If you frequent the Chapel Hill area, you may have noticed a distinct lack of drive-thrus.
But a local location of a national chain has been pushing for one — Chapel Hill’s Dunkin’ franchise has successfully lobbied for changing its property to allow customers to take out food from the comfort of their cars.
At the March 22 Chapel Hill Town Council Meeting, council members unanimously approved the motion to allow Dunkin’ to establish a drive-thru window at their location.
A 1998 ordinance enacted by the town of Chapel Hill prohibited drive-thrus in the area without applying for a Special Use Permit (SUP). Dunkin’ had been petitioning for a permit since 2017.
Renovation of the property, which is located at 1507 and 1509 East Franklin Street, was discussed in an earlier Town Council meeting on February 22. The town held an evidentiary hearing for modifying the property. Changes will include a drive-thru window and the reorientation of parking spaces on the site.
Peter Turner, a Commercial General Contractor at CAVU Construction, said the drive-thru will include a ten-car stack with the fifth car being allowed access to the drive-through window – which separates the chain from Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen’s drive-thru right up the road.
“We are not Sunrise Biscuits,” said Turner. “There are some major differences. For starters, we have a 10-car stack. Sunrise Biscuits has 5. Their drive-through window is about 6 feet from their pickup window. Our drive-through window proposal is at the 5th car, giving us time to prepare the order and get the line moving. We also offer a mobile app and hot hold food to allow for expeditious order fulfillment.”
Turner said he believes their customers will benefit from the long-awaited drive-thru.
“They are faster and easier, especially for parents with toddlers, guests with disabilities and all guests in inclement weather,” said Turner. “Additionally, as the pandemic illustrated, a drive-thru is critical for a sterile, germ-free handoff to a guest with a compromised immune system and even for a restaurant to stay open.”
Photo via Town of Chapel Hill
Turner noted Dunkin’ has a mobile app for customers looking to order online. They also hold hot food for expeditious order fulfillment, he said.
“It’s giving us time to prepare the order and get the line moving,” said Turner.
Aaron Nelson is the President and CEO of the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro and spoke at the Town Council meeting. He said he believes the drive-thru will help Dunkin’ receive higher sales and employment, as well as increase the value of the property.
“We believe, and I believe, the drive-thru will improve the strength and resilience of the business,” said Nelson. “In 2020 and 2021, 162 restaurants closed in Orange County, and those that survived were ones that could figure out how to efficiently deliver takeout — they were much more likely to have made it.”
In an interview on March 23 with 97.9 The Hill, Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said the quasi-judicial nature of the hearing distinguished approving the drive-thru from other town projects.
“I think the council has a lot of concerns about drive-thrus in general,” Hemminger added, “but this one was already in their SUP as a permitted use, so we would have had to have really substantial evidence to prove it was a bad thing, and that wasn’t available in the testimony.”
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Another example of a weak, pro-corporate town council.
Yes, it was quasi-judicial, but it is up to the applicant to prove no harm from the drive-thru and that not having a drive-thru is an unfair burden, not for the town council to prove harm. They could have just voted “no”.
The owners of the Dunkin Donuts were told when they started the process that they weren’t going to get a drive thru. They knew they could eventually. They just had to spend time manipulating the system and the council.
This is total BS. Chapel Hill is selling its soul. And comparing Dunkin to Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen, this is adding insult to injury.