper, he noticed there were always buckets set up to collect water dripping from the ceiling. BJ's provides "a lot of jobs" and that it's important it reopen, the mayor said.

BJ's on Tuesday did not respond to New Jersey 101.5's request for comment about the store's future.

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