A popular nationwide coffee shop chain has targeted a defunct fast-food site in Oak Park as its potential first Cook County location.
Oak Park’s Zoning Board of Appeals will hear a proposal from Dutch Bros, an Oregon-based chain with more than 1,000 locations primarily on the West Coast, at its next meeting Oct. 8. The chain is looking to repurpose the site of the former Kentucky Fried Chicken at 316 Madison St. as part of an early foray into Chicagoland.
The property sits near the intersection of Madison Street and Ridgeland Avenue in Oak Park, adjacent to Percy Julian Middle School. The company would construct a new 1,236 square foot building on the site, featuring two-drive through lanes and a walk-up window for pedestrian customers, according to the proposal.
“The project includes the redevelopment of a non-operational KFC restaurant into a Dutch Bros Coffee with a drive-thru service window,” the company wrote in its proposal. “Site improvements include demolition of the existing building, dual drive-through lanes with stacking for up to 13 vehicles, a bypass lane, and a trash and recycling enclosure. The building will include a customer walk-up window on the north side of the building with covered outdoor seating. Surface parking for 14 vehicles is proposed to serve the site.”
The proposal requires special use and zoning variance permission from the village, with the Zoning Board of Appeals hearing serving as the first step in an approval process that will end before the Oak Park village board.
Drive-thru customers would enter and exit the location via Madison Street, according to the proposal. Dutch Bros would also restrict direct access from the Percy Julian campus through the alley that separates the properties as requested by the village, according to the proposal.
“The proposed development will create a vibrant retail/restaurant destination for all village residents and visitors to the community that is also pedestrian friendly,” the company wrote in its application. “The proposed development is believed to improve upon the past use by eliminating vehicular access points, restricting rear alley access adjacent to the middle school and improving pedestrian access to the site.”
The hearing comes after Dutch Bros shared plans for two downstate Illinois locations and made a pitch for a shop in another Chicago suburb.
The chain opened its first location in the state last month in the Metro East St. Louis community of Glen Carbon, according to The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Dutch Bros. Announced in August that it’s on track to open a location in Urbana by the end of the year, according to NBC.
Dutch Bros. representatives also appeared before Naperville’s Planning and Zoning Commission in August to pitch a new location, according to the Naperville Sun.
The chain has looked to expand across the country in recent years after amassing a dedicated following on the west coast. In the process, Dutch Bros has become well associated with its large, eclectic drink menu, viral online promotions and the peppy service provided by its “broistas.”