A Chicago suburb could soon be home to a new Dutch Bros coffee drive-thru, pending approval by local officials.
Oregon-based Dutch Bros, which operates more than 1,000 locations mainly on the West Coast, recently submitted plans to the City of Naperville for a drive-thru in the area.
The City of Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the proposal to open a Dutch Bros location in the Market Meadows Shopping Center, located at 1230 South Naper Boulevard at their meeting Wednesday night.
The drive-thru coffee spot would be situated next to the U.S. Bank on the northeastern corner of the shopping center, near the intersection of Naper Boulevard and Market Avenue, according to publicly available site plans.
Though there are no Dutch Bros in Illinois currently, the company is in the process of opening locations in Urbana and Glen Carbon.
Dutch Bro’s proposed design includes outdoor seating and a “pedestrian-focused layout,” while catering to motorists via the drive-thru.
The proposal seeks approval for deviation from zoning standards pertaining to a bypass lane and parking. Based on the typical design of a Dutch Bros drive-thru and operations at other locations, Dutch Bro’s is seeking permission to move forward with their plan that includes a reduction in required parking spaces of the planned unit development and the absence of a separate bypass lane.
The lack of a bypass lane and the reduced parking spaces “enable higher-quality design and enhanced amenities,” Dutch Bros said in documents submitted to the city.
The plans will result in a net loss of 39 parking spaces; however, the company asserts there will still be sufficient parking offered for patrons of their business and those already housed in the shopping center.
Dutch Bros estimates that each drive-thru customer will spend approximately 45 seconds at the window, and the company will staff an additional traffic controller during peak hours as needed, according to documents submitted to the city.
Similar to some Chik-Fil-A locations, the Dutch Bros will staff a “line buster” who takes customers’ orders as they wait in the drive-thru line. If the customer has not reached the window by the time their drink is ready, a “drink runner” will bring their drink to their vehicle, and the customer can use the “escape lane” to exit, according to documents submitted to the city.
“We’re in the very early stages so we don’t have anything to share at this time,” Dutch Bros said in a statement Wednesday.
Naperville’s Planning and Zoning Committee meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20.
The committee will review the plan and make a recommendation to Naperville City Council for final approval.