(Here are two restaurant pieces I did a week ago for West Newsmagazine.)
How can one deny the request for an establishment that sports the slogan "Amazing People, Amazing Drinks … Amazingly Fast?" Ultimately, the city of Ellisville did not.
At its Dec. 15 meeting, the City Council gave the green light for a conditional use permit granted to Scooter’s Coffee for a drive-thru facility adjoining a kiosk in a Commercial Zoning District at 16006 Manchester Road.
Some follow up questions and comments regarding that bill (No. 3732) was preceded by a rather lengthy public hearing. It began with City Attorney George Restovich rattling off a list of 16 exhibits in the petition. Next, Wilson Waggoner, a civil engineer working on Scooter’s plans spoke and fielded questions.
“It’s very similar to a Starbucks,” Waggoner said. “This particular location will be drive-thru only with no indoor or outdoor seating. It was preferred by the franchisee that there would be no walk-up business.”
Waggoner mentioned that Scooter’s primarily serves hot and cold drinks and breakfast sandwiches to some 400 locations in the U.S. in 33 states. Those locations include ones in St. Charles County (O’Fallon and Dardenne Prairie, which opened last month).
 |
| (Source: Scooter's Coffee/Facebook) |
The building will be just 654 square feet. Waggoner showed slides for the projected site plan and also possible signs for all sides of the building plus a 12-foot-high "monument sign." The city code only allows for ones 10-foot-high. The idea of cross-access to Valvoline and Economy Car Care Center was also discussed.
“This is a really small lot, so I appreciate you have some really tough spots to work with,” council member Rob Compton (District 1) said. “As far as cross-access is concerned, we’re not looking for that to be applied immediately, but down the road. So, I don’t think removing that requirement is beneficial to us even if it’s not being used at this time.
“Also, we’re looking at an awful lot of signage on a tiny little building here. And on the sides of that building, you’re not sitting up very high. So, I don’t think those signs will even be seen, and one isn’t necessary in the back, either.”
City Planner Ada Hood reminded Compton that both the signage and cross-access would be discussed at an ensuing Architectural Review Board meeting. But both Compton and council member Mick Cahill (District 2) thought the cross-access issue should be settled prior to that meeting. Citizen Marilyn Niebling reiterated the immediate need for cross-access with regard to potential increased traffic issues on Manchester Road.
Per council member Vince McGrath’s (District 1) inquiry, Waggoner said the developer would have to revise its lighting plans to comply with the city’s specs. He also mentioned that there would be just one 6-foot high, wooden, dog-eared fence in the back of the property. Regarding employees, there would be three per shift and the hours of operation would likely be 5 a.m.-8 p.m.
With the assistance of council member Dan Duffy’s (District 3), Mayor Mike Roemerman added an amendment that would connect easements from the west to the east.
Cahill added a second amendment that there would be no sign on the back of the property that would be too visible to the people in the apartments directly behind it. That also passed as did the overall bill, which became Ordinance 21-3501.
“I’m happy and I believe the council is happy to see this come here to Ellisville. I think it’s a great plan. I like having a Starbuck’s alternative; hopefully, a little more economical. But I like the breakfast sandwich option, I like the look and I’m really not going to miss the current structure that’s on that property. I’m sure the staff at city hall will be coming by to get some coffee. It might be an upgrade from what they have at city hall,” Roemerman said.
Ellisville grants Chick-fil-A extended hours for canopy work
On Feb. 9, it will be five full years since the grand opening of the Ellisville Chick-fil-A. And at the Dec. 15 Ellisville City Council meeting, nothing but upbeat comments were uttered by both its operator Tony Johnson and city council members.
Johnson appeared at the meeting by Zoom to petition for extended work hours in association with the construction of new canopies for the restaurant and its drive-thru at 304 Clarkson Road. The property is within a C-3 Commercial Zoning District.
“What we’re looking to do is complete some of this construction with the heavy lifting, of which some has already been done, on the last two Sundays,” Johnson said. “There’s a group that comes from out of state to do the final completion of the canopies. We looked at it kind of six ways from Sunday. We’ve looked at shutting down the drive-thru altogether and trying to run it through the parking lot. All those have some issues like traffic backing up onto the road which would be disrupting our neighbors.”
Mayor Mike Roemerman expressed concern about the possible decibel level associated with the project, especially since some of the work is slated to be done late at night.
Council member Rob Compton (District 1) had the same concerns. He questioned how that might work for a neighbor who had to be up early for work the next morning.
“If there is a complaint, is there a certain sound level that we can’t exceed?” Compton asked.
City Manager Bill Schwer noted that there is an ordinance for acceptable sound levels.
“My understanding is that most of the concrete work … the bigger pieces with the concrete … have been done on the previous two Sundays during the daytime,” Johnson said. “What this group would actually be doing is the columns that go down with the flat roof. Most of that work will just be them putting the columns together and running the electrical, plumbing and wiring. So, I think the only tools out there at night will be two lifts and a palette piece to help them move the steel.”
In response to a comment by council member Vince McGrath (District 1), Johnson said Sunday hours and extended daytime hours works best for the restaurant's business and also keeps from impeding on open hours of fellow businesses and creating traffic nuisances on Clarkson Road.
“I think you guys do a great job,” council member Dan Duffy (District 3) said. “My entire extended family is very happy with your restaurant and I’m in favor of anything that makes it easier to get in and out of there.”
The petition passed unanimously, and just as he had been at the start of his presentation, Johnson was both genuinely gracious and grateful for his opportunity to address the council.
“Thank you all for your time again, and also for a lot of the pre-COVID work that allowed us to stay in business; especially when we were kind of shut outside,” he said. “You let us put up temporary structures, and I can’t tell you how great that was, and I really appreciate you. I think the support we felt from a business perspective and the flexibility you all shared with us, including not to have to close down for even one day, was awesome. It’s great to be part of the community!”
No comments:
Post a Comment