Drive-thru-only coffee shops appear to be all the rage in Wallingford.
As the Planning & Zoning Commission this week granted final approval for national drive-thru coffee chain 7 Brew to demolish and replace the Captain Seas restaurant at 905 North Colony Road (Route 5), it also heard a plan to replace the former Duchess Restaurant with a drive-thru-only Dunkin’ Donuts.
During a public hearing Monday, the commission considered a site plan for the property at 124 Church St. (Route 68) in the Yalesville section of town. A Duchess Restaurant had been located on that site for 35 years until it abruptly closed in October 2022.
Christopher Juliano, an engineer with Juliano Associates in Yalesville, represented the applicant, Erica Rocha, during the public hearing. Rocha is the daughter of Manny Rocha, who is the franchisee for the Dunkin’ Donuts at 1101 North Colony Road (Route 5).
While the Route 5 Dunkin’ is a full-service location that was completely updated in 2018 and features indoor seating, Juliano said the plan for the former Duchess property is to create a drive-thru-only Dunkin’ using only half of the site.
“They are taking about half of the existing building, the west side,” he said. “The east side will be a future tenant.”
He said an addition would be constructed on the east side of the existing building, though he did not state how large the addition would be. According to town property records, the existing building, which was erected in 1986, is 3,083 square feet.
The building is owned by Kingswood Realty LLC, which purchased it for $950,000 on Oct. 18, 2022, according to town property records.
After Wallingford Police Chief John Ventura raised concerns about an initial proposal to have a one-lane drive-thru, which he believed could cause a backup onto Route 68 during peak business hours, the applicant adjusted the design to include two drive-thru lanes, Juliano said. The two lanes can hold up to 29 cars, he said.
The eastern part of the building will be occupied by a separate business, which could be a retail or service entity, Juliano said.
The site will retain the one-way entrance and exit cuts, with improved signs to alert customers, and improved sight lines. The overall paved area, however, will be reduced by about a third, Juliano said.
The number of parking spaces overall will also be reduced because there will be no seating inside the Dunkin Donuts, he said.
The applicant also agreed to add a grass-paved parking area in front of the building at the request of the town fire marshal, Juliano said.
Members of the commission were generally positive about the plan, but raised concerns that some information was missing from Ventura and the town engineer.
According to member Jeff Kohan, the chief had initially raised the possibility of making the exit left-turn only and of seeking an overhead traffic light, because of the heavy rush-hour traffic on Route 68. Kohan noted, however, that neither the chief nor the town engineer had submitted any conditions of approval for the project.
Town Planner Kevin Pagini told Kohan that the applicant had presented information from other, similar restaurants showing that a left-turn only exit was not needed, and that there was significant evidence that “a lot of people just wouldn’t obey it anyway.”
Juliano noted that, because Route 68 is a state road, the state would have to grant approval before a traffic light could be installed.
The commission subsequently voted unanimously to continue the hearing to receive final comments from the town engineer and police chief.
