A proposal to bring a Dutch Bros drive-thru coffee shop to the Jewel parking lot along Naper Boulevard just north of 75th Street will advance to the Naperville City Council with no recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Commissioners on Wednesday night cast a split vote — 4-4 — on whether to recommend the development for council approval. Several said they feared approving another drive-thru-heavy coffee business could lead to traffic backups like those seen along Ogden and Iroquois avenues since the opening of the 7 Brew coffee shop there.
“We, unfortunately, have learned a lesson very recently in another coffee location,” commissioner Mark Wright said, “and it’s still creating traffic problems.”
The Dutch Bros project would require variances to parking and drive-thru bypass lane requirements to allow the proposed shop to be built just north of the U.S. Bank on Naper on land that currently provides parking for the Market Meadows shopping center.
If approved by the council, it would be the first Dutch Bros store in the Chicago area and the third in the state, behind Edwardsville and Urbana. The national chain has something of a cult following among those who like its unique menu and “secret menu” options.
Commissioners were divided over whether granting these variances would help welcome a popular new business or cause traffic and safety concerns along one of the city’s main north-south thoroughfares.
“I am going to vote ‘no’ because I want to make sure that we get this right,” Commissioner Derek McDaniel said about traffic management for the potential Dutch Bros. “Not because I don’t want it.”
The requested variances would allow Dutch Bros to build a drive-thru with two lanes for ordering that merge into one for pickup and a partial bypass lane that does not span the entire length of the drive-thru.
“Not having a dedicated bypass lane will definitely give an operational challenge in managing the traffic, especially in terms of safety, and that always concerns me,” said Commissioner Meghna Bansal, who voted against the plan. “Otherwise, the project looks very good, and I’m sure it’s going to be a super success if it’s coming. But the safety should be the No. 1 priority.”
Listed as the petitioner for the project is Shorewood Development Group, the property owner Market Meadows. T. Ryan Fitzgerald of Shorewood Development Group said Dutch Bros has submitted a full traffic management plan and is committed to ensuring its lines of customers won’t impede traffic.
Dutch Bros plans to hire off-duty police officers to manage traffic near the store during its grand opening phase. The business offers an app for online ordering — a service used by an average of 32% of customers across the chain’s new stores, Fitzgerald said — and it averages a “cycle time” of two minutes for orders placed in-person. Fitzgerald said these factors, plus Dutch Bros’ plans to expand quickly to about 35 locations across the suburbs, will decrease the period when the popularity of a potential Naperville shop could be overwhelming.
Anna Franco with the city’s planning services team said city staff members have drafted several traffic-related conditions in approval documents for the project. If city council members OK the shop, conditions would require a certain amount of offsite “stacking” for cars in line and mandate that any such stacking “may not impact other businesses.”
“If complaints are submitted affecting certain things, like blocking the U.S. Bank, backing up onto the Market Meadows main entrance or onto Naper Boulevard, the city can take certain measures to work with the petitioner to adequately address those issues,” Franco said.
As the property owner, Shorewood Development Group also has language in its proposed lease with Dutch Bros that requires cooperation with the city on any traffic, safety or other issues
“We have a mechanism to get their attention,” Fitzgerald said. “We as a development company have a responsibility to this community … and we want to keep our reputation right.”
Fitzgerald said his company has secured formal agreements with Jewel and U.S. Bank, saying they are aware of and fine with traffic and drive-thru plans for Dutch Bros. The coffee business is “symbiotic” with Jewel’s grocery offerings, he said, and Jewel supports construction of the new shop — despite it taking up some of the grocer’s parking.
The proposed Dutch Bros building would be roughly 1,000 square feet and there would be no inside customer seating. A walk-up ordering window and outdoor patio seating would be provided.
Construction of the building would result in the Market Meadows shopping center having a total of 887 parking spaces, instead of the 1,100 originally required. The city already approved a decrease in parking at the site to 926 spaces in 2021. Franco said city staff finds the 887 spaces proposed to be sufficient.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairwoman Whitney Robbins voted in favor of the proposal and said she was comforted to hear that the property owner has received only positive feedback from tenants already established in Market Meadows.
“I like hearing that you’re going to take ownership, not just Dutch Bros,” Robbins said. “That tonight, for me, is very important.”
Marie Wilson is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
