Stores and Theaters Shut Down in Eatontown in Anticipation of Hurricane Irene

Forget about The Help and don’t even think about getting a burrito at this weekend in Eatontown.

The parking lot at for the movie theater at the Monmouth Mall was eerily quiet for a Saturday afternoon as stores and eateries began to shut down in anticipation of Hurricane Irene.

Signs posted on the door of the in informed would-be movie goers that the multiplex would be closed on Saturday and Sunday due to the storm.

The entire mall will close at 4 p.m. on Saturday, according to customer service representatives at the mall, but a number of retailers and food spots had already closed, including and . No details were available yet whether the mall would open on Sunday, but the representative said a message would be posted on a phone line that customers could call: (732) 542-0333.

Windows at the eatery, next door to the movie theater, were boarded up for good measure but a hand made sign posted outside informed customers that they were open for business. An employee said that they planned to close at 10 p.m. – a few hours earlier than the usual 1 a.m. – unless the weather took a turn for the worst.

At the other end of the mall, employees were busy taping up windows inside the store.

An employee for said the store would close at 4 p.m. on Saturday. JCPenney, another anchor store at the mall, would close at 3 p.m. on Saturday and remain closed on Sunday.

The doors to Chipotle were chained closed by 2 p.m. Saturday by they were still serving up burgers at next door.

Down the road from the mall, the big picture windows at Toys R Us were boarded up for the storm and hand made signs posted outside told shoppers that the store would close at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

It wasn’t all bad news, though. Shopper Meghan Pedersen said she was taking advantage of the this weekend and took that route to the mall from her Lincroft home.

“Why wouldn’t I take advantage of that?” she laughed, and added that the Parkway was empty and that she was only “one of three cars on the road.”