Starbucks Drive-Through Proposed for Mt. Kisco’s Applebee’s Site
The owner of a North Bedford Road property in Mount Kisco is looking to replace the current Applebee’s restaurant with three new businesses, including a Starbucks featuring a drive-through window.
Urban Edge Properties of Paramus, N.J., the entity that owns the parcel at 185 N. Bedford Rd., needs a zoning code change from the village board before site plan approval can be pursued from the planning board.
Last week Mayor Michael Cindrich noted that the village’s current law prohibits drive-through service for businesses, with the exception of banks. The lone exception is the Burger King restaurant at nearby 230 N. Bedford Rd., which had its drive-through approval grandfathered in.
Urban Edge Vice President for Development and Construction Aanen Olsen said Applebee’s does not want to renew its lease after being located on the property for nearly 20 years. Olsen declined to say when Applebee’s lease would expire, although the restaurant is still in operation.
Olsen told trustees that Urban Edge wants to renovate the building to house a Starbucks, “a fast, casual restaurant” and a retail store. He not divulge the identity of the restaurant being considered for the site. Urban Edge has not yet lined up a potential retail business for the site, he said.
The proposed Starbucks would also have service inside and an undisclosed number of seats.
Olsen said Urban Edge has spoken with the operator of the Starbucks at 41 S. Moger Ave. to inform them of his client’s intentions. He said “they have no problem” with the potential of a second Starbucks opening in Mount Kisco.
Trustee Peter Grunthal said more than one Starbucks could operate successfully in Mount Kisco.
“There’s a Starbucks on every two or three blocks,” in Manhattan, Grunthal said.
Deputy Mayor Anthony Markus countered that he did not want a new Starbucks to take business away from the current location. That could be harmful to other downtown businesses, he said.
Corey Chase, senior project manager for Atlantic Traffic and Design, told the board his firm studied traffic during last year’s Christmas shopping season in the area of a Starbucks on Route 6 in Cortlandt, which has a drive-through window and is located on a comparable location. During busy times the line of cars at the window did not impact traffic outside the site.
“It’s all self-contained,” he said.
But Trustee Karen Schleimer responded that she was concerned that a long line of cars at the window could add excessive congestion to the area during the morning rush hour.
Cindrich said the board would discuss the matter again but needed additional time to review the current law addressing drive-through windows.
