Northbrook soon will get its first drive-through restaurant. A McDonald’s, naturally.
The village has long been a fast-food-free zone. But trustees of the northern suburb paved the way for change four years ago when they amended the zoning code to allow drive-up restaurants.
Since then, two drive-through Starbucks have opened.
The village had rejected an earlier McDonald’s proposal on the grounds that the restaurant would have been too close to a residential area.
But the 24-7 Mickey D’s under construction on Skokie Boulevard is in a commercial area and hasn’t drawn any criticism, officials said. It’s expected to open by December.
“I always sort of questioned why we had a philosophy of not having drive-throughs,” said Village President Sandra Frum.
Frum said she didn’t believe there were any worries that opening a window for drive-up restaurants would have a negative impact on the village’s upscale image.
It’s a different story next door in Glencoe, where such drive-ups are not allowed. Period.
And in nearby Winnetka and Northfield, drive-up restaurants, though not specifically banned, also face tough sledding. Both communities require special-use permits. So far, no such restaurants have been built.
In 1996, McDonald’s went to court to fight Lake Forest’s rejection of its proposal to open its first restaurant in the upscale northern suburb. The fast-food giant wound up building a restaurant without a drive-up window that looked like a quaint New England cottage, complete with a shingle roof and white window boxes.
No double-takes will be required at the McDonald’s in Northbrook.
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