The Oswego Planning and Zoning Commission recently recommended approval of a request to annex and rezone property for a proposed development near the intersection of Route 34 and Ogden Falls Boulevard that would include a Dutch Bros drive-thru coffee shop.
The Oswego Village Board will have the final say on the proposal.
Oak Brook-based Quattro Development LLC is seeking annexation and rezoning for two parcels on the south side of Route 34 just east of the intersection for a drive-thru Dutch Bros Coffee shop and a commercial building.
The site is currently vacant and in unincorporated Kendall County.
Roughly one-third of the site, located furthest west, was annexed into the village in 1988 and is zoned as a B-1 Regional Business District, village officials said.
“The petitioner seeks to annex the remaining two parcels,” village of Oswego Planner Jeff Lind said in a report to the commission.
Property annexed to the village is automatically classified as single family. However, the developer has petitioned the village to rezone the two parcels to the B-1 Regional Business District, which is consistent with the village’s comprehensive plan, Lind said.
The proposed site plan depicts two newly subdivided lots, Lind said.
The furthest west lot is about one acre and would be the first lot to get developed for the coffee drive-thru, he said.
Dutch Bros started as a pushcart coffee operation in downtown Grants Pass, Oregon, in 1992, according to the company’s website. Franchising began in Oregon in 2000 and the company now has more than 1,000 locations across the country selling coffee, smoothies, energy drinks and sodas.
The second lot in the proposal is also about one acre and the site plan shows a future 2,371-square-foot commercial building at the location. However, the developer does not have plans to develop the second lot right now and there is no known use for the time being, Lind said.
Village staff has recommended the developer remove the site plans for the second lot to allow for more flexibility for an eventual owner.
“Let’s hope you come back with something nice for the second parcel,” Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Charlie Pajor said after the group’s vote to recommend the project to the Oswego Village Board.
Representing Quattro Development at the commission’s meeting was Mike Haigh, director of Planning and Development for the firm. He said the site plan for the first parcel proposes a 989-square-foot drive-thru-only building for Dutch Bros Coffee.
The developer was asked why the company chose the specific location given a coffee shop is located close by.
“Dutch Bros is a very large company based on the West Coast. They are on a big Midwest/Chicago area kick. We have been able to work with them on several other projects,” Haigh said.
“While they are for coffee users, a significant portion of their sales are in the afternoon – specifically energy drinks and Gen Z drinks. They are not specifically just a coffee shop. They do not view themselves as direct competitors of coffee-only sit down. They do a significant portion of their sales – more than 50% – to non-coffee drinkers,” he said.
As for access to the site, the representative said the developer is working with village staff to ensure access and traffic management is appropriate for the location.
The village is supportive of right-in right-out traffic access for the site, Lind said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
