24-Hour Dunkin Donuts Among Points Of Contention With Proposed Development

A 24-hour Dunkin Donuts proposed for Waukegan Road is either a boon to the community or a nuisance and an eyesore, depending on whom you’re talking to.

At Tuesday’s village board meeting, trustees took sides on that issue, among others, during a preliminary review of revised plans for a site at 2370 Waukegan Road, where the developer of Willow Festival has proposed a multi-tenant retail building called Willow North.

“The best I can say is, it’s fine,” Trustee Michael Scolaro said of the plans. “In my house, that’s not complimentary.” 

Developer , revised its proposal after for the site during preliminary review at a board meeting Aug. 23. That initial plan called for two drive-throughs at the site, located on the same plot of land as a Chase Bank under construction that will also have a drive-through. Trustees feared that so many drive-throughs in one location would create traffic hazards and block emergency vehicle access.

eliminate the second drive-through, along with a dry cleaning business that would have used it. The Dunkin’ Donuts, however, remains in the plans—and generated the most controversy among trustees Tuesday. While there was no vote taken at the meeting, trustees’ comments will help guide the Plan Commission as it considers whether or not to recommend the developer’s plan to the village board for approval.  

“I do have concerns about the hours of operation,” said Trustee Kathryn Ciesla. “I think having an establishment that is open 24/7 does pose some potential challenges—loud delivery trucks, having folks hang out there 24/7.”

Trustee Todd Heller said he believed that many people would welcome such a restaurant, however.

“We’re a community that needs its fine dining establishments and we need our not-so-fine dining,” he said. “I see no reason why we don’t have a Dunkin Donuts in this community.”

When trustees debated whether to approve a 24-hour on Skokie Boulevard in 2009, they wondered who would go there at 3 a.m., Heller said. Village staff members suggested that those patrons could be the village’s public works crews—out early operating snowplows—or its police and firefighters.

“We are no longer a 9-to-5 world, we are a 24-hour world,” he said. “There are a lot of people that work different hours and I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”

Trustee Ciesla pointed out that the McDonald’s did not have the inside open 24-hours, only the drive-through.

Trustee James Karagianis said he didn’t have a problem with a 24-hour Dunkin Donuts in Northbrook, but didn’t like the idea of one being located on that particular section of Waukegan Road, opposite Techny Towers and adjacent to a number of residential areas.

When he voted to approve a Chase Bank with a drive-through at that location in January, he said hoped it would give  time to find the tenants to create “a really nice development” nearby.

“I was doing that acknowledging that these are difficult times,” Karagianis said.

The site used to house the Caravel Inn restaurant, and Karagianis said he hoped the developer would find a nice, upscale restaurant to build there. He imagined an establishment housed in a beautifully designed building, like Walker Brothers in Lincolnshire or .

“What we’re getting now, is we’re getting incrementally into a strip mall,” Karagianis said. The plans call for a Jimmy Johns in addition to the Dunkin Donuts, while the rest of the 12,000-square-foot facility has yet to be filled.

“It’s a beautiful section of Waukegan Road,” he said. “Is that really what we want at one of the entrances to our village?”

One individual came to the meeting comment on the proposed development—and he, too, took issue with the idea of a 24-hour donut shop.

“The thought of letting a Dunkin’ Donuts in there, 24-by-7, is really alarming,” said John Amidei. “I’m just seeing that as a hangout for students.”

He said he was considering circulating a petition among residents of the village to oppose the development. Trustees advised him to attend a public hearing on the issue, which will be held when the developer brings the proposal before the Plan Commission for approval.  

Paul Sheridan, partner with , said he was not surprised by trustees’ lukewarm reaction to the revised plans, given their previous concerns.

“They’ve given us a little more homework,” he said.

Some changes could be made, said he added, including to the drive-through layout, which Trustee Buehler worried didn’t make sense. But trustees’ desire for “upscale” tenants would be tougher to meet.

“Developers don’t have that much control,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of tenants out there.”

Right now, the businesses that are seeking space are mostly fast-casual eateries, banks and pharmacies, he said.

In the future, Sheridan said he is hopeful that his firm can work with the Plan Commission to create a design that commission members like. After all, he pointed out, Hamilton Partners developed Willow Festival, a shopping center that several trustees said they loved.

Willow North, as this development is called, would be an extension of Willow Festival in design, with the same landscaping and light posts, according to Sheridan.

Although trustees were critical of elements of the plan, ultimately, they were positive about their ability to work with the Hamilton Partners.

“This is a developer that’s trying to work with us, and I applaud him for that,” said Karagianis.

Sheridan said his next step will be to bring a proposal for the site before Northbrook’s Plan Commission.